Chase the impulse: How Dana Ruh made ‘Time Out Of Mind’

What inspired the album?

It was inspired by my complete environment: my friends, my travels, our society and New York. My goal with the album was to connect my emotions with music for the dancefloor. I also wanted to tell a story with it. It’s not just a collection of tracks. It has a beginning, and the last track closes the storyline.

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Which instruments did you use most, and for what kinds of sounds?

I use a lot of synths for the mood and for melodies. Mostly I use my Virus, and also the Absynth by Native Instruments. I also love the Rhodes piano. I use this for melodies a lot too, but also put some effects on it.

Can you describe your process of making tracks?

I start either with the groove or a mood. As soon as I have that and it’s got me excited I continue and try to finish it quickly so as not to lose any of the impulse. Before I start producing I listen to a lot of music that might be able to support my motivation and mood.

What’s your favourite instrument on this album?

The Virus. I’ve had it forever and I write a lot of pads with it. I love it – it has character. It also has an emotional aspect. I’ve played a lot of melodies on it that mean a lot to me! And it was an important part of my first album that I did on Underground Quality.

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How did the tracks become an album?

It took a while until I told myself that this now is an album. I produce a lot of music but that does not mean I always release it. I put tracks into my archives and when I feel like the time has come to release a track, I can go back and add maybe another one to the release. So the flow of creating an album was very natural; I didn’t push to have it ready because it was more about collecting from my archive.

Dana Ruh ‘Time Out Of Mind’ is out now on Cave Recordings

Gavin Herlihy is Mixmag's Tech Editor, follow him on Twitter

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