Talk-Zone #74 Interview with Renraku

Hey thanks for having me here. I’ve been producing music since I was about 16, I got into music production through my love of Drum and Bass, while slowly branching out into other genres. Around 2015 my friends and I had this notion of a certain sonic identity and sound around music coming from a lot of different producers on soundcloud and after reaching out to quite a few of them we quickly decided to create a label to showcase this sound. None of us really had any connections to anyone in the music industry, and initially we were just selling EPs on bandcamp. We slowly built up a following and met a lot of artists all of us really looked up to. Around 2018 we decided to venture into the world of sample pack and preset pack production given our affinity for sound design, and we quickly realized that this was another great avenue for us to explore our creative freedom and help shape the sonic identity of the label.

I think for any producer looking for intense, seriously heavyweight sounds the go-to packs in our catalog are Vellum - Bass Technology (volumes 1 &2) and Yokaze - Serum Presets, those three packs contain bass patches, leads, and fx that are unparalleled. Our Cinematic Synthwave collection also contains a wide variety of…. cinematic and ambient sounds perfect for pads, stingers, and fills etc.

We’re always looking for new avenues to explore. Right now everyone has been really into phaseplant as it is such a versatile synth- I think that might be something worth looking into. :)

When we go into development on these we try to think of a specific genre in mind and how we can put our spin on it. Some of the obvious ones are Drum and Bass, Dubstep, Halftime, Neurofunk, Trap, Hiphop, and Lofi. We’re always looking for new opportunities in different genres as well. We’ve really taken a liking to making hip hop packs lately because the drums are so good and versatile for a variety of genres.

We work with a wide range of producers all over the world, equipment varies greatly. Some people have fully fleshed out studios with thousands of dollars of modular synths and analog hardware, some people just use their laptop and headphones. It varies!

We work with a broad spectrum of producers but I think a common thread that ties everyone together is the attention to detail when it comes to sound design. Some people are meticulous about creating the perfect drum breaks, others use their massive knowledge of synthesis to create beautiful leads, crushing basslines, and unique FX.

We’re always looking for talented sound designers to join us, shoot us an email with a portfolio at [email protected] and we’ll reach out if we think there’s a unique fit. The kind of samples aren’t as important as the vision and creativity behind the producer.

We’re always looking for new projects and how we can do something unique. I think interactive experiences are a big area of interest for us, moving past typical music and sample pack releases. Not sure what that looks like quite yet though.

I’d first like to say thanks for all of the support we have received over the years, it has been extremely inspiring and motivating to find that a small ideas we had about music has been embraced by so many people. We have a lot of exciting stuff planned this year, check our website for samples/merch: www.renraku.global and check our bandcamp for our music: www.renraku.bandcamp.com

Thanks for having me!

More info here: Renraku