If you are a synthwave fan, you’ll be thrilled to get your hands on EhRah’s newest release. The Montreal-based producer has been scouted by Aztec Records, a fitting home for his latest album.
‘Stardust Genesis’ won’t disappoint: featuring a plethora of illustrious guests, the record showcases EhRah’s musical prowess, delivering synthwave goodness with strong pop sensibility. You’ll be hard-pressed not to get hooked by its catchiness and charisma.
Championing a career that’s on the rise more than ever, EhRah appears ready for bigger and brighter things, and that’s where we expect him to find him in the coming years. Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the Canadian talent to find out more about his artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey EhRah, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
I’m well, thanks! I’d say that I’m a 29-year-old science geek with a burning passion for Dungeons and Dragon and music.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; How did you get into Synthwave?
That’s quite the question. My dad’s always been a huge music nut. Since I could remember, my dad would sit me down and just listen to music with me by his side. Being born in the 90s, I was hugely exposed to the musical culture of the previous decade via my father. When I first picked up the guitar almost 20 years ago, I was aching to learn those epic and glamorous solos from the 80s from iconic artists such as Whitesnake, Van Halen, etc. When I first touched a DAW about 7 years later, I didn’t really know how far things would go. I messed around with a lot of different genres: from Dubstep, to electro-house, to even orchestral music. I ended up taking a hiatus for a few years and when I came back to the game, I had that same itch that I once felt when I picked up the guitar back then. I tried my hand at 80s-inspired music and just fell in love with the luscious and iconic sounds/melodies of the genre. Two years and two albums later, I still feel that same passion burning within.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
I think that my first choice would have to be Andrew Latimer, the lead guitarist/singer/flautist from the 70s British progressive rock band Camel. There’s just something about the way he writes his melodies that makes me dream. I think that he’s the kind of musical mind that comes along only a few times in a generation, but that’s just a personal opinion. Having the opportunity to peek into the way he writes his solos/compositions would be a dream come true. For those who don’t know Camel, I’d recommend checking out the tracks ‘Airborne’ and ‘Lies’ for a start! In second place, I’d probably want to collaborate with Koji Kondo, the composer of the Legend of Zelda soundtrack as well as some iconic Super Mario tracks. Composing with a game in mind is such a different challenge. You have to consider the design of the game and the mood you want to set. In my opinion, Koji Kondo has composed some of the most recognizable and iconic video game music I’ve ever heard. Being able to pry through that mind and collaborate on a track together would be an honour.
You recently released a powerful album, Stardust Genesis, released by the legendary Aztec Records. How did the collaboration with them come about?
I’ve been working on Stardust Genesis since March 2021. My first album, Light Years to Echoes, was a solo endeavour in terms of managing the release. For my second album, I told myself I wanted more from myself and from the release itself. Firstly, I wanted to reach the proper audience. With 60 000 songs released every day on Spotify, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to know and target your niche! Secondly, I wanted to work with a team that knew what they were doing. Having the backing of a host of people with skills in directing, marketing, etc., is invaluable in and of itself. With that in mind, I set my sights on finding a label to work alongside that could fill those needs. Considering its prominent presence in the Synthwave scene and its hugely talented roster including artists such as LAU, Power Rob, and Oblique, I told myself I would take a chance contacting Aztec Records. After all, I had nothing to lose! I sent them some demos in November 2021 and woke up one day to an email stating they would be delighted to bring me onto the team and work alongside me. I was so excited. I remember everything feeling a little brighter that day. So, we set our sights on this release from day 1, working towards it with singles released all throughout 2022 with Stardust Genesis as the end goal. Almost 1 year later, we’ve finally reached that line.
What are your primary influences when writing music?
First and foremost, I was introduced to music composing/playing through the guitar, so, for better or for worse, I often approach my tracks with a guitarist’s mindset. However, in terms of influences, I’d say my top three are 1) The Midnight 2) Daft Punk 3) Calvin Harris For The Midnight, I really appreciate how powerful their melodies/vocals are considering their simplicity. I try to draw inspiration from that and their iconic 80s sound palette. Daft Punk has to be one of my favourite duos of all time. All of the vocoder work in my album is inspired by the work they pioneered over the last decades. Moreover, their last album ‘Random Access Memories’ has some of the cleanest recording/mixing I’ve heard recently. I truly hope that one day, the quality of my mixes can stand on the same playing field as Daft Punk’s. Finally, I love how Calvin Harris seamlessly blends Pop music with retro influences. One of his recent singles, ‘Potion’, is, in my opinion, an amazing blend of those 2 elements. Moreover, his recordings are often relatively sparse in terms of elements. I love the catchiness of Pop music and Calvin Harris often serves as a reminder that you don’t need 10 elements playing at a time to make a good song.
Do you produce in the box, or using analogue machines? can you shed some light on your daily equipment? for instance, what’s the most common synthetiser used in the record?
My software of choice is Ableton Suite 11. I produce mostly in the box. However, I do make good use of live instruments. For example, I got a good buddy of mine to record the bassline and guitar parts for ‘By the Weekend’, a track that was heavily influenced by Pharrell and Daft Punk. Another example would be the guitar work in the title track of the album, ‘Stardust’ Genesis. Alongside Ableton, I make liberal use of 3rd party VSTs. I’d say that my workhorse software are: – All of Fabfilter’s mixing plugins such as Pro-Q3 and Pro-L2. They are the cleanest I’ve ever heard. – Native Instrument’s Massive X and Kontakt 6. – Valhalla’s Vintage Verb and delay plugins. These 2 plugins permeate through my album and define the depth I truly enjoy in reverb/delay plugins. Surprisingly, the synth that I used the most for the album is Ableton’s integrated Analog synth. It’s a simple subtractive synthesizer, but I learned the ins and outs of it and I have grown quite fond of its simple UI. Moreover, the simplicity of it fits the type of sound palette I want perfectly. Overall, I’d say my equipment is quite humble: My workhorse computer, my audio interface, my Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones and a pair of old PSB speakers I use for reference.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
Considering how far certain collaborators on my album are from me, I’d say my number 1 challenge of the last years was coordinating these collaborations as well as staying on the same page in terms of artistic vision. I live in Montreal, Canada, and I have collaborated with people living in Barcelona, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. The distance added a layer of difficulty that I had not experienced beforehand. Secondly, I’d say that, given how wide the Synthwave sound palette can be, I wanted to compose a piece of work that not only contained 10 random tracks, I wanted, on a meta-level, a certain level of cohesion in the album. Reminding myself to look at the big picture throughout my daily work was a necessity! This was doubly challenging for me, as I wanted to work with many different vocalists, all of which bring a completely unique energy to their tracks. Finally, my greatest challenge was finding a healthy work/hobby balance in my weekly routine. I’m a graduate student in life sciences, and that takes a lot of my time, focus, energy , and creativity. Balancing my music alongside that was often challenging, as it often led to having a lot on my plate. Was it difficult? Yes. Would I do it again given the chance? Absolutely. I have no regrets!
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
I’m glad you asked that! The future is really exciting for me. Not only am I eyeing a third album sometime in the next 1-2 years, I’ve also been hired to compose the music soundtrack for the upcoming indie game ‘Daemon Sigil’! That, in and of itself, is a whole other type of beast to tackle and I am looking quite forward to its release in 2023. If that pans out the way I’d like, it’ll open a completely different door of possibilities that I never thought I would have the chance to.
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