23 Feb Rudosa: Evolution Through Moments in Time

Rudosa: Evolution Through Moments in Time

By Robb Ess & Danielle Ilag

*This interview is older and was in our Issue 66 magazine.

His original fans may know him as The Dutch Rudder, but, as all things evolve over time, so too has Rudosa. Hailing from Manchester, in the United Kingdom, he’s transcended the underground scene, broken down proverbial sound and genre barriers and has been heralded by world-renown artists such as Richie Hawtin, Adam Beyer, Charlotte de Witte, and many more.

A jack of all trades, Rudosa wears many hats at any given time, including: producer, teacher, imprint owner, mentor, light-hearted jokester and fiance. Moments in Time, his own label he started in 2020, releases a new Chlär track this month, including with a special remix from Possession resident Hadone, in addition to his own personal release with label, The Meaning of Rave. 

Driven and ambitious, also key qualities he looks for in artists he works with, Rudosa continuously searches for euphoria in music and the sensational “goosebump” feelings that beats give you. Yet, through it all, as his star status grows in clubs and international festivals around the globe, he is humbled by his beginnings. 

Continuously a leading force both inside and outside the studio, Rudosa makes time for his DJ school, Make Me A DJ. The one-of-a-kind program is inherently designed to help the next generation of artists achieve their dreams just as he has done and continues to do. Sincere in his convictions and seeing through any project he begins, he is generous with his schedule and boundlessly offers advice and feedback to those looking to break into the industry. 

I recently had a chance to discuss his defining career moments, boundary-pushing productions, time management advice, and legacy. This is Rudosa — a selfless man and incredibly talented artist.

How did you come up with your artist moniker Rudosa and what does it mean to you?

When I first started out producing music I was creating a type of house music called Dutch House. It was an offshoot of early electro house. During a lad’s night, we were watching Zack and Miri Make a Porno so I jokingly decided to use The Dutch Rudder as my artist name and it stuck. 

After a while, I grew tired of that name, just because of its stupid meaning, and decided I needed a change. I didn’t want to lose the direction I was going in or the following I had so I put The Dutch Rudder into a Brazilian football shirt name generator. 

Long story short, some other people were doing this at an after-party and coming out with some pretty sick names and mine came back as Rudosa Da Costa and decided to lose the Da Costa and Rudosa was made. It worked. It fit the new sound I was doing which was heavy tech house into the early stages of techno. That’s when things started to progress on a professional level with Loco Dice and Richie Hawtin picking up music.

How has the music scene in Manchester, England contributed to your style?

Manchester has contributed massively from going to Cream at 15 years old to watching Tiesto, to becoming a regular raver at Sankeys and also heading down to the warehouse project regularly. The main contribution would have to be basing my early years around Sankeys. After going most weekends, I rented a studio above Sankeys in the mill. This was where I started to produce music. I quickly became a regular face and was asked to become a resident of the club. 

With your new sound, which has taken years to achieve, how do you compare your previous sound to this new one? 

My early sound was a lot slower and had more routes towards house taking influence from all styles of house and techno. Then, I began to produce techno aiming towards Suara, JAM, Intec, etc. Lately, however, the tempo has increased and I have been drawing influence from harder and hypnotic techno deeply rooted in the 90s and early 2000s. This is all centered around my label Moments In Time and the sound I’m trying to create. 

How do you find different ways to push boundaries when producing music that helps you create something new and fresh?

With techno, it’s all about pushing boundaries from making your own kick drums that sound totally unique to your style to biting new plug-ins and equipment and using them in different ways to what they are made for. For example, using a vocoder on hi-hats. Embracing new and old technology to push the envelope and create something fresh. 

What habits have you formed that have either directly or indirectly helped you become a better producer?

I try to always finish every project but also allowing time and days for music-making admin. For example, creating sample packs, focusing on finding and making new sounds, learning to use new plug-ins and equipment. This in turn speeds up the creative process. 

Your underground techno label Moments In Time is a platform to build something creatively from scratch. How does the theme of a moment in time correlate to what you look for in a track or artist who you end up releasing on your label?

With MIT, the ethos is music to make you lose track of time and space and take you back to a moment in time. When I look for new music, it has to give me that feeling of euphoria while also having the hard-hitting techno undertones. It has to have that goosebump feeling and make your hairs stand on end. 

For artists, I look for someone who is creating a unique sound and has lots of drive and ambition with regular releases on labels I support. I like to have a good connection with my artists too on a personal level. It’s great to create a bond with like-minded people. 

How has your label Moments In Time grown so far and what do you foresee for it over the next 12 months?

Since beginning MIT and our first release Obsolescence, it was able to grow quite quickly as it was a huge hit. It was supported by Amelie Lens, Richie Hawtin, Pan-Pot and was one of the biggest hits at Awakenings Festival 2019. 

