SKODEN: The Birmingham Techno Maverick Returns to HEKATE with 'Louder'

We caught up with Ryan Robinson, aka Skoden, ahead of the release to talk about his creative process, his recent global exploits, and the ethos behind his most requested tracks yet.

- You've had quite a journey over the past couple of years. How does it feel to be returning to HEKATE for your second release on the label?

I’m so excited to be back on HEKATE, especially after the success of my last EP, which reached number one on Beatport hard techno releases. I’m a big fan of the music HEKATE release and play a lot of their stuff in my sets, so it feels almost at home when my music gets released with them. 

- ‘Louder’ has been a staple in your sets for over a year now. Why did you wait until now to release it?

The tracks have been unreleased for around 16 months. I first sent them to Sara back in early 2024, and she signed them straight away. Since then, we both have been hammering both louder and feral in our sets. I got the release date towards the end of last year, so it’s been a long time waiting for them to be out. 

- Let’s dive into the tracks themselves. What were you channelling when you produced ‘Louder’?

When I was making ‘Louder’, I wanted to make something that was really stripped back and had a crazy breakdown and drop. At the time, I was experimenting with dubstep sounds as I used to listen to this quite a lot when I was younger and thought it would be cool to implement that into my techno productions. On the breakdown, I used some dubstep bass sounds, ran through an arpeggiator to add to the sound design and automation. When it comes to the vocal “it’s going to get louder”, I knew I had to make the drop something special and only felt right that everything did get louder. I layered the kick with a couple of hardcore kicks and automated the distortion on the main kick drum to create a monster kick. I let the kick drums on the drop do their thing before sending in a second drop and introducing all the drums to create some more energy!

- And what about ‘Feral’? That track definitely doesn’t hold back either.

So Feral is the same as louder with regards to the dubstep sounds, as I made the two quite close together. I was watching Blades of Glory, and when I heard Will Ferrell’s line “It’s provocative, it gets the people going”, I knew I had to use that in a track, hence the name “Feral”. I actually searched SoundCloud for a while to see if anyone has used it before and couldn’t find anything, so I knew I was onto a winner. I wanted the tracks to be similar but have differences, so I added a hoover stab on the breakdown of Feral with a pause after the last one to create anticipation before the drop came in. 

- You launched your own label, BDYRT, earlier this year. What’s the mission behind that?

I wanted to create a platform that I could release my own music on and also start showcasing other talent amongst the scene.  I chose now because I have reached some personal label goals, including HEKATE, so I feel now is the time to start growing my platform as I grow as an artist too. 

- You toured Australia last year, and you’ve been playing shows across Europe and the US since. What have been some standout moments? And how does the energy compare between one country and another?

The main standout show in Europe would be Verknipt Oberhausen back in November last year, where I opened up the main stage. It also fell on my birthday, so it was nice to celebrate with my Girlfriend and friends at such a big event. It was crazy! 

Australia was such a great experience too, as we spent 2 weeks there travelling around Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Geelong. It was nice to have some downtime in the week and relax, to get out and see these amazing cities.

I’ve always wanted to visit the USA, so getting the chance to spend a weekend there doing 2 shows in San Diego and LA was amazing. It definitely lived up to my expectations! 

- Over the next few months, your calendar’s packed with shows in places like Glasgow, Vienna, and Croatia for Verknipt. How do you keep your sets fresh and evolving while touring?

I always try and play lots of new stuff in my sets, whether it be new unreleased from myself, other artists or tracks that have just come out that week. I also like to dig on Beatport & SoundCloud for hidden gems that I don’t think people have heard. 

- When it comes to your sound, you lean into hard and industrial techno with no compromises. What draws you to that intensity?

I’ve always been into the harder style of electronic music, even pre-Covid, when things were a lot slower, I was always into the more industrial / harder sounds of that. I really enjoy the sound design that comes with hard industrial techno, making something out of nothing. I am enjoying playing a mixture of hard techno, industrial, rave & hardcore in my sets lately, I think this can really make a set unique and interesting, as you’re not sticking to one genre / sub-genre for 1-2 hours. It’s also a lot of fun for the ravers too. 

- How do you prepare your sets with such a high-energy catalogue?

I always try and put myself in the ravers' shoes, what would they like to hear next? I was a raver way before I started to DJ, so I know what they expect and what they want during a set. I always check out the event / club I’m playing at and see what their vibe is and match it. I do plan to some extent and put my tracks in a playlist for that specific show, but it doesn’t always go to plan, and you have to switch things up a bit. I always save my playlists, so if I’m playing in the same city / club again, I can go back and check what I played so I don’t repeat myself. 

- What’s next for you after ‘Louder’?

After louder, I have an EP to release on BDYRT in the middle of summer, and then I’m going to open up my label for demos and start showcasing some hidden talent. 

'Louder' is out May 23rd - pre-save now