“freaking out is my ritual.”
Ragasa has been on our radar for a while, and trust us she is about to be on yours – if she isn’t already of course. Inspired by the early 2000s wave of fat basslines, muffled VOX, and glitchy grime, RAGASA began her musical journey in her self-built home studio in Beirut, before she moved to the Netherlands. Aside from her ability to seamlessly move between genres, Ragasa uses her vocals as yet another instrument for processing and translating her emotions mixed with electronic sounds. In fact, going deep into the feels is key to Ragasa’s work, as being emotionally charged is exactly what sets the creative fire behind her work.
Ragasa will be gracing the decks this Friday at Echobox Presents: Glamcult, our takeover of the radiostation! in the lineup, Ragasa brings raw, unfiltered energy and tends towards heavy percussive work, muggy kicks, and sharp sounds that effortlessly traverse genres… sounds like you don’t want to miss it.
PS: Keep an eye out for her upcoming single releases, “Manam” and “IHTILAL”.
How do you describe your DJ style and where do you get your inspiration from?
My DJ style is pretty fresh I would say. I was initially only into production, I only started mixing one or two years ago. I would describe it as raw and young. I would like to cut away and craft my selection a bit more! Initially I was just experimenting with genres but now I feel like I’m finding my place a bit. What most inspires me are other artists, that really gets me moving… For me it’s mostly about the inconsistency that eventually gives you the rhythm. I don’t like easy repetitiveness; I prefer when there’s a lot of twists and a story somewhat.
Can you share any personal experiences that have been a source of inspiration to you or your creative process?
I am inspired the most when I’m emotionally charged. The perfect example is a bad break up or when I miss home too much, or when I’m just having a really shitty day haha. I think if I’m really content or satisfied, and I’ve scratched all my edges, then my art is a bit bland haha.
So your music often comes from a deep dark place, it is an output for your emotions?
Yes definitely, its being emotional that brings me to the music but it doesn’t have to then become sad music!
And you said you’re missing home, you moved from Beirut to Amsterdam. How has your musical path been influenced by this?
I thought I would never miss home, because I always wanted to leave my country, I’m not pro-nationalism, I really dislike that whole ‘I’m from here, you’re from there’ thing. But when you get older you get more nostalgic on the things you didn’t really look at back then. I started making music back home and left 4 or 5 years ago, and I do not plan to go back anytime soon, but today I appreciate more the things I did not previously, like seeing Arabic words everywhere on the street. Now I appreciate this aesthetic much more. I don’t feel “proud” of it but I recognise and appreciate it. I hope it pulls into my music. For example, during the constant conflicts back home, I found myself endlessly saving and using samples that I find online…which I don’t do consciously.
Finding an appreciation for something you used to be fighting against, is a classic growing up thing. It’s nice to make peace with your past a bit.
And you take what you need from it. But also, here is home as well.
That’s good. Before you play a set, do you have any rituals to get in the mood and prepare?
I’m usually late haha – and freaking out is my ritual, I guess. Because I’m always in a rush, if I would have a ritual, I wouldn’t have time to do it.
If you could change one aspect of the industry, what would it be and how would it align with your artistic values and vision?
I just hate gatekeeping. Profits, bookings, who makes it, charts, opportunities. I don’t like when one small percentage of artists gets most of the budget and the other artists are scrapping for recognition or a platform. But I realise that a lot of us are sick of it and there’s a community that’s forming against it. But I’m not also actively forming any collectives to do something about it… I just try to support artists where I can.
Being the victim of a system doesn’t mean the responsibility should be in your own hands to solve the problem haha.
Yeah, and you try your best where you can. The number of artists that can live off their art is very small. And that’s why I also have a 9-5 job alongside my music. Which means I don’t have as much time to work on my music, but it also separates me from it and might help me, but I dunno. The struggle is real!
So real! And if we would switch to dreaming of an ideal world, who would be your dream B2B or collaboration?
