Where Piano, Family, and Electronics Meet: A Candid Talk with RuKha

AWL : How did you start in music, and where do you currently stand in your music career? Could you tell us about yourself  

RuKha: This answer will make me feelll a bit old, but has i always say, age is just a number. 

Music was always in my life, since very young, i learned piano on my young age, then moved to guitar, and had a cover band for 3 years on my early teens (maybe from 13 to 16), it was quite fun, and did some gigs on my home town surroundings. 

But around 1993 i was introduced to electronic music with the amazing works of Jam & Spoon, Kraftwerk, and so many others, that it became my passion. Back in those days, there were no Dj Schools, Sync buttons, web shops or even cd players, and i learned to mix by myself (it took some months to properlly beatmatch vinyls). 

Around 99 started a home studio with a friend, and started producing and on that time i started with the DAW that still today is the one i use (Cubase), we had some hardware and released some records (the biggest was a colab with 3 friends that made into Billboard charts, the track is called 4 Toasters - Real World). 

Travelled and djed in some countries, made it to Winter Music Conference. 

In 2005 my first son was born, and i gave it a big thought on it, and made the commitement to family, so dj life was putted on hold, and production was less important, but everyday i would listen to music, or mixed some tracks in my studio, so having that on hold was just for the outside, not on my life. 

This hold on musisc was untill 7 years ago, when kids and life are more easy, and i started to have more time to do what i really love, Music. So went back to piano schooll, and started learning more theory than, playing kid songs or classic music, and i really want to emphatyse that these lessons helped me a lot with scales, modes, intervals and all of that music theory that is really important. But has you can imagine, everything changed since i started to produce music, so i took time to learn everything again, and by this begining of this year i felt that it was time to try to release music, and here we are 1 year after with 17 releases over the year in several amazing labels that i love to work with. Yes i will be 50 next year.

AWL :  What fundamental techniques do you use in your tracks to create a sense of depth in music? (How do you balance harmony, rhythm, and dynamics?)

RuKha: Balance for me is what comands life, and balance in music its exactly the same thing. I dont have a special technique to get to the balance, but it all starts with the sound, or the music, or a vocal or even a progression that inspired me to start a song. And that will determine the balance of the track, if it will be more energetic (where i will focus on a strong rythm) or if i want to go for something more melodic (where my focus will be the harmonies and dynamics). 

I think that the technique is really to focus on your main element and than create what you can around that idea. I do have tracks that are so personal, that the feelings i had on that day, really translate to the music i did. 

So my work is on what inspires me to do on that blank screen we all start with.

AWL :  I notice you frequently use the piano in your pieces. How do you establish the relationship between piano, rhythm, and melody in your compositions?

RuKha: Yes like mentioned piano is my main instrument of choice, although i do not use it in all my tracks, it is where i can get more inspired. 

Again, the relation between all elements on the track (and this is just my opinion) starts with the strongest element, if it is the piano, everything else will be done around it, the drums can be softer or more organic, the synths must make sense with the timbre of the piano i used on the track and if there is a vocal, i will try to balance both vocal/piano in a way that both elements are completing each other, and not fitting between them. 

I usually start chosing a key, and one of my favourites is Dmin, than i start working on a progression, listen to a lot of pianists like Ludovico Einaudi, Olafur, Gabriel Olafs, just to name a few, this can help you out to see other progressions that you would never think off. So yes, i establish the piano has the center of the track and everything is built around it.

AWL : What does your studio workflow look like? From the initial idea to the final mix, at which stages do piano and vocal-focused design take precedence?

RuKha: Funny question, i think that it starts with the mood on the day i seat down on my studio, with a hot tea coup, and start listening to music (what ever genre in that day), i open a blank cubase project (i do have a template made, where i already have basically everything rooted like i want), and start building things, if i have already a progression i will play it and start building the rest from there, if i start on drums than the melodic themes will be done after i feel that i  have a strong drum loop, 

If i start like that, then basslines and athmospheres will be the next elements, so that i can feel the inspiration for the other instruments. So it is not usually the same, piano can be fisrt, or it can be a second element to come in on the 16 bar loop that we all start. 

