Name: Tarek Zarroug aka Taroug
Occupation: Producer, drummer, beatmaker, sound engineer
Nationality: Tunisian, Germany-based
Recent release: Taroug's Darts & Kites is slated for release on May 3rd 2024  via Denovali.

If you enjoyed this Taroug interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.

For a deeper dive, check out earlier Taroug interview about his creative process and about drumming.



What do you generally look for in a collaborator and what made you want to collaborate with the musicians included on this album specifically?

I used to play drums a lot in bands before I started my solo project. Although I love the fact that I can develop completely free artistically here, I sometimes miss the collective songwriting like in a band context. Collaborations can compensate for this somewhat and can open new doors to explore.

Generally I prefer to work with people who are trained in areas outside my comfort zone. Not just on a musical level, but interdisciplinary, such as working with designer Marie Brosius on the conceptualization and artwork of Darts & Kites.

Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?

For some of the pieces, I had concrete ideas prepared, often sketched out with quick piano recordings or using virtual instruments in Ableton. For these I had a very clear vision and expectation from the recording sessions. For some other tracks I was completely open for their own ideas and we developed their parts together.

Regardless, my demos were always at a point that provided a good impression of the overall mood and sound aesthetics I aimed for.

What tend to be the best collaborations in your opinion – those with artists you have a lot in common with or those where you have more differences? What happens when another musician take you outside of your comfort zone?

My experience has shown me that I can benefit much more from artists with strengths in other disciplines as it brings another dimension of perspective to my music in an unpredictable way. Having to leave my comfort zone is great as it forces me to think differently and challenges me to let go of habits.

With the song “Queen of Carthage” I was stuck for quite a long time, which lead me to collaborate with Abdallah Abozekry (Saz) and Niklas Genschel (vocals). Their input was so inspiring and I’m not sure if I would have ever finished the piece without them.



However, I also enjoy working with people I have a lot in common with, like other drummers or synth enthusiasts, every now and then. It's such a wide field with endless possibilities and approaches, so there is always something to learn from each other.

Decisions between creatives often work without words. How did this process work in this case?

For me, a lot of the magic happens when I'm open to change.

I want my collaborators to have complete musical freedom at first and too many words in advance can destroy that or make decisions cerebral. But it also totally depends on who I'm working with and what connects us, what kind of musical and interpersonal relationship we have.

One of those magic moments occured when I decided to ask my longtime friend and pianist Timo Schieber to explore ideas for “Panharmonic.” I sent him the songs foundation created with my modular synth without any specific instructions and he almost instantly returned with something I had in mind.