SFEER00001 — UMBRAID (FR)

We recently had the chance to talk with Umbraid, and what started as a simple interview quickly turned into one of those conversations that explains more than just track choices and BPM.
Umbraid carries a sound that feels fast, bright and emotional, but always with personality. It is playful, sharp, and energetic, sitting somewhere between hard dance and trance while still feeling modern and underground at the same time.

From early band days to a festival moment that changed everything, he shared how his journey started, how he thinks about DJ sets, and what stood out to him when he played for SFEERBEHEER.

How did your journey into electronic music begin?

Umbraid did not start out with clubs or dance music as his first home. Before stepping into techno and harder sounds, he spent time in a rock band, playing guitar and doing vocals. Even then, the band was already experimenting beyond the classic instruments, using synths and drum samples, slowly leaning into electronic textures.

But the real turning point came later. When he attended Dour Festival, it was the first time the full impact of electronic music truly clicked for him. He described it as a mind blowing experience, the kind of night that stays with you long after it ends. Coming home from that weekend, he did not just feel inspired. He felt pulled into it. That moment became the push to start producing his own music.

What do you look for when selecting tracks for your sets?

When Umbraid curates a set, he is not looking for safe choices. He mentioned three key elements that decide whether a track belongs in his world:

Energy
It has to move people and shift the room. Not just loud or fast, but meaningful energy.

Funniness
A playful twist, something unexpected, a moment that breaks the seriousness and makes the dancefloor react.

Uniqueness
Tracks need personality. Something different from what everyone already plays.

Together, these criteria help him build sets that feel alive, surprising and personal, rather than predictable.

How do you prepare for a DJ set?

Umbraid usually creates a tracklist before playing. Not as a strict plan, but more like a starting point. It helps him visualize the energy and direction he could take.
But once he is in the booth, he allows the moment to decide. He does not feel the need to follow the list exactly, because the best parts often happen when you react to the crowd and the room in real time.

He also shared a funny but very real part of being an artist today. Sometimes he enjoys DJing on the move, using nothing more than a laptop trackpad while travelling on trains and airplanes. It is a detail that says a lot about his mindset. The music never really stops, and the work continues wherever you are.

How do you adapt your set to different venues and crowds?

For Umbraid, reading the room starts before he even plays. He pays close attention to the lineup, because it tells him what kind of energy the crowd will expect. That context helps him shape his approach without losing his own identity.

During the set, he believes in keeping things dynamic. Even when playing fast and intense music, it should still have movement. Ups and downs matter. Tension and release matter. A great set is not just one long peak. It is a journey with contrast, where the crowd gets pulled deeper and deeper into the experience.

Which artists inspire you right now?

Umbraid mentioned several names that currently inspire him and match the world he operates in:

Funk Tribu
Part Time Killer
Marlon Hoffstadt

Artists who balance club impact with groove and character, and who push the modern hard dance and trance sound forward.

What are your favorite tracks at the moment?

His current picks reflect both his taste and the kind of emotions he likes on the dancefloor:

Nanana / Mietze Conte
Out of Luck / K
Close your Eyes / Ivri and Tomcbumpz

What is the perfect BPM for you?

Umbraid likes to sit in the range of 150 to 160 BPM.
But he also made it clear that BPM is not a strict rule. It depends on the crowd and the energy in the room. Sometimes the audience is ready for full power, sometimes you build it up more carefully. The perfect BPM is the one that makes the moment hit right.

How do you view the evolution of the techno scene today?

Umbraid observed that the scene has become more popular, but also harder and faster. Over time, the sound shifted so far that he feels it does not fit neatly into the word techno anymore.

That is why he personally prefers calling his music Hard Dance / Trance.
To him, it describes the direction the culture has moved toward, faster rhythms, brighter emotions, stronger energy, and a sound that is built for modern rave moments rather than old genre boundaries.

How was your experience playing for SFEERBEHEER?

Umbraid told us he was genuinely excited to play in Flanders, because he has a real love for partying there. He was not disappointed and had a great time playing after Eargasm God.

What stood out to him most was the DJ booth setup. The booth was placed on the same level as the crowd, with people all around it. That detail instantly changes the feeling of a set. There is no distance between the DJ and the audience. The room becomes one shared space, and the energy feels closer, more intense, and more alive.

For Umbraid, that atmosphere added something unique to the night, and made the whole experience even more memorable.

Listen / Follow

SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/umbraid
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/umbraid_/
Resident Advisor https://ra.co/dj/umbraid
Bandcamp https://umbraid.bandcamp.com/

Next up

SFEER00002  - DJ LOCAL B (DE)

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