Exclusive interview: Saad Ayub talks influences and his brand new EP

Saad Ayub is making a name for himself as one of the fastest rising stars within the industry. Despite building a following through his trance productions, the Bangladeshi-born Canadian producer is now experimenting much more, and the result is an array of anthems that take influence from multiple genres. Having already garnered attention from some of the biggest names in trance like Paul van Dyk and Ferry Corsten, he is on the path to global fame.

His latest triumph is a four-track EP which has just been released on Flashover Black. ‘Curious Mind‘ is Saad Ayub’s debut EP, and features four brand new diverse releases, each with the power to dominate a live performance. Each of the individual tracks contains clear influences from techno, house and trance, and seamlessly blends together the genres to form a phenomenal end result.

To celebrate the release of the EP, we caught up with Saad Ayub to talk about his influences, future plans and much more.

Can you tell us a little bit about your career so far, particularly 2018 which was undoubtedly your biggest year yet?

Like anything in life, the path to getting where I am now has been anything but straight. From my days as a house and techno DJ in Bangladesh, to producing trance and releasing with the biggest labels in the scene, it’s been a long and winding road, but I am so lucky to be doing what I love.

2018 was especially great, as I had the opportunity to work directly with two legends: Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk. This helped me reach new audiences, and gave me a huge confidence boost to have their respect as a producer and peer. I also got lucky to play some really great shows, sharing the stage with guys like Markus, Gabriel and Dresden, Chicane and many more!

Who are your biggest inspirations in the music industry? Do any of these artists inspire your style in any way?

I draw inspiration from a lot of artists and genres, but most recently I’ve been really inspired by the guys who I’ve been working closest with – Paul van Dyk and Ferry Corsten. They have the experience and knowledge on how to take things to the next level, and have played a huge role in every decision I’ve made musically this past year.

There is also a special person in my life who is the inspiration behind a lot of my tracks (keeping them secret on this one ;)).

Congrats on your first ever EP ‘Curious Mind’. What made you decide to put together an EP?

As I am really trying to push my sound in a direction that is fresh and different, I wanted to introduce that to listeners with a bang, vs. just doing single releases. I believe that these four tracks give a really good taste of where things are headed with my productions, so releasing them together as an EP just made sense.

Each of the four tracks is completely different, is this something you set out to achieve when you started the EP?

Indeed it is! Curious Mind, as the name suggests, is about exploring different ideas and experimenting – being curious, in other words. Trying to appeal to both trance and techno fans, while creating music that I’m excited about. It’s a very risky move, especially since I first started getting noticed for my trance productions and a great number of my fans know me for trance. So far the reactions have been really great, and I’m happy to say that even my oldest fans have been supporting my sound as it continues to evolve.

All of your tracks have clear influences from multiple genres, is experimenting something you enjoy during your creative process?

Absolutely! I think dance music has gotten a little too segmented with defined borders, and I’d like to challenge that way of thinking. Dance music is about unity, so blending genres seems a natural way to bring people together for their common love of dance music (regardless of sub genre, or sub sub genre). If it makes you want to move and puts a smile on your face, then I am doing something right.

I used to be somewhat of a genre elitist myself, but as I have grown out of the scene, I have noticed that it’s the worst habit to have. My roots in the scene came from house and techno, and I am really happy to have the opportunity to experiment with some of those sounds in my productions, defying the borders of what is traditionally known as trance, or techno or house.

Despite your diverse discography, you have always remained somewhat loyal to trance, is this something that will continue throughout your career?

I would say I will try to keep my productions as melodic as possible for sure. Not going define it as trance or house or whatever people call it, but there will always be elements that could be defined as “trancey”.

Do you have any new music in the pipeline?

Oh yes! I have been very busy in the studio doing what I love, and have over 10 finished productions already lined up!

What are your plans for the rest of 2019?

This year I have two of the biggest shows of my career so far confirmed: my debut in Ibiza alongside Paul van Dyk for his Shine event and Luminiosity Beach Festival. Working on more dates in Europe, the US and Asia as we speak. I also have some big remixes (can’t reveal for who just yet) and another collab with Paul confirmed for this year.

With the release of the EP, Saad Ayub has also dropped an incredible mix featuring each of the tracks, check it out here.