Oct 1

Neumateria: "I really love writing melodies that have a positive character"

Neumateria is an DJ and producer, founder of the Ukrainian label Slid Records and co-founder of Rezo Events in Kyiv, Ukraine. His music is filled with sophisticated rhythms and rich melodic parts of synthesizers. Now Neumateria plays live and DJ performances and prepares several new releases on European labels.

Your new EP "Parabola" is set to be released on Wout Records. What concepts and emotions inspired you during the creation of this project?

In general, I really love writing melodies that have a positive and kind character. However, with the EP "Parabola", something dark, intriguing, and atonal emerged. The peak of inspiration, after which I began writing the track "Parabola", came at the moment when I was searching for a new sound from my Moog Sub Phatty. At that time, I was also overwhelmed by quite strong emotions. Just by tweaking the pitch on the synthesizer, I immediately liked the idea.

The name "Parabola" perfectly describes the amplitude of the main lead sound in the track. As for the track "Pantapoda", I wrote it concurrently with "Parabola". One day, I came across an interesting video about sea spiders, "Pantapoda", which can evoke quite strong fear, especially if you're arachnophobic. This inspired me to describe these sea dwellers through music. Indeed, when listening to "Pantapoda", we hear quite unusual sounds against a backdrop of a monotonous groove.

You recently released the single "Leo" on Einmusika. How does this single differ from your upcoming EP in terms of sound and artistic vision?

From a sound perspective, the track "Leo" has a more melodic character. It features beautiful pluck synths complemented by sparkling, soft chords. The arrangement is quite straightforward, and I would say festival-like, with a long melodic drop. On the other hand, the new EP "Parabola" takes a completely different sonic direction. It has a more danceable groove, focusing on interesting and unconventional lead sounds and synthesizers.

The arrangement is less typical, with a shorter drop. The track "Pantapoda" has almost no breakdowns; the main lead has a sharper, more metallic sound. In terms of artistic intent, these tracks are completely opposite. "Leo" has a happier sound, while "Parabola" and "Pantapoda" are dark, driving, and aggressive.

You’re living in Kyiv, a city currently affected by war. How does this challenging situation influence your creative process and approach to music?

Thank you for this question! Very often, this situation provokes anger and frustration. However, over time, I, like many of my producer colleagues and friends, have adapted. For example, issues with power due to constant shelling of energy infrastructure, cruise missiles flying over buildings, and news about our heroes protecting us all have an impact. Personally, I’ve started to write music faster and make decisions about final tracks more easily.

I’m currently working a lot on organizing events, and we are holding many fundraisers for the military. So, the war definitely takes time away from writing music. If I do find a free hour, I appreciate that time more, and the creative process gets a boost. I want to emphasize the strength of our Ukrainian spirit. During this difficult time, Ukrainian producers are creating some amazing, high-quality products despite the war.

Recent releases from Cherry (UA), Artaria, Tim Walche, Sagan, Neumateria, Cuprite, Monastetiq, Undermoon, Rhytmograph, and many other Ukrainian sound producers have found their places on top labels, played at the biggest festivals, and received tremendous support from industry giants in electronic music.

Your passion for astronomy inspired your 2018 album "The Kuiper Belt". Does astronomy continue to be a source of inspiration for you? If so, how does it reflect in your new productions?

I’m currently less inspired by astronomy. Perhaps I’m growing up, my tastes are maturing, and my focus is widening. Overall, I think this is how it should be. I still love astronomy and keep up with the news, especially the photographs from the Hubble telescope... but I’m not as deeply inspired as I used to be.

Just a week ago, I turned 31, and reality is pushing me to work more on developing my career as a sound producer and artist. Because of this, moments of inspiration come quite rarely. However, those moments do exist, and I believe I make the most of them. My first album "The Kuiper Belt", remains my best example of how to truly love music and find inspiration.

You started your musical journey relatively late compared to other artists. What were the key moments that pushed you to fully commit to electronic music?

My two friends and I flew to Georgia for the Gem Fest in 2016. Five days of top electronic scene giants as Paul Kalkbrenner, Stephan Bodzin, Boris Brejcha, Gus Gus, Paul Van Dyk, and many other names. I heard live for the first time. It was also my first flight to another country. At that moment, I was very, very happy. Events like this created a strong and unwavering belief in my mind that I would connect my life to music.

When we returned to Kyiv, the first thing I did was borrow my roommate's laptop, with whom I traveled to the festival. Just to clarify, he was fine with it. He already had Ableton Live installed. I started teaching myself the program and trying to write something on my own. In two years, I created my first album "The Kuiper Belt".

However, I then faced some difficult events in my life regarding the realization of my creativity. So, the second key moment that reaffirmed my choice of career was my mom. She believed in me the most, even more than I believed in myself. When I didn't have money to cover my debts from a failed business investment, she would say, "Never sell your Moog and MacBook".

Her total support, despite everything—no matter what happened, don’t give up on music because you love it. She was always genuinely happy for my small victories in my music career and always listened to my tracks and watched my performances. This brought me immense joy as well. It was then that I realized again that these events had created a strong and unwavering belief in me that I would connect my life to music.