Berlin Mixtapes 069 - REZarin
- Markus Saarländer
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Next up we welcome an incredibly talented young artists that is taking the melodic techno scene by storm.
REZarin expressed his interest in electronic music at an early age, where he spent a lot of hours listening to various broadcasts and DJ performances and equally took his time to study and understand the process of DJing and music production. Add that to his love for music in general and his prized piano skills, and you get a talented young man, determined to take on the world.
REZarin, real name Rudolfs Elvis Zarins has from an early age has been captivated by playing the piano and with great success, taking first places in international competitions. Later on he moved more into dance music scene and at only 18 years old made his first residency in one of the biggest Baltic clubs ”El Divino”.
By now, his releases have been played by Hardwell, Robin Schulz, Don Diablo, Mike Williams and others at the biggest festivals worldwide. Now Rudolfs is working on new releases and collaborations as well as remixes, which are hitting some well-known labels in the process.
We caught up with Rudolfs to find out more.
Hi Rudolfs, how are you and what have you been up to this week? Hi, thanks, I'm good. Most of the time I've been in my studio this week, working on my music projects. It's a bit colder outside these days, so it's the perfect time to finish up some stuff.
You have a great catalogue of releases so far. Are there any standout tracks that hold special memories for you?
There are few tracks that I'm more proud of than others, like, for example, ''Falling Down,'' which is still sitting in my head with the vocals and the epic lead melody. When I play it back again, it just doesn't get boring for me.
I remember well that I came up with the melody while going for my daily walk to the sea last year, and it was just something that came to mind out of nowhere. I rushed back to the studio with excitement to write it down.
A lot of your songs have melodic emotion. We particularly like your recent release 'Wicked Game' featuring Shelley Harland, which is a rework of the 80s classic by Chris Isaac. We're curious, are you planning any other 80s reworks?
Yeah, it was something I wanted to do for a long time, as I'm a huge fan of "Wicked Game," and that song never gets old to me. There are some more songs that I'm considering doing reworks for soon as I love the 80s vibe, and it matches well with my musical style, especially
the big, fat snares that I'm using more and more lately in my tracks.
How did you first get into electronic music?
I was quite young, at age 13 or 14. I listened to a live transmission from a nightclub on our local radio station, which was playing every Friday and Saturday night, and that music sparked a lot of interest in me. It was something between house, progressive and trance.
I started to ask around amongst my friends and other people I knew about how they do it, what DJs actually do, and who makes the music they play. The last question is most likely not what people usually ask, so when I started digging into that, I found some music-making software.
That was quite a long process, since the internet was not too prominent in our lives at that time, and it really took months to actually find something. Also, I did not have any people around me that were already DJing or making music, so it was something that I researched
myself. That's how I got into electronic music.
Where was your first gig and how did it go?
My first gig was actually in my then hometown, Riga, in a small bar. It was really nice to have that experience, playing on Pioneer CDJ 100s, writing CDs and testing out my skills that I was theoretically practicing at home on Virtual DJ software as I had no gear at that time.
What DJ's or producers are you enjoying right now?
There’s so much new music, so many releases, all the time. It’s hard to keep up. I can spend hours digging through the algorithms on Beatport, Juno, or Traxsource. But I don’t really remember names. I just try to avoid the overly mainstream stuff.
You currently live in the Latvian capital Riga. What's the electronic music scene like there right now?
I lived in Riga all my life but for the last few years I've been living in a city called Saulkrasti, which is more like a countryside city near the sea. In Riga we have a few techno and house clubs. In terms of people, some are closed, some are open. I guess people like new experiences, but overall I think people prefer venue performances.
You have a new release on German label Superstition records. Tell us more about that.
Yeah, this is a remix I did for one of my all-time favorite electronic music tracks, Cafe Del Mar." I just thought, why not try it out and make a remix for it, as that melody often just comes into my mind, it went quite fast, and I was so happy with the result that I sent it to Energy 52. And to my surprise, he also liked it!
What else can you tell us about your future releases, anything exciting in the pipeline?
I just really like to put out fresh music that I create. I often don't wait too long, as I have the ability to release on my own label. So I don't plan too much as most of my releases are quite recently produced when they come out.
But indeed there are few tracks that are coming out with a few other labels this year, as well as some remix releases for my track "Falling Down''. The best thing is to just follow me on Spotify, SoundCloud or YouTube, as I can just drop a new track any time.
What DJ's or producers are you enjoying right now?
I love what Joris Voorn does and his DJ mixes/ I also love Pryda, which connects well for with me musically. I would also really want to highlight Deneubourg, I love his tracks, groove and sound design.
What are some of your go-to labels?
Spectrum, Anjunadeep, Interstellar & Afterlife
You have compiled our latest Berlin Mixtapes Series Episode 069 - Tell us more about your mix.
I compiled tracks that I have been loving lately as well as including five of my own productions in the mix. There are also some more melodic and emotional tracks combined with a few groovy bangers. I hope you will enjoy it!
Thanks for spending some time with us, is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Thanks for the invite! Please make sure you follow my socials or music platforms to not miss out on my latest music or mixes!
Quick-fire round:
Genre: House/Melodic Techno
Favourite colour: Blue
What do you put on your chips: Garlic sauce
Apple or Android: Apple
Can you juggle: No
Weirdest/Coolest Item of clothing: Too casual to be cool I guess
If you could have a superpower, what would you choose? Fly
Do you collect anything: Stones from the beach
Favourite place to hang out: Definitely walking to the beach
Favourite club: Not into clubs that much
Favourite beer: I don't usually drink alcohol, but when I do, I prefer cocktails
Favourite place to eat: Somewhere to try out new tastes and combinations
Weirdest thing you have eaten: I prefer not to eat weird food if it's really weird
How do you like your eggs: Depends on the day, I like variety
Coffee or tea: Coffee
Favourite track right now: Rebūke - Along Came Polly (Konstantin Sibold, ZAC, CARMEE Remix)
Favourite word: Think
3 words to describe your mix: Melodic, Emotional, Groovy
Tracklist
1. Yotto & Eli & Fur - Somebody To Love
2. Dubfire - I Feel Speed (SNYL Remix)
3. Alexey Union - Acid Trip
4. PARAFRAME - Breathe
5. Sam Rose - Echoes of Resolve
6. Oliver Koletzki ft. Fran - Hypnotized (Oliver Koletzki 20yrs SVT Remix)
7. REZarin - Origin
8. Naji Arun feat. Erik Peers - Awake
9. REZarin - Oblivion
10. Nosi - So Good (GENESI Extended Remix)
11. Transformation - My Mind (Original Mix)
12. Primal Wakin - Ignis (Noaa Remix)
13. REZarin - Morphrotor (Extended Mix)
14. Khainz - Excuse Me (Extended Mix)
15. Miss Monique - Magnet (Extended Mix)
16. REZarin ft. Shelley Harland - Wicked Game
17. Energy 52 - Café Del Mar (REZarin Remix)
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