In a candid discussion, Suddi Raval talks about his extensive musical history from crafting iconic rave anthems like “Hardcore Uproar” to recent Electro & Acid explorations. His story, closely entwined with the vibrant evolution of the UK’s rave scene over three decades, reflects a fervent passion for electronic music, transcending through various genres, clubs, and cities. His deep connection to the TB-303 has shaped his distinctive sound, and a plethora of profound experiences have influenced his creative process. Let’s find out more…
Suddi, from being a part of Together and creating the iconic “Hardcore Uproar” to your recent electro releases and collaborations with artists like Justin Robertson, how would you describe your musical journey to someone new to your work?
It’s been an adventure of constant surprise and ever changing sounds as the scene has evolved over the last 3 decades but moving with it has been amazing. It has honestly been a rollercoaster while I move with not just the changing genres but I’ve trekked up and down the country following the heart of what’s going on. For example, from 1988-1990 I was largely in Blackburn and Manchester because that was the epicentre of music back then with the Hacienda and Blackburn raves, soon after I started going to Leeds for clubs like Back to Basics hearing people like Andy Weatherall and Ralf Lawson, then I spent a lot of time in Liverpool for Cream before it got a little too trancey for me and then I spent most of my clubbing nights towards the end of the last millennium and start of the 2000’s visiting Pressure in Glasgow where the Slam DJ’s would fly over the best Techno DJ’s such as Juan Atkins, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier and then I was really lucky in that a lot of good stuff was happening closer to home again at smaller clubs such as Aficionado, Friends and Family and Electric Chair in Manchester. It was a golden time in Manchester as there were a small group of devoted clubbers who you’d see at the various events and the DJ’s would play the most exciting music.
You’ve been deeply involved in the electronic music scene since its early days in the UK. How have tools like the TB-303 and other hardware shaped your sound over the years?
The various machine that have come and gone have had a massive impact on my sound. The TB-303 is an obvious one giving me the sound of Acid House. I was very lucky in that I picked one up before the prices sky rocketed. Its been used so extensively on so many tracks of mine (and even in games! I’ve put tons of acid house sounds in video games!) There are a bunch of other iconic machines such as the Akai S1000 sampler which shaped the sound of dance in the 90s and helped carve a unique sound for Together. I worked with some massive names who frequented my studio back then such as DJ Sasha who used to pop over to my studio but I had no idea at the time working with such innovative people were having a massive impact the music I made. Just to name a couple more important machines: Korg M1 which gave us the piano sound on Hardcore Uproar, Roland Jupiter 8 which was used on the first 2 House Sound of Together EP’s and the Korg T3 was the synth used on most of The Ultimate Escape Project EP’s I released in the 90s.
Your 1989 track “Hardcore Uproar” has been described as “pure adrenaline rush music.” Can you discuss the inspiration behind it, especially the unique Star Wars intro and the euphoric piano solo? Was it a moment in the studio or something more planned?
It was very much planned.
The initial plan was to make a record that might get played at the Hacienda. It was the greatest club in the world and we felt, if we could just made a track that their DJ’s would like and if it got played, we’d be happy but little did we know that it would become the biggest tune of the year and then snowball into the hit it was. To see the reaction when it came on in the Hacienda gives me goose bumps just thinking about it now all these years later. It got so big they even used to play it more than once in a night sometimes!
We wanted to get it right so the bulk of Hardcore Uproar was meticulously planned over a long period by myself and Jonathan Donaghy in his Stockport based studio Greenhouse Studios. The Star Wars intro came about after hearing a record that DJ Jay Wearden played at the legendary Thunderdome and it had this awesome intro that just blew the roof off the place and at that very moment I decided we needed something as impactful and I wondered if Jonathan would be up for using that iconic Star Wars riff. Luckily he was as big a Star Wars fan as me so he was up for it! He then had the idea to sample Obi Wan Kenobi and that became a huge part of tune that people often recite when referring to the track. A couple of other things happened on the day that were fairly spontaneous though, such as the bleeps. Jonathan knew he wanted a bleep line inspired by what DJs like Graeme Park and Mike Pickering were playing at the the Hacienda so that was very much a “moment in the studio” thing and the piano solo at the end was a truly magical moment in the studio. We were very lucky in that we had an incredible session musician in the studio with us called Mark Hall. That solo was never planned but he just started jamming and we hit record and what he played was just mind-blowing! Every note was so perfect and massively added to what we had already done! We were so happy with what he did we gave him a writing share which is why he’s credited as a writer on the track.
Your passion for house music started at a young age, even before the rave scene exploded. Were there any films, books, or cultural moments that further fueled this passion?
Yeah I was really lucky in hearing House the first records were coming out. The kids at my school were incredibly switched on, it was my school friends who told me about it. Genuinely wonder when I would have heard about House if it wasn’t for them!