I think a very exciting collaboration could be with Muqata He’s my favourite producer. I think the energy would be a lot of chopping of samples and processing of sounds, which is what inspired me the most when I first started making music. There’s a couple of DJ’s in the scene that I really enjoy, I’m sure you know Noise Diva, she’s my friend, but we only played once B2B!
What interests in your daily life contribute to your music?
I was a lot more socio-politically active and concerned with actualities, and I think that still fits into my arts somehow. If I’m angry at the world, or there’s stuff unfolding, it’s something that inspires me a lot. And I recharge from going around and having those conversations with my friends, seeing how they see things differently. Its always really interesting when someone has a different opinion than you. In terms of activities I just read, look for songs, art and music. But it is things that happen around the world, that touch me, and come to be my inspiration.
Do you have any recommendations of something that you’ve read or seen that inspires you?
I’m actually trying to come up with a list of film recommendations at the moment. There’s a movie called ‘The Time That Remains’. I just hope that I can do my due diligence when sampling something, and hope that I’m not missusing someone’s words.
Looking back, what would you consider you most significant accomplishment?
I think learning is the overall biggest accomplishment. Initially I wasn’t making music, I was a vocalist in a band for quite some time. So my most significant accomplishment was actually building a small studio and making music based off watching my friend make music. Sitting by myself, trying to learn something from scratch.
Being self-taught is SUCH an accomplishment, that’s crazy.
Music is one of the things you can enjoy without the theory! You either feel it or you don’t, it’s so universal. It’s perfect.
I was wondering what you do in your daily life, what’s your background?
Well, I never studied music. My parents tried making me learn piano, and I gave my teacher her worst nightmare haha. Then my piano career was done. But besides that I studied social development and now I work in an NGO working on a management project for vulnerable youth. Back home I worked more in emergency programmes for refugees but now I work more in development. And I also do stick and poke tattoos. That’s how I spend my time. But yeah, just running around between work and music, and I try to come here, this is the studio that I share with Noise Diva and a painter friend, Emre. I’m always in a rush, I think I’m just catching up with life all the time, trying to tick things off the list.
If you were curating your ideal club line up, no restrictions at all. Which artist or DJ’s would you include and what kind of atmosphere would you like to create?
Ooh, that’s a tough one, but a fun one. First of all, I’ll give the opening spot to a good friend. The thing is there’s a lot of parties around, there’s a lot of techno and trance parties but I think I would also like to see a bit more glitch or breakbeats. There’s a really good DJ called 00970.. He makes really glitchy and trappy music. Also, I would have Muqata and E-Saggila. I also like GBW9, we already mixed together. I really like it when the music is charged and mixed it with a lot of messages. And if I had enough money, I would invite Erykah Badu!
If you were curating your ideal club line up, no restrictions at all. Which artist or DJ’s would you include and what kind of atmosphere would you like to create?
Ooh, that’s a tough one, but a fun one. First of all, I’ll give the opening spot to a good friend. The thing is there’s a lot of parties around, there’s a lot of techno and trance parties but I think I would also like to see a bit more glitch or breakbeats. There’s a really good DJ called 00970. He makes really glitchy and trappy music. Also, I would have Muqata. I also like GBW9, we already mixed together. I really like it when the music is charged and mixed it with a lot of messages. And if I had enough money, I would invite Erykah Badu!
Nice I would come!
Yes, early bird ticket haha
Can you share your current favourite song?
One of my favourite songs is Jekyll by Hiatus Kaiyote.
Last question, you’re going to release these singles “Manam” and “Bet Moun” soon, what else are you manifesting and what can we expect from you in the future?
I’m hoping to have four single releases this year. Other than that, I’m just going to be mixing and doing more collab productions because I really enjoy producing music. Mixing is always super enjoyable but it does push me to be somewhere at a certain time. When I produce my own music, I can jump to the studio whenever. But the goal is more collabs.
Nice! I’m very excited to hear it. See you Friday!
