Inside Five: Human Rias

Human Rias’ Iranian heritage is imperative to him and his signature sounds – it lends them a sense of enchantment and a different take on melody that always stands out. 

Renowned for standout performances on some of the world’s biggest stages, including Tomorrowland and EXIT Festival, Rias’ culturally-inspired sonic signature is the catalyst behind his recently launched 7Rituals label, where he has returned with his latest creation – a blistering club-focused single. 

To mark the release of ‘Elekrizitaet’, we caught up with Rias as he joined Mr. Afterparty for an Inside Five exclusive:

Can you tell us about your background and how you got started in producing electronic music?

From a very young age, around 6, I was educated musically and played the violin first, followed by the guitar. Music was always a very key element in my life. I started to DJ around the age of 15, and that seemed to stick. It’s now been 16 years! Music production was the last thing, and that was something I started to learn around 18 years old. I think it’s the last thing for many, as when you start to DJ and always play other people’s tracks, you start to think how good it would be to play your own.

Your music often incorporates traditional Persian instruments and sounds. Can you tell us more about how you incorporate these elements into your tracks and what they mean to you personally?

It’s rather the energy of the Persian culture I try to present. These elements give me a sense of home, strength, love and steadiness. They give me the strength in a track as a vocal would in others.

Your latest release on 7Rituals, ‘Elekrizitaet’ is a very big departure from the sound of ‘Baraye’. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the track and how it fits into your overall musical vision?

This track, as the name suggested, was supposed to be a harder and clubbier track to give some more contrast. The next one coming up again will follow in the footsteps of ‘Baraye.’

How do you approach collaboration with other artists, such as vocalists or instrumentalists, and what role do they play in your creative process?

There are two ways, either I’m giving the base of the track to the vocalist, and he sings on top, or I receive the vocal and work around it. It really depends. Same with other artists, it’s passing projects back and forth and both giving our input. 

What can we expect from Human Rias over the next 6-12 months?

You can definitely expect some big tracks on the way. A remix for Henri Bergmann, Wennink and Fat Cosmoe is coming next month on the 20th of April, and a single every month following that. I don’t like to tell too much about the future, as the future is in the futures hands, and if you talk about it, it may never happen.

Human Rias’ ‘Elekrizitaet’ is available via 7Rituals; you can grab your copy HERE.

Connect with Human Rias: 

Instagram – Facebook – Soundcloud