Films have always played a big part of influencing my music and the Breakdancing scene that was going on in the 80’s was a massive part of shaping the music that I’d go on to make. Assault on Precinct 13 by John Carpenter formed the bassline for Hardcore Uproar. Books that have played a part in shaping how I think are mainly by Arthur C. Clarke, books such as Rendezvous with Rama (and the rest of the series) and Childhoods End. Hitchcock has also been a massive influence on me. I was obsessed with his TV show as a kid and become even more obsessed with him and his movies as I got older.
From witnessing police brutality at raves to tragic losses, your journey has had its share of profound moments. How have these experiences influenced your music and creative process and life since?
It’s strange how the downs in your life can play such a big part in who you are. You write differently when life is giving you a battering. Your mindset is more focussed and the melodies that can come out when in that mindset can be unlike anything you would write otherwise. I’ve had it a few times in my life, when something shitty happens and you get on your synths initially just to deal with the day, to escape but you inadvertently write a killer riff and it turns into a half decent tune!
Throughout your career, you’ve been influenced by many figures in the music industry. Can you share a memorable experience or lesson that has shaped your approach to music?
Lots of crazy coincidences seem to happen to me, just being in the right place at the right time. When I was 17, my friends teacher at college was Brian Dougans, the maker of the seminal Acid House track Stakker Humanoid. He gave us a tape and we loved his music so much we booked him because we couldn’t believe how good this one bit that ended up being Humanoid was – it unsigned and only on cassette at the time. The night we organised turned out to the one of the first raves in Manchester and a couple of weeks before our night, the track got into the UK singles charts and everyone said he’ll never turn up as he was doing things like Top of the Pops and getting played on Radio one. I was 17 so very naive and told everyone he wouldn’t let me down and to everyone’s surprise he came and played a sliding set. We payed him £50 and a portion of chips for his set! He later went on to form The Future Sound of London with Garry Cobain. And here’s another person who played a big part of my life. I was super lucky in my teens, can you believe the DJ at my local nightclub was a young Sasha. I had no idea that years later I would go on to work with him but watching him DJ and witnessing a club full of people erupt into screams and cheers was inspiring.
You’ve transitioned from making iconic rave tracks to producing music for computer games, including the Lego franchise. How do these two worlds intersect for you, and how does one influence the other? Are you still working on game music?
The video game work is a part of my music that is not as well known as my music. Its such an amazing career and so rewarding I am constantly trying to get other producers into this industry as you hear your music in far more places than just clubs. It always amazing people who are fans of the LEGO series who also like my tunes that I am the same person who did the sound track for these games. I initially did it as a one-ff and although I’ve never given music up, the game sound tracks are a brilliant way of getting more music out. It has unexpectedly had a massive impact on the dance music I make as it involves a far deeper knowledge of music theory. When I started making House music in 1989 I hardly knew anything about the rules of music and in all honesty I liked it that way as I meant accidentally broke the rules and with that came a certain sound in my music that I could never have been able create if I was restricted by the rules. The first few games sound tracks I did like The Simpsons and Spiderman had musical notes in there that the other games musicians liked but said they’d never do as I (unknowingly!) broke the musical rules so it forced me to learn more as I wasn’t happy doing things that I feared could be wrong but thats the beauty of these “mistakes” – who cares if they break the rules if it sounds good. Another impact of the game work is that you hone your sound design skills in that you can make more finely crafted synth sounds. The Sega Mega drive was driven by an FM sound chip much like the legendary Yamaha DX 7 and I pushed that so hard I made sounds it wasn’t designed for. My dance music influence meant I approached game sounds tracks differently to other musicians. Listen to the intro music for “Spiderman Separation Anxiety” on the Super Nintendo, I put raves vocals in there and the game “Wetrix” on the N64, basically has an Acid House sound track! I used all my experience from the dance floor to create more engaging and energetic build ups for the game I wrote music for.
I was the Audio Director at Warners for 10 years where I made all the sounds with my team from 2009 to 2019. It was amazing working on the Marvel games, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and can you imagine my joy being asked to work on Star Wars! I had to speak to Lucasfilm on a daily basic asking them for R2D2 sounds, a surreal an incredible time.
You’ve recently started producing dance tunes again, including acid and house music on labels like I Love Acids sub-lable. Can you talk about the evolution of your sound and what led you back to producing dance music?
It was mainly during Lockdown! Like everyone I was super depressed that the world was broken and it really broke my heart watching close friends especially the DJs who were really struggling to pay bills and feed their kids so in an attempt to bury my head in the music and forget what was going on I ended ups writing hundreds of tracks and I thought no harm in sending them out to some of my favourite labels such as Balkan (who own I Love Acid) We’re Going Deep and Furthur Electronix but what I didn’t expect is for all the labels I sent tunes to to say yes to the tracks I’d sent and the next thing you know I had a flood of records coming out! It was incredible and, honestly I am still pinching myself that it happened. Some of the releases are still yet to come out!
