f: Hi Rolbac, it’s a pleasure to chat with you today, how are you?
Rolbac: Doing great, thank you. Staying busy in the studio and on the road, so it’s been an exciting period with a lot happening creatively.
f: Please tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from and how you started making dance music?
Rolbac: I’m Lebanese, from the beautiful village of Zahle. Music has been part of my life from my early teens, where I took influence from everyone around me. I became deeply drawn to it, doing anything I can for it to be part of my life. I started experimenting with production as a way totranslate my emotions and energy into sound. What began as curiosity eventually evolved into a full career centred around creating and performing music internationally.
f: Who did you listen to growing up and do they influence your music career at all today?
Rolbac: Growing up I listened to a very wide spectrum of music, which helped shape how I approached production at the beginning. I experimented with creating all genres of music, to train myself on production and to understand what I liked. This exploration helped shaped my sound at the beginning.
f: How would you describe your sound?
Rolbac: I would describe it as energetic and emotionally driven. It’s hard to describe in words, but I always try to convey some sense of emotion for the listener, whether it drives them to feel a certain emotion and simply to dance.
f: What was your first release?
Rolbac: My first release was in 2014 called ‘Space Silence’.
f: Which of your own tracks was the biggest labour of love to create / personal favourite?
Rolbac: ‘Mystical’ probably stands out because it represents a side of my sound that feels very personal and cinematic, and it took time to get every detail exactly where I wanted it.
I also personally love ‘Something to Say’ as it shows a side most people are not used to hearing from me.
f: What has been your most successful release?
Rolbac: I would say ‘Zombie’, which received strong international support and connected with a broad audience. It also resonated strongly with my MENA fanbase, as it was released during a period of regional conflict, and the lyrics echoed the emotional weight many people were experiencing at the time.
f: And what’s your favourite own remix?
Rolbac: I particularly like my remix of ‘Ya Boy’ as it allowed me to reinterpret an already strong record while still making it feel authentically mine.
f: You’ve just released your new single ‘Where Is My Love’ on Circus Recordings, what we can expect to hear?
Rolbac: ‘Where Is My Love’ carries a lot of emotional tension while still being built for dance floors. It reflects the balance I always try to maintain between emotion and energy.
f: How do you typically go about putting a track together?
Rolbac: Usually everything starts with a feeling rather than a technical idea. Sometimes it begins with a groove, other times with a vocal idea. I spend a lot of time building the emotional direction first, then layering percussion, bass movement, synth work, and arrangement until everything feels right. A track can change directions many times before getting to the right place, and sometimes it works from the first direction.
f: What’s your favourite piece of studio kit?
Rolbac: Elektron Digitone is one of my favourites as it is an FM synthesizer, and has the capacity to create pristine, sharp, and futuristic sounds, which I always have a lot of fun with and that you will hear in my productions.
f: What’s been your favourite gig of the year and where are you most looking forward to performing soon?
Rolbac: My favourite gig this year has to be my Brazil NYE weekender. Just being in South America for the first time and getting to play to a totally new audience made it super special for me. The fact that the crowd reacted so well helped me believe that I can take my sound anywhere.
I’m really looking forward to playing in Hi Ibiza at the end of the summer, which will also be a first for me.
f: Who would you love to do a B2B set with?
Rolbac: Joseph Capriati, an artist I truly respect and who’s sound resonates with mine.
f: What has been your biggest triumph in your musical career so far? And your biggest challenge?
Rolbac: I would say my biggest pride is being able to carry Lebanon with me wherever I go and represent my country on stages around the world. At the same time, it has also been one of my biggest challenges, as coming from my region has made travel and career opportunities more difficult, and I’ve often had to deal with extra barriers that others may not face.
f: Which dance track holds the most precious memories for you?
Rolbac: One track that is extremely nostalgic and holds a very special place for me is Sash! ‘Ecuador’. It takes me back to my earliest days of listening to electronic music in my teens, long before I started DJing or producing. While it may not be directly connected to my current sound, hearing it for the first time completely opened my mind to electronic dance music and played a key role in shaping the path I later followed.
f: Who are your top 3 current producers?
Rolbac: Mau P, Fred Again and Vintage Culture
f: What else are you working on at the moment that you can tell us about?
Rolbac: Working on new collaborations with different artists, including some outside the traditional dance music space, such as rappers and Hip Hop artists. It’s been an interesting process expanding into new sounds and blending different influences.. Can’t wait to share with you!
Rolbac ‘Where Is My Love’ is out now on Circus Recordings.