Interview: Five Minutes with Jonas Rathsman

Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
Hello! I had a nice weekend free from touring so I am feeling nice and fresh today!

To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
Gin fueled melodic dance floor moments from Sweden.

What are the albums that you have you been listening to recently?
JAMES BLAKE – RADIO SILENCE
RY X – DAWN
DORISBURG – IRRBLOSS
TAME IMPALA – CURRENTS

Which other artists are you into at the moment and why?
Kink – The vibes this man is spreading is out of this world. Best live act there is.
Alex Boman – he can do no wrong in my eyes! Always quality.
Traumer – next level stuff

Are there any key pieces of equipment that you are using to define your sound?
I use my Moog Sub37 on everything, also using the Machinedrum a lot these days!

Where do you gather song writing inspiration?
I like to make records that suit my DJ sets. Inspiration comes to me in many different ways, from touring, meeting other people and different experiences, and then I bring that back in to the studio.

Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when put music together?
I like to fiddle around with my synths a lot. I try and come up with a ”hook” sort of, and then I build everything around that. Sometimes a simple sample or a specific sound is enough to get me going. This is where I can be the most creative and this is usually the most fun part of making a song.

I sometimes struggle finishing my music, I find arranging and final mixing kind of difficult, because there’s so many ways you can do it, so I tend to get unfocused and bored 🙂 I’m getting better at it though!

What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
The first Elements party I did in London is definitely one for the books! It was such an amazing crowd, I could tell that everybody was having a great time. All my friends were there and some of my favorite DJs were playing, It was a perfect night from start to finish. There will be more ELEMENTS parties again soon for sure! Here is a video from it!

If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
I started my professional life as a graphic designer and illustrator! I did that for about 15 years so I’d definitely still be doing that, I loved every bit about it.

Do you have any particular gigs or festivals that you dream about playing?
There are so many, Burning Man, Exit Festival, Movement, etc etc. I also love playing smaller boutique festivals, as long as there is nice people and good vibes I’m down!

Do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
So many shows that I am really excited about! SW4 Festival in London, returning to Sub Club in Glasgow with Tiga and playing Watergate in Berlin for the first time is going to be loads of fun.

I did a remix for Tiga, actually, of his track ‘Blondes Have More Fun’ (which they don’t!) that is going to be coming out very soon!

Big thanks to Jonas Rathsman for answering questions for us. Check out the tracklist and latest mix as well! We’re also running a contest for South West 4. For a chance to watch Jonas Rathsman and many others, enter our contest here.

Tracklist
Kyodai feat. Rainy Payne – That Day
Love Over Entropy – Worth While
Lars Moston – Too Deep (AEONIX Star Chariot Mix)
Dinky – Casa (Axel Boman Remix)
Dark Circles – Y
Sterne Deluxe x Super Flu – Schund (Super Flu’s No Champier Mix)
Guy Mantzur & Roy Rosenfeld – Systematika
Chaim – Round About
OFF Feat. Sven Väth – Electrica Salsa (Henrik Schwarz Dub)
Stefano Ritteri – What They Say
Lancelot – Tarantism