The rave scene, especially in places like Blackburn, played a significant role in the growth of dance music in the UK. You’ve also mentioned the significance of DJs like Paul Oakenfold and events like Spike Island in your early career. Can you share any stories from back in the day?
We met Paul at a club where we gave him a copy of Hardcore Uproar when no one had heard it hardly as it was only a white label promo and to our surprised at Spike Island where 30,000 people were having the best rave of their lives he plays the record and despite no one having heard the tune before people were going crazy to it and naturally we were too and as we danced to our own tune with strangers we were telling people “this is our record” but no one believed us!
How do you feel about the current state of the rave scene, and are there any causes or movements within it that you’re passionate about? any artists or people who need more of a spotlight?
There are some absolute legends in electronic music right now. The artist calling himself Sound Synthesis is blowing a lot of his contemporaries out of the water right now. His sound is so slick and finely tuned I could listen to to forever. Also loving Sansibar. The bassline on their tune Cry is so ridiculously catchy it ripped the dancefloor up when I threw it into a set recently. Andre Bratton. His music is so good when DJ’s play his instant classic Tremmor Og Bass its destroys the dance floor! Total devastation!
The “I Love Acid” parties and your solo acid house records seem to hold a special place in your heart. Can you share a memorable moment from one of these events and how it encapsulates the essence of the acid house scene for you?
The I Love Acid parties are honestly one of the most important things to happen to clubland since the early days of the scene. What those guys have done is help bring back the unique feeling that you got at the birth of Acid House. Many people say it’s not as good as it used to be and to them I say, bollocks. Most of the people who are moaning about it are either not going out much any more or they’re too young to have been there at the start and I cannot recommend getting down the some of their nights enough, that are now going on all over the world. It’s no surprise they’re as successful as they are. They are truly amazing events and the best bit is, you feel as safe as being in your own home but with the atmosphere of the best underground raves! I’m not kidding! The crowd are such a lovely down to earth friendly bunch you could even got down on your own (as I have done!) and guaranteed people will be super friendly and you’ll have a great night.
There was one night there at the Bloc in London that Hardfloor played at and the atmosphere was as good as anything you’d experience back in 1989! I remember stopping dancing and just standing back and watching the scenes and thinking “its back” they brought that atmosphere back and in such a fun and inclusive way. Its no wonder they’ve won award for their nights, they’re pretty special.
As you dabble with Acid, Electro and more underground sounds – how important is it for you to bring something unique and different to the electronic music scene?
It’s essential to bring a fresh sound to the scene. As much as I like to be influenced by the past I always make sure my tunes will stand up against the best of whats going on now. People forget that dance music has always been about innovation and cutting edge production so its really important that I try new things and new production techniques.
You are working a lot more now with a live hardware act, how do you approach spontaneity and improvisation, both in the studio and during live sets?
The greatest thing about working with hardware is that you can twiddle knobs live in a way that you can never achieve on a computer and you can make tweaks and changes as the track is progressing. I love doing the live hardware sets, people get such a buzz from seeing the music generated live and there nothing like people leaping around a dancefloor as you build the tracks ups straight out of the synth. Sometimes they’re just inches away from you in smaller clubs and its a buzz to watch the reaction on the dance floor.
How different is it to work with hardware nowadays compared to how it was in the late 80s early 90s?
Things are much easier now, for a start the kit is more easily accessible and you have tons of tutorials on line to figure out how to do it. I am on a constant mission to encourage people to buy a synth or drum machine and bang out some beats and basslines. The feeling you get from it is unlike anything else and you can pick these things up for less than £100 now. The hard bit now is making something that no one else has done. Back in 1989 when I started there were so so few producers compared to now. I heard the other day Beatport has 30,000 new tracks a week on it! Wow! I can’t imagine all of those are full of completely original ideas! but on the plus side with so many producers around there are some great ideas being developed and people are pushing the bar!
With your new electro release on the horizon and a remix from Justin Robertson, what can fans expect next from Suddi Raval?
Expect something different. I worked hard on these tunes which stretch back all the way to Lockdown and I enjoyed pushing myself to make beats and basses that were pushing the boundaries of what people would expect in the genres I am making. I’m really excited to get these tracks out and Justin Robertson has done a blinding job on the remix! With a couple of the tracks on the new EP, I really tried to push my own sound into new territory, hopefully people will hear the freshness I tried to inject into some of those tracks like on Oni Stranger, Sub Sierra and Robot Computer.
ttps://suddiraval.bandcamp.com/album/laser-beams-and-mirror-balls-ep
