Interview: Northern Cold talks about his new euphoric hard techno EP “Onyx”

Northern Cold is an American techno artist from Seattle, whose hard-hitting sound unleashes a torrent of relentless energy. He is a DJ who plays regularly in the Pacific Northwest, and he produces music that translates his ability to enamour a dancefloor. His new release is a four-track EP called “Onyx,” and it’s out now on his record label EONS. We invited Northern Cold for this interview, so he could tell us more about himself and his latest release…

How did you first discover electronic music, and what made you decide to become a DJ?

“25 years ago, I got my hands on this DJ mix CD from Paul Oakenfold, his Essential Selection double-disc with Fatboy Slim. I have a very clear memory of listening to this DJ mix and being blown away. It was a darker, hypnotic, trance mix. I then went searching for as many more trance mixes as I could. My younger brother was also getting into electronic music at the time, and he had been gifted a pair of turntables, so we both learned to mix on vinyl from that point.”

Who are some of your biggest influences, and what makes them so inspiring?

“I’m inspired by a lot of music. Within the electronic music space, I’ve been a big fan of Tham, Vendex, and Klangkuenstler. All of them have been able to nicely weave melodic elements into hard techno. I am also inspired by a lot of bands in other music scenes that push creative boundaries. For example, Godspeed You!, Black Emperor, Sigur Rós, or The Mars Volta. I also love a lot of heavier bands like Amenra, Celeste, Loma Prieta, and Botch. These inspire me on the darker, more chaotic elements.”

At what point in your career did you decide to start making your own music?

“It was pretty soon after I started DJ’ing. I had wanted to see if I could make my own tracks, and completed my first track in 2003. The tracks were awful the first few years. The software I was using was very limited at the time, and YouTube didn’t exist yet. So training was hard to come by, you generally had to know someone to help show you, or read text instructions online. I eventually quit around 2010. Then I picked it back up ten years later, started making music again with a fresh start. This time I had access to plenty of online training materials so it made it much easier.”

Can you talk through the concept of the tracks on your new “Onyx” EP?

“Onyx EP was inspired by industrial techno and schranz sounds, but with my usual injection of hypnotic trance elements. The tracks could fit either in a hard techno set, or a hard trance set. It’s a darker, blended mix of those things. The EP flows nicely together with both an intro and outro, making it easy to listen through as one full session. I knew I wanted one of the tracks to be a collab, so I reached out to my collective mate Coltan (IN_DUAL). His ideas and perspective during the process were inspiring and pushed me in levelling up the entire EP. I also knew early on that these 4 tracks deserved a vinyl release, and we’ve done just that, with a limited run of 100 units on 180g red vinyl with some nice artwork and packaging.”

How do you approach making a new track, and what studio equipment is essential to your sound?

“I make all of my music in Ableton Live and don’t use any external hardware (drum machines, synth keyboards, etc). I do heavily utilise software synths, like Serum and have multiple 303 emulators. I heavily utilise distortion related FX, this is pretty key for the sound. I normally approach new tracks with a ‘drums first’ approach. I will start with an interesting kick sample, then add in some percussion layers like hats, and start working on atmospheric layers, bassline, then melody. Not every track starts the same way, as I do like to switch it up sometimes if something has inspired me.”

Your new “Onyx” EP is out on your record label EONS, what made you decide to start the imprint, and how long have you been running it?

“I started EONS label in June 2024 so at the time of this writing it’s just over a year old. From 2021 to 2024 I was self-releasing music a lot, and then I had started booking remixers quite a bit for my releases. I was dealing with release admin work like contracts, release schedules, and booking track premieres. Then I realised I was almost operating a label, but without any sort of title. I thought I should formalise this, give it a name, and start expanding. I wanted to be able to offer my help to other artists with their releases, and give them the things I wanted from a record label, like artist-friendly deals/royalties.”

In your opinion, what sets DJs apart from bands or other performing artists?

“I appreciate both but in different ways. One interesting part about DJ sets is that you have so much range in the type of music you can play, and how you can craft a journey for the night. For bands, there’s lots of excitement and raw energy with playing live instruments, that you just can’t replicate with a DJ set.”

What are some of your passions outside of music?

“Music takes up most of my time, since I have original music, run my label, and also have a residency with a local artist collective. But outside of that, I do enjoy video games a bit, and enjoy the outdoors when I can (hiking mostly).”

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. What else is coming up in your schedule, and is there anything you want to add before we finish?

“Appreciate that, this was great. I do have a few shows coming this summer in Seattle. The first big one is our EONS label showcase, which is also the record release show in mid-July. Then in August I’ll be playing a forest rave festival called Stompin In Da Woods, that one is pretty exciting.”

Out now on vinyl, buy Northern Cold’s new release “Onyx”.