The Story Behind Red Rave

The first time I heard the sample that became Red Rave, it immediately took me back to Blade.

When I was younger, I watched the Blade movie, and there was something about its music and atmosphere that really stuck with me. So when I eventually came across this particular sample, it triggered that same feeling: the energy, the darkness, and especially that anthemic quality.

I knew immediately that I wanted to build something around it.

The idea was to make a track that felt energetic and larger than life. I wanted to bring in some African vocals, find an interesting guitar part, and somehow make all these different elements work together.

Eventually, I found the Ganda vocal I was looking for. I found a guitar sound that I loved, put everything together, and Red Rave started to take shape.

But the name came from somewhere completely different.

I'm a big fan of Pro Evolution Soccer, PES, and when I was younger, there was a particular player status that I loved. When a player was shown as red, it meant they were essentially indestructible. They were operating at another level entirely.

Think Messi. Think Ronaldo. Just completely unstoppable.

That idea became the second inspiration for the name Red Rave.

I wanted the song to give the listener that same feeling: to make you feel energized, powerful, and capable of taking on anything. It's music for going all out. For going ham. For those moments when you just want to turn everything up and let yourself loose.

And then there was the other red.

Blade gave me the imagery: vampires, darkness, blood, that whole world of red and black. Since the original sample had already reminded me of Blade, the colour seemed to fit naturally.

So I had two different ideas coming together around the same word.

One red came from Blade.

The other came from PES.

Both represented energy, power, and something larger than life.

Even the artwork came from that same feeling. I took the photograph at a party I attended where the energy was incredible. There was something about the atmosphere of that moment that felt exactly like what I wanted Red Rave to be: loud, energetic, alive, and completely uninhibited.

In the end, Red Rave became an experiment in bringing all of those influences together: the Blade nostalgia, the energy of PES, African vocals, guitar, and the sheer excitement of being in a room where everyone is completely caught up in the moment.

More than anything, I hope that's what you get from the song.

Energy.

I hope Red Rave makes you feel like you're operating at your highest level. Like you're unstoppable. Like, for a few minutes at least, you can do anything.

Turn it up and go ham.

You can listen to the track here, or on Spotify.

If you'd like to support me directly, you can purchase Red Rave on Bandcamp.