A high-voltage, full-body workout from Copenhagen’s HEDO HYDR8. Capturing the boisterous energy we’ve come to expect from HEDO HYDR8’s output, the mix is filled with weighty rhythms from the get-go with tracks from Beatrice M., Le Motel, Theorist, De Grandi, Neida, Brodinski & qoso and more. Founder of the Affected record label, home to his own productions, HEDO HYDR8 has also enlisted the likes of Merca Bae, Miss Jay, Amor Satyr, Suegua, SN System, and more for remix duties.
Hey! How are you doing? What have you been up to lately?
Hey I’m good, thanks. I’ve been very inspired lately. Lots of new ideas, energy and music flowing.
Let’s start from the very beginning, what was your first introduction to music in general and then more specifically electronic music?
As for music in general, I honestly can’t remember. It kind of feels like it has just always been there. Electronic music on the other hand, I Discovered on my own via soundcloud and youtube. For a long time it was something I listened to myself. I didn’t really have access to the throbbing heart of the big city, so I had a very headphoney relationship with electronic music. Because of this I think I synthesized a lot of genres and eras into my own understanding while imagining a lot of stuff about music and about the universe around it. I think this imaginative haze still drives my work a bit. I wanna use my music to dream up some new wild and chaotic spaces.
Who was the first artist or band that you were a fan of?
I was really into Flying Lotus and Shlohmo for a while, the first thing that caught my ear was definitely the more organic sounding stuff. It was only later that the colder, more hardhitting music started resonating. At some point the Mumdance and Novelist collabs started hitting me and the world opened up.
Where do you look for sources of inspiration outside of music?
Sometimes it’s sounds that I hear in the world, sometimes certain images or spaces can trigger a vibe. It can be so many things actually, I think the inspiring moments that end up mattering, kind of happen spontaneously. I think that it’s about setting the stage for inspiration that does it for me. Usually that starts with an openess in body and spirit.
What has been your most recent musical discovery that you’re obsessed with?
Listening to dj mixes while running.
Reamping very digital stuff via analog gear.
Classic sounding bass music.
The fact that a lot of music that used to feel radical now feels like it’s climaxed.
An idea that my rave tracks needs to be able to connect the body and the spirit more.
What is your production process usually like? Do you head into the studio/start making music with an idea in mind first or is a lot of it improvisation? More based on emotions / environment of that day?
I usually have a starting point from earlier like an improvisation or a sample or maybe even a draft. Then I’ll start from there.
My productions usually shapeshift quite a bit before finding their final form. There’s a lot of investigation going into each track, sometimes long sidetracks where a new track might get born. Muskila and SUGAR always tease me about my project titles because they go something like: Roland ja,33live11_7 kor versionSlet2 edit7Crazy drumsRydop10Rydop
Which is code for all the times the track might have changed or morphed into something new.
How has being based in Copenhagen informed your work?
At first, the rave scene here inspired me so much, back when the industrial venue KPH Volume was still used for raves. Back then Fast Forward and other really cool parties with an exciting aesthetic and political mission were taking place.
At some point this techno punk energy was lost a bit and since then, I think my work has not really had a very big relation to what’s happening in cph.
I do have a lot of people here that I love working with and / or inspire me a lot, but my sound isn’t informed by anything happening in the city.
You’ve also contributed a mix for the 909 series, what’s the concept behind this one?
First of all it’s the first time in a long while that I’ve put this much love into a mix, the process with this has been a really nice experience. I wanted to make a mix that feels punk, percussive and bassy. I’ve tried to switch up the way I structure the mix and devoted a lot of care to the dynamics in order to make the tracks talk to each other a bit more. This mix is deeper than what I usually do, that just has something to do with what I’m vibing with these days.
How does your approach to DJ sets differ from studio mixes? Is there a narrative in mind that you’re always trying to tell through your sets?
I think that when DJing with a crowd it’s very much about sharing an energy together. That sort of back and forth where we figure out where we can go and how far we can push it.
For me its often about earning enough trust from the audience for them to allow me to take them where I want, musically.
When I record mixes it’s usually more cerebral in a way. Because there’s no guideline from the energy of a dancefloor, I usually spend a lot of time thinking about the journey, composition and track selection. I record all mix mixes live, but the whole setup becomes more of a production in a way.
I think I have a tendency to start out slow and then end in mayhem, when I’m recording mixes.
What are you most excited about right now?
That’s a tough one tbh. I honestly feel something like a sense of a collective limbo right now. I guess figuring out where, how and if we land from what feels like a bit of a global freefall.
I am pretty excited about all the love and passion people still pour into making music, putting on parties and using it to explore who we are together.
In general I’m excited about the basics again I think.
What’s on your vision board at the moment?
Trying to pitch in with the above. I have concrete plans but I would rather show than tell.
Finally I wanna say thanks for this chat and for giving me a space to do my thing <3.