Since then, the label has grown with each release bringing new artists and fresh faces as well as established producers releasing regularly every eight weeks. Over the next 12 months, we should see a return to events where MIT will begin showcases of the artists featured on our label. 

You once said in a past interview that you want to release music on your label every three months. Is this still a goal of yours in 2021? Why or why not?

At the start of 2021, we started to try and roll out releases every eight weeks but it’s proving harder and harder to get vinyl releases to sync up. Currently, we have a 16 week lead time on vinyl so it’s making us work super far in advance for all releases. We have now planned two more releases in 2021. For 2022, I’m hopeful lead times on vinyl will speed up and we can stick to our eight-week plan between releases. 

What has been your biggest struggle to get to where you are today? How did you overcome this?

The biggest struggle I’ve had to get to where I am today I would say is balancing everything I do and learning how to manage my time. It can be easy to spend time doing the wrong things during the week and get snowed under feeling like I’m not making progress between running a DJ school and also DJ/producing myself, while also managing my label and radio show. 

I’ve recently hired a personal assistant/label manager which has helped me loads. I’ve also stepped back from working in the school to focus more on running it and working on finding new artists for the label while also pushing my Rudosa sound forward.  

What are your top three proudest achievements over the length of your career?

#1. Starting Moments In Time and watching it grow into something really strong.
#2. Having Richie Hawtin visit Make Me A DJ, look around, and listen to music.

#3. I’m most proud of being able to make it through one of the toughest periods ever for our industry and bringing all 3 of my businesses through it.

What’s something interesting you can share about your DJ school, Make Me A DJ? Do you have dreams to make it a chain of sorts that has multiple locations around the world?

That’s exactly what the end goal is for the school. Ideally, I’d like to have three around the UK and prove the model outside Manchester then look for investors and partners to roll it out around the world. As I grow as a DJ, I feel this also gives the school a better platform so it should continue to grow as I do.

Looking at a day in the life of Rudosa, what does your day consist of from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed? Do you have a regular routine where you schedule time for music production? 

This honestly can change from day to day, week to week. The first thing I do is grab my phone and check my email inbox to see if anything has to jump the list of jobs I have to do for the day. 

Next, I will take my dog out and have breakfast. If I have a podcast to work on or the radio show, I’ll do that from home rather than in the studio but if not, normally I’ll head into work to either deal with a client’s project or have a Rudosa day where I’ll work on my own music. 

A couple of times a week I try to fit in some golf games and tennis matches in the evening. I’ve started lately trying to stop working by 8:00 pm latest so can relax with my fiancé and reset for the next day.

Who are some artists who supported you and your music when you were just getting started as a new producer?

I have been quite lucky throughout my career and always received great support from people like Richie Hawtin from quite early on in my career, even playing records I was making under The Dutch Rudder and now right through to the Rudosa stuff. 

I also received a lot of support from Adam Beyer at the early stages of Rudosa then in later years the support from Amelie Lens, Charlotte De Witte, and others have been huge. Without other DJs supporting my music at major festivals, it’s very hard to break through and also break new records via viral videos, etc so I’m super grateful for all the support I’ve been given.

How can you as an artist make an impact on others’ careers and help budding producers and DJs around the world achieve the same dream?

This is one of the main focuses of Make Me A DJ which is to help the next generation of artists achieve their dreams. Sometimes it’s advice or lessons. Other times, it’s checking a promo or demo email and giving feedback. I always try to reply to everyone because without the support I’ve had over the years I wouldn’t be where I am now.

What is the event you are most excited to come back into existence post-COVID-19 pandemic?

WOW, I’m so excited! Hopefully, I’ll be back playing in front of a non-social distanced crowd! I’m excited about it all! You know what I mean when I say the feeling of waiting outside a club to go in, the smells good or bad, the sound, crowd reactions to drops, and playing long sets, late into the night. I’m even excited about being late for connections and having to run like crazy around airports.

What is the best advice you’ve received throughout your life?

I get asked this question a lot and it’s a simple one. Whenever you start a project see it through. It might not be the best to start with, but some elements will be and those hours of grafting at making music or whatever it is you do will show up down the line on future projects and help you achieve your goals.

What kind of legacy would you like to leave as an artist?

I’d like to be someone who pushed things forward creating a unique sound that’s loved for years to come and enjoyed on the dance floor around the world. I’d also like to be known as someone who helped the next generation achieve their dreams.

How do you personally define success in what you do?

I like to set small targets rather than huge ones. This helps me feel like I’m constantly getting somewhere and moving forward. I feel that when you’re so driven towards something, it’s hard to sit back and enjoy success. I guess that will come later in my career when I can take moments to stop and look out over a huge festival crowd and think I’ve done it.

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