IN CONVERSATION WITH ROSE RINGED
Interview by Samo Šajn
Rose Ringed is a DJ and producer from Amsterdam, known for his uplifting, emotional sound that blends intimacy with euphoria. With support from Solomun, Joris Voorn, and Kölsch, releases on Diynamic and Spectrum, and his new release Begging out now, he’s quickly becoming one of most exciting new voices.
Your music is always very emotional and uplifting, coming from the heart. Why has that always been the music you’re driven to create, and what has influenced that over time?
It’s my way of being, I tend to finish only the tracks that resonate with something deeper inside of me. When I was visiting clubs and festivals for the first time when I was 20, this was also the music that caught my heart the most. It was a time with a lot of melodic and melancholic dance music, and I fell in love with it deeply. That love originated from my earlier love for trance records and film composers like Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer. Emotional music has always been a way of healing for me.
Big names like Solomun, Joris Voorn, Adriatique, Kölsch and more have supported you early on, helping put you on the map. Was there a pivotal moment or two that stands out as part of your journey realising you could do this full time?
When names like this started to play my tracks, I realized the music I make was on a good enough level for them to support. This gave me a huge motivational boost. Kölsch was the first to play one of my tracks on BBC Radio 1, and years later Solomun also supported my music. They’ve opened many doors for me, but the most important thing was the confidence they gave me in my skills as a songwriter and producer.
You launched your Closed Eyes Recordings imprint as a vehicle for releasing your own records, alongside releasing on the likes of Diynamic and Spectrum. Why was it so important to have your own record label?
I make so much music, around 2-3 tracks per week (if I’m not in this crazy album finishing period haha) and if I had to wait for bigger labels to release it, I’d probably only put out five tracks a year. Having my own label gives me the creative freedom to release as much as I want, and most importantly: there’s no gatekeeping. Bigger labels often look for sounds that fit their own taste. They rarely pick something truly different. If I make something really out of the box that resonates with me, I know right away: this will go on my own label.
Of course, sometimes I make something I know could fit on a label like Diynamic, but then I already have to make deliberate choices in the production to be sure they’ll like it, and that can feel a bit limiting.
Your first album Mylène drops in October, a tribute to your jazz ballerina mom who sadly died when you were 11. Why was your first album an important place to share her and your story? Was this a cathartic experience, and did something so emotionally fuelled make it harder or easier to finish tracks?
Ever since I started making music, I felt my writing was fuelled by her passing. So many times I teared up during the production process, or behind the piano finding new melodies or chords. I knew then that I was healing through music. The idea to honour my mom’s life has always been deeply connected to who I am, and only recently I realized it’s also connected to the younger boy in me still trying to fight for her in a way.
It was and still is a cathartic experience. It changed me, my life, and my persona so much. It’s been a rollercoaster, but a beautiful one, since I’ve come out happier, lighter, and more fulfilled.
Having such a heavy subject tied to a creative work definitely made it harder to finish the music. I think I was only able to finish it after going through therapy, realizing there was still a younger boy inside me who couldn’t let go of his grief. By holding onto my tears I kept her alive, but I also kept myself stuck in the past. Once I processed those emotions, I had the energy to finish the album, because I finally wanted to let go.
What do you hope listeners get from the album on a deeper level, beyond enjoying the music?
The album is divided into three parts: part one is a tribute of love towards my mom, part two is a search for truth surrounding her passing, and part three is acceptance and letting go. This process reflects my personal journey through pain, with each stage bringing different emotions and impacts on my life. In the end, after therapy and many tears, I’ve come out healed, fulfilled, and wiser.
The album is my way of showing people that if you face pain, trauma, and anxiety and embrace all feelings, you will come out stronger. There is beauty in all of it, and it makes us better humans. Yet it’s talked about so little in today’s society. People prefer to focus on the superficial, and to me that’s not normal. I believe the world would be a better place if people could heal collectively.
My album is my way of showing that beauty can come from healing through pain.
You play drums, jazz piano, sing, and perform live. How do those skills make your live sets and studio productions different from other DJs?
My drumming skills gave me a natural sense of groove, my jazz piano lessons gave me music theory, and my singing helps me add meaning and bring vocal ideas straight into my tracks.
Doing everything myself, writing, producing, mixing, and playing, is unusual, but it fits my character. I like to have control over the end product. The more you do yourself, the more you deliver your own unique sound. People often tell me I already have a distinct style, and I think that’s why.
Your tour dates include a mix of intimate club sets (including epic all-nighters at Paradiso and Het Sieraad Amsterdam) and big festival shows like Tomorrowland mainstage, Loveland, and De Zon. Which do you enjoy more, and why?
I like both in their own way. Club gigs are truer to the essence of DJing, focused on dancing, groove, and continuity. Festivals can be more like concerts. Since my music is a bit in between club tracks and festival tracks, I enjoy both. But I think my music fits best at a festival during the daytime when the sun is out.
That said, playing a long club set satisfies me most as a DJ, while festivals satisfy me most as a producer.
Your influences range from Enya and Hans Zimmer to Bicep and Armin van Buuren. Where do these influences come from, and how do you mix these different styles into your own sound?
Ethereal music like Enya, or film music like Hans Zimmer, warmed my heart after my mom’s passing. I’ve always had a rich inner world. With songs like the Gladiator theme I would imagine living in those times. Later, when I was a teenager, my dad took me to Ibiza. On the beaches there were vendors selling CDs, mixtapes, and rips of albums. I loved them and played them endlessly on my Walkman.
The combination of these two genres shaped my sound: the emotional storytelling of film music mixed with the energy and pace of early trance.
You’ve said you want people to feel more connected to their emotions through your music. How do you try to make that happen when you perform or produce?
Everyone’s emotional response to music is subjective. The same track can trigger sadness for one person and joy for another. I never know exactly how people interpret my music, but I focus on how it makes me feel. If a track touches something deeper in me, it usually resonates with others too.
I’ve noticed a pattern in my streams: the tracks with the most honest stories, like I Waited for You, Reconciliation, or Climbing, always do best. When you put honest emotions into music, people feel it. We as humans love truth, and we connect with it deeply.
When I perform, I try to tune into the crowd’s energy and adapt while still playing music I love. When I feel everyone is connected, that’s when I go deeper and more meaningful, because that’s what inspired me in the first place when I went to festivals. The last track of a set is especially important to me. I always loved when a DJ closed with something emotional that stayed with me.
You’ve said that your favourite kind of clubs are ones that weren’t clubs to start with (Het Sieraad used to be a school, for example). What venue in the Netherlands/Amsterdam do you think would make a brilliant club for one of your HRMY events?
What a nice question. I love churches turned into clubs, but that already exists with places like Westerkerk hosting parties. Since HRMY is so much about community, warmth, and togetherness, I think the Central Markthal would be a great location for an HRMY event.