Vocals i can say that is usually one of the final elements on my tracks, and the vocal really needs to resonate with me, or i will not use it. 

During all the arrangement process i am already doing the mixdown has best i can, off course by the end, proper mixdown will be adressed, and believe me when i say, i also think that the mixdown is a creative process and very personal, you are building everything together, so that everything has their own space on the frequency spectrum. 

When i am happy with the arrangement, i normally bounce the track and send it to some feedback sessions, and this is so important to have fresh ears listening to your tracks, my wife is usually the first to give me feedback, and if she dances, than it means that we are going some where, but guys like Dowden, Dulus, Eddy Tango, Faodail, and some other amazing artists will give me a proper feedback and it has alaways helped me to make the track better.

AWL : How do you work with a riff or motif that carries emotion successfully? How do you bring these motifs to the center of your tracks?

RuKha: I have to say that for this joining a comunity like Basic Wavez Hub helped me a lot on these elements, i have learned so much there on how to make those extra 10% on the track, and it's that, normally the hooks, the riffs, we have always the teaches saying you need to go back, and the hook, get that sound better, build the momentum of the track. 

I think that, and sorry to be saying always the same thing, but i really think that we need to chose the element that will be the center of all, and that will be the element that will bring all the emotions on the track.

 And if you choose it well and build around it it can be easier and clearer the emotion on the track.

Than i will use the tecniques that we all have (plugins, or arrangement ideas) to make that motif shine, and it can be first the motiv, or it can be a piano progression, or a melody that you sing on your lips during that day. 

If you have that identified and if you believe in it, than just make it shine, the success of it will be reached by the love you put on it.

AWL : What go-to gear would you recommend to strengthen piano- and vocal-centered sounds?

RuKha:Well first of all, i try to get the tone of the piano i feel in that moment. I am a piano addicted and own a couple of plugins that are my go to. 

My first of them is PIANOTEQ, i juts love the emulation of the Steinway & Sons pianos they have, if not happy, i will go and try the others that i have, and between NOIR and CLAIRE i am quite sure i will find the tone i am looking for. 

Piano due to is dynamics are one of the hardest instruments to mix, and having vocal with it sometimes is a nightmare to get them right. 

On Piano i love to use Izotopes Neutron (specially on the piano group), and usually start with a presest and dial what i need from there (there is no shame on using presets to start), for vocals i use Izotope Nectar or Cubase Vocal Chain plugins, on the vocal is normaly where you will take more time on, to get them balanced so that when you start adding compressors to it they will not struggle to keep the vocal under control, and i have to say that Cubase have amazing tools to the first stage of Vocal processing, specially if you have a very dynamic vocal.

And of course Trackspacer always :), Reverbs to make the vocal in fornt or a bit more back in the mix, it depends on what i am making in that day, i dont have a everytime chain, but this is normally what i use.

AWL : What do collaborations mean to you? Could you describe your process when working with a guest vocalist or instrumentalist, and how you maintain a piano/vocal balance during this process?

RuKha: Well my first collab with a vocalis started 2 months ago, i was looking for a vocalis to a track i am doing with an amazing Brasilian Girl Dj/Producer, and it was quite easy to do. 

I have sent the instrumental to the vocalist, along with some track ideas and she was so good, that i think she did that in 2 rounds of recordings, got the dry stems so that i can do the processing i think it will suite the track, and also she did a take on the track showing her idea for the vocals, this is a work in progress, and my first time on collabing with a singer. 

I never colabbed with instrument players, specially piano, i usually do it by myself, but the feedbacks i receive will also help me to improve the melody, or the progression.

In my view, collabs are an amazing way to start building your connections, i really like them, although if you access all that you are requested, than the time for your own music will be less and less.

By the end of the day, everything needs to have their own space, and balance. And if you trust the people you colab with, then in the end process will be easier and easier.

You need to be able to resonate with the person you colab with.

