A name that’s on a steadfast streak to Legend Town is Rohaan. He first emerged onto the scene a few years ago with music heavily influenced by trap and lo-fi, creating an audiotistic journey through his progression as a producer. Currently, Rohaan is showcasing his expertise throughout his unique drum and bass, halftime and experimental bass styles.
Operating in a vein of vein of his own, he’s a palate-cleansing visionary with a production signature that comprises airy vocal chops, mystifying and dynamic groups of percussion elements and warm, honey-smooth bass. His most recent release, Purity, complements his discography flawlessly. In his own words, “the story continues, pure.”
The story is reference to his one year old debut album Bleach. Released last year on MAD ZOO, the hedonistic album elevated Rohaan in a significant way. And the personal milestones keep coming… He’s just released Grow on Shogun Audio, setting a whole new precedent for his growing fan base. Expect to see this promising prodigy on more of your favorite bass labels later this year.
Cruising off the momentum of his powerful beginning to the year, Rohaan will become a household name in bass music for years to come. UKF had a chance to converse with this exploding talent, receiving a magnified insight into Rohaan’s journey, his abstract sources of inspiration, creative processes and more.
First of all, congrats on your Shogun Audio release, that is massive. How big of a milestone was that for you and how long was that in the works?
It was pretty sick because it all started with my Bleach LP I released. Through that release, Shogun reached out for a tune. Which was pretty surreal because i’ve not always been making drum & bass. I was avoiding making drum & bass because I was listening to it as a consumer and I didn’t want to ruin that listening experience. However, I started DJing more drum & bass and attending a ton of drum & bass shows in the UK. I was like, stuff it. Like it just makes sense. Then I made the Bleach LP and then Shogan reached out and it was such an easy process with them.
How did that feel for them to reach out?
It was nuts. I’ve been a consumer for so long, I’ve been to so many of their shows and listened to their discography for years. I wouldn’t say I get imposter syndrome, it’s just that strange feeling of being able to look back at Rohaan six years ago and look at where I am today. It was sick, I was so stoked. Happy days.
It’s always such a satisfying, validating feeling when you can look back and see all the steps being laid down for you to actually achieve your goals and dreams.
Absolutely. It’s these moments like this that get me really excited. One thing that gets me motivated, I used to watch interviews with artists where they’re at festivals and they get asked, “what were some pivotal moments for you?” These things are the pivotal moments, like what we’re doing right now (interviewing me for UKF). As soon as this interview comes out, I’ll be sending this to my mates back home in York. It’s because of UKF that I’m even here right now.
That’s so special, I’m very grateful to be part of that today. So rolling off the Shogun Audio release, what other big plans do you have for the rest of the year, if you can share?
I just released my first self-release in years, ‘Purity’. Also between now and November, I have a release or something substantial scheduled for each month. I’ve been trying for a year to get on a certain label and we just locked that in for this year as well. It feels like the first time in a year that I’ve been able to relax.
So we’re almost at the one year anniversary of your Bleach LP, have you thought about a full length album?
Initially, Bleach was going to be a smaller release. It was only going to be like four tunes. But Mat Zo wanted all of them! That Bleach LP launched me, essentially. It helped me become more situated in the scene, I was able to identify my brand more through that.
An album, absolutely, but it’ll take a little while. I have so many single releases coming out, so for me to focus on an album is going to take quite a lot. I want my first album to be THE album. I’d tour it, I’d do it all. An album is going to have to be extremely grand.
Where do you pull your inspiration from for all of this art of yours?
Only Carbon was about AI and then coming of that, Bleach LP was about cults and washing away my old sound. Recently, I started to get inspiration from different architects, graphic designers, interior designers.
So you find inspiration from visual creations and graphics?
Yeah definitely. I get a lot of inspiration from textures as well and weird abstract items or images. I’m extremely visual. I resonate with colors quite a lot. For example, the reason Bleach LP is blue and that tone of red is because while I was making it, I would put that color up on one of my monitors and literally just stare at it while I made the tune. For me, Traffic is a purple tune, then I Found You is like a mint green.
You don’t really associate tracks with feelings per say, you associate them with colors? Elaborate on that.
I just naturally see colors while making tunes. As long as the sounds and elements I put in the tune stay within that color arrangement, it makes sense in my head. If you look at it in a robotic sense, my stimulus would be color, the creation would be the sound and then the emotion comes from that. I have a track coming out called I Want You, it’s the same green color as I Found You.
What kind of feeling would you associate with that color of green?
I guess green to me is this uplifting sense. It’s like the scene in a film where the superhero seems to be in trouble but turns it around. It’s that feeling of adrenaline and succeeding, all the emotions tied to that.
That is fascinating to hear that is your process of creation.
It’s only been over the past few years that I’ve fully identified what that is and been able to use it to my advantage. Now I can actually identify my tunes. Recently I went on a hike and brought home this massive stone home. It’s grey with this beautiful purple hue to it so I’m going to create a song from this item.
It’s very admirable that you can draw inspiration from even the smallest things in your surroundings, especially out in nature. What was your favorite quarantine nature outing this last year?
We were up in the Lake District and that trip was a huge pivotal moment for me. We were actually in the exact same spot as Bonobo’s Black Sand artwork, where that photo was taken. It was honestly a life-changing experience, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Bouncing off of that, what was the biggest lesson or takeaway for you from this last year?
First, I’ve really understood the importance of friends, loved ones and family. Work always came first but that’s definitely changing moving forward. Also, balance and boundaries; understanding what that is to someone and how to ensure that environment is good and safe for that person. Creating safe spaces for friends, etc.
I always like to ask everyone this question. If you had one piece of advice for someone looking to start a career in music, what would you tell them?
When you’re starting out your career, it’s literally the best part. You are in the creation and discovery phase, do whatever the hell you want. It’s an amazing part of your music career and get ready to hear a lot of “no’s”. It’s totally part of the music industry and your career but the “yes’” will come more frequent eventually. Just try to make yourself as lucky as possible. The reason I post so much across social media, like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, is because every time I do that, I’m increasing my chances of getting lucky, getting noticed by a booking agent, a new fan or A&R. It just takes time.
For any readers who may not know you, is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself to our audience?
My background was a lot of EDM, trap and tons of lo-fi tunes, actually. So my own growth through discovering my sound and what I really wanted Rohaan to be is really interesting I think. So for those who haven’t heard of me, go check out my older tunes and compare it to what I’m releasing today. It’s quite the journey.
Follow Rohaan: Soundcloud / Facebook / Instagram
