As a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and DJ, there is truly nothing Roosevelt can’t do. Combining elements of electronica, pop, disco, and funk, he has been making a name for himself since 2016, curating a unique sound that is recognisably his own. With three studio albums, a collaboration with Nile Rodgers, and support from Glass Animals, CHVRCHES, and Taylor Swift — who asked him to remix her track “Anti-Hero” — he truly cannot be stopped.
His new album, Embrace, might be his best work yet. Out today, it represents a shift in Roosevelt’s process and thematic concepts. Leaving the comfort and safety of his usual high tech studios in Germany, he started travelling from city to city, working in Airbnbs in Barcelona, New York and Los Angeles. Prompting a reflection of escapism and his relationship with his own career thus far, he explores the ways that anxiety can prevent you from living in the moment. Through this album, he aims to help his listeners exist in the present sphere.
We spoke with Roosevelt about his inspirations, upcoming tour, and, of course, all things Embrace.
Stream Embrace…
Read the interview…
Hey Roosevelt! What have you been up to?
Hello! I’ve used the free time after finishing the album for some off time this summer and also started building a new studio in France. Currently, I’m preparing my tour which starts in a couple of weeks.
Who and what influences you?
Pretty hard to tell, as anything I experience certainly has some kind of influence on me. Often however it’s new gear to me, so a very technical starting point – buying a new synthesiser or piece of studio hardware can be the spark that starts a song or an idea.
How would you define your artistic essence?
It’s a very subconscious process and I don’t really think about it while making my music, but I think something that’s always a goal of mine is to create more than one emotional layer in each of my songs. I love euphoric upbeat songs with a hidden, more melancholic depth – both when listening to or creating music.
Congratulations on the upcoming release of your new album, Embrace! Can you share a bit about the creative journey you went through to craft this project?
Thank you! The very first idea was simple – I wanted to get out of my routine, out of my studio in Germany, and make this album around the world. So I’ve rented Airbnbs, worked on the music on airplanes, in improvised hotel settings.. And I think in the end it informed the album by making it more dynamic and a bit more out of my comfort zone than if I had stayed in a familiar room.
Swapping high-tech studios for Airbnbs is a super interesting choice. How did the change in environment and setting impact your creative process and the themes that emerged in Embrace?
When you’re traveling you’re often more vulnerable about your feeling and you learn a lot about yourself – so i wanted to capture that feeling while writing the music.
Your music seamlessly blends electronica, pop, disco, and funk. How do you approach fusing these elements while still maintaining your distinctive sound?
It’s a very impulsive process – making this album I actually realised more than ever before that this style of writing just comes out of me. It’s not a plan to mix certain genres, but much more a natural output.
Embrace seems to carry a message of embracing the present and overcoming anxiety. How important is it for you to convey these themes through your music, and what do you hope listeners will take away from the album?
I hope it can help some people to live in the moment while listening to these songs, the same way it helped me while working on them. There are various lyrics on the record that are a note to myself to fully immerse in a moment rather than being scared of it.
Signing with Ninja Tune imprint Counter Records marks a new chapter in your career. How has this partnership influenced your creative process, and what excites you most about this collaboration?
I finished the record before signing with them, but when they showed interest in releasing it, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me to work with them. I’ve been a fan of many of their artists for years and always followed what they are doing. It’s a team full of music lovers and it’s a great new home for my project.
“Ordinary Love” has gained impressive traction, hitting 1 million Spotify streams in just three weeks. What emotions or experiences inspired this song, and how do you feel about its rapid success?
It’s fun to see that this is the one that reacts the best with people and shows again that you can’t plan any of these things. It was meant to be an intro track to the live show and the album, i never thought of it as a single in the beginning… it was my label that pushed this idea and i started to like it.
Looking ahead, what are you most excited about when it comes to sharing Embrace with your fans, and what can listeners expect from your upcoming tours and future projects?
Definitely, the tour that is coming up – playing live has always been such a crucial element to what I’m doing, and this is going to be my longest one, in some of the biggest rooms I ever played in. It’ll be so much fun to pick songs from 4 albums to really create a set full of highlights. In terms of recordings, I’m already working on new ideas and demos and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. There’s also new music planned already for after the album is out, material that won’t be on the album. So there is lots to come, which feels very exciting after quite a long break.
For information on Roosevelt’s forthcoming tour, click here.