My latest collab on a track is with a friend from the creative hub, Kishi for USA, and it was quite straight forward, he sent me a sketch of a track he was doing, and i addeed my ideas to it, we than started sending arrangement ideas back and forth untill we were happy with the final result.

AWL : In daily life, which ordinary moments trigger melodies or rhythms for you?

RuKha:Lol, driving in my car, and listening to all kind of music, but usually 80% of the time will be contemporany piano. And of course if you are in the middle of a track, improvisation is also a good way to  get something new and fresh, either in terms of melodic rythm, or in terms of feeling the melodies.

AWL : In the public perception, is the notion of “success” inclusive enough? What steps should be taken to increase the visibility of deep, high-quality work in the music world?

RuKha: I come from the days, where success was measured by the music itself, we did not have mp3, or spotify, or social media. We would do a track, record it in ADAT, send it by post to the labels you would have signed with, and wait for the vynil to reach the stores, and it was so fun to go to the record store and listen to the new music that arrived that week, and of course the amount of new music being released back than was really smalll compared to todays world, where you have thousands of tracks being released in a week. 

What i think is that today is easier to release music than it was back than, and you could always focus on making music, in the world today, if you dont have a team working with you, you will need to do it all by yourself, the music, the promotion, the social media stuff, and i have to say it is exausting some times. 

I dont know where all these new technologies like AI, will lead the music, but i think in the end of the day, success is something that will always give you hard work to reach, and it can also be personal, for example for me success is reaching the goals i have in my mind and on my goal list. 

Success depends on what you are looking for, either if it is to tour the world, or even just to have the music you put your heart in to be listened by the world, and here is one of the big changes of todays world, you can even publish your music alone. Not sure if people agree or not with me, but i really think success is what you really aim your goals to it, and you might reach it or not. Success will always give you a lot of sweat, tears and persistance.

AWL : What is your view on the rapid, project-based work often seen in the industry (short-focus singles, trends) and its impact on long-term careers? What values do you consider important for a sustainable path?

RuKha: With thousand of tracks released for example on Spotify every week it is hard to get noticed if you are not having a huge promotion budget, and here is where i think it is the negative side of all this. 

There are  so many genre and sub genre in music that when i do a track, i dont even know in what category it will be catalogued. 

Trends i think it will always be part of life, you see this is everyday situation coming from fashion to food to everything, so trends are really important, this is what makes everyone want to do better, but if you get stuck on a "trend" that can be bad for a long term carrer, i think we has producers we are always wanting to improve, to reach what we say our signature sound, and it is so hard to get there, specially if you are like me a bedroom producer. 

What i feel is that you need to be honest with your music, you need to feel it, resonate with it, and believe in it, only like that you can create a fan base and have people resonating with your music, and your emotions. 

For me the music i produce are alll about that emotions of that day. 

So my honest advise would be always be true with your sound, not matter if it is a short focus single, or an artist album.

AWL : Do you have any new projects or plans to release an album or a single in the near future? Could you give listeners a hint from here?

RuKha: Actually i am having a new release early next year in January, The release date is 16.01, i am releasing my 3rd track with a lable that i really enjoy working with Row Records, i also have a couple of more tracks i the Work In Progress stage, and of course one of them will be out next year in one of my goal list labels, but for now it is still a bit kept secret, and crossing fingers that everything will go the right way. 

Regarding an artist album i dont think i am on that stage, it is not a priority to do an album. But honestly what i think is that even the tracks i already did are new to anyone that could start following me has an artist, so i invite you all to check my Spotify page and see if my music resonates with you.

AWL: What values should the next generation of musicians, who want to shape their careers by living their values, prioritize?

RuKha : Honesty in your sound above everything, dont make music because you want to be famous, 9 out of 10 you will never successed with that strategy. 

Learn, connect with other artists, love what you do, and if you put your heart into it, than you can be happy with any kind of success your path will lead you to.

Always aim higher and higher, but always keep your feet on the ground.

Like to told before, success comes from hard work, from believing in what you do and from what you look for. 

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