Name: Red On aka Philipp Roth
Occupation: Producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, label owner at Verydeeprecords
Nationality: German
Current release: The new Red On single “Gardens” is out via Präsens Editionen. It is the second track off the upcoming full-length Phantom Easy, mastered by Isabel at Olo Mastering and cut by Stefan Betke aka Pole, scheduled for release March 22nd 2024.
Recommendations: One of the most impressive reflections on creative work I know is the Glossary of Undisciplined Design by Anja Kaiser and Rebecca Stephany (Spector Books, 2021) – a polyvocal, revolutionary and in the best way chaotic answer on the dogmatic rules and discriminatory structures in the Graphic Design business. This is truly inspiring, would love to find something like this about music/sound.
And a record: Unsung by Samuel Savenberg (Präsens Editionen, 2023) was released after I had already finished “Phantom Easy”, but it still feels like it was a huge inspiration.

[Read our Stefan Betke interview about mastering]

For interviews with other artists on Präsens Editionen:
[Read our Samuel Reinhard interview about his creative process]
[Read our Samuel Reinhard interview about sound]
[Read our Belia Winnewisser interview]

For interviews with other artists on verydeeprecords:
[Read our first RED ON interview]
[Read our Ulla Suspekt interview]
[Read our Zement interview]

If you enjoyed these insights by Red On and would like to find out more about his work, visit him on Instagram and Facebook.
 


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I guess the one thing that really inspires me, is simply playing around with sound. The whole story around my albums and the messages of the songs (if there are any) do not start to grow until the music has reached a certain level of completion. I like to play around with these layers of meaning and interpretation, in the end creating a complete multilayered story connecting lyrics, sound, video, design and song titles.

When the music is then released, nobody really knows what came first – in the case of the new album Phantom Easy the reflection on nature and wilderness or the sounds that feel organic and artificial at the same time ...

What I like most about this interdisciplinary approach is, that the visual layer can add narratives, I can’t create with music alone. And that’s definitely an important impulse to create new music.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I am totally on the chance side. I love to create lucky accidents and find melodies in overlapping patterns. A lot of my songwriting is just me listening to machines doing their things, and then selecting the most interesting bits and pieces.

Working on the new album I explored the potential of heavy distortion as a kind of randomized sound design tool. That’s why the drums sound the way they do … but of course these accidents were planned, and I kept digging deeper.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

On my desk at home, I have a selection of gear, always plugged in and ready to record. Often just jamming around is a good entry into creating new music for me.

But with the new songs, things were a bit different: I felt like reducing my gear to the max and going deep with a few particular sounds. As I mentioned, I was very much interested in distortion, but also experimental drum synthesis as well as giving my own voice more importance. So, I started some kind of research, mostly with a hand of modular effects and my DFAM drum synth.

[Read our feature on the Moog DFAM]

Then I took this small setup to a cabin in Franconian Switzerland and spent some time alone. This was very defining for how this new album sounds and, in many ways, the complete opposite to my normal process … I really enjoyed this!

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Lighting can’t be the thing. In our rehearsal room we have some really ugly neon lights. My room mates brought some lamps and stuff to have a cozy atmosphere when working there and I guess I am the only one who doesn’t even notice the light situation …

But once I am working on a new record, I notice that I'll listen to music differently. Suddenly the songs have something to do with my own work and I start to select between inspiration and music that’s irrelevant for Red On.

So, I build stacks of records and gather playlists, while working on music. When I am stuck, I return to these collections and try to find out how other artists do their magic.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I love to give away control and let the process lead me wherever it does.

But then I also delete many of these collected sessions, cause I don’t like the way things turned out on the other day …

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

Not really. It’s just time really flying by.

I am far away from producing something like techno, but also for my music its true, what they say: If a certain loop doesn’t get boring or annoying after hours of listening to it, it must be a good track. Or at least might be the foundation for one. And sometimes, I have to be careful that I don't get stuck in such a loop and come out many hours later with a stale feeling …

This doesn’t feel very spiritual either, but at least enraptured or something like that.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

I am really quick in finishing things and not very patient. Waiting for a finished album to be mastered and released is always kind of hard for me.

I write most of my tracks in a very short period and my workflow is often kind of a one way … Meaning, I patch analog gear, then record something, and once recorded I can’t remember my settings and patches. I get better in this, but often I don’t really find a way back between the layers of a particular song, when opening a project after some time.

So once a recording is roughly finished and has been lying around for some time, I challenge it and decide if I finish some last details, like the mix, or put it in the trash. But then something interesting happens: From time to time I open this trash and find a new connection to some of this unreleased, sketchy material, and then it might become a song one day …

I wrote and recorded most of the new album in summer 2022, but many of the tracks are based on much older bits and pieces, I totally forgot they even existed, before that summer. Maybe, that's also why I like doing remixes from time to time: Working with a finished track, wich a don’t really understand in depth is somehow refreshing. Just taking the recording as it is, an then creating something totally different is really fun!



When you're in the studio to record a piece, how important is the actual performance and the moment of performing the song still in an age where so much can be “done and fixed in post?“

Haha like that question: The performance doesn’t really matter for me. I do a lot of cutting and copy/paste. I don’t even know how to perform most of the parts. That’s why it’s always a real challenge to work on a live version of my music.

But nevertheless, I like the imperfection or so called human touch, when recording instruments, so I leave a lot of these errors in. My cutting is more about creating something new, than about cleaning up or making my play more accurate.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?

Writing music, recording, producing, and mixing is mostly one thing, when I work on Red On songs. They happen simultaneously and influence each other a lot. And then mastering is a total mystery for me, so I am super happy that Isabel of Olo Mastering does such a great job and takes care of most of my tracks.

But I know it quite differently too: In my other band Miira, we write songs in the rehearsal room. When they are finished, we record them. For the latest album Wellness we went to a huge concert hall to have the space and reverb in the recording, which had a huge impact on the arrangement – and I guess we played the music much slower than in the rehearsal room, where we wrote it …



And then, with a band recording like this, the mixing has more impact on the sound, but almost no impact on the arrangement or composition. I am happy, I have these two projects with their totally different workflows!

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I will fill this with playing live! Really looking forward to being on tour in April and May with visual artist Subrihanna and some shows even with full band setup. Plus, there will be some more shows in Fall.

And then I will see … I guess by then, I will know what to do next.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

I guess as an artist, you must be ok with people not understanding your work. Actually, I think there is often a blur between how I think my music sounds and how it sounds for others. That’s fine.

But when it comes to working with labels and other musicians, it’s important for me, to have a common understanding of the shared work. That we are on the same page when we are on stage and play the songs. Luckily, I have this feeling with the artists I share the stage with.

And in this matter, I am also very happy that my new album will be released by Swiss label Präsens Editionen, cause I really love many of the other releases that surround my work there.