Balance Selections 260: Ruben Karapetyan

Ruben Karapetyan is a proud Armenian born in Yerevan, and raised in Los Angeles, California. A veteran DJ who got his first pair of decks 3 decades back, he has been influenced by the ’90s rave movement, as well as top notch pioneers of the Electronic Music industry such as Sasha, John Digweed, and Nick Warren amongst others.

Ruben is now definitely considered as one of the heavy hitters in the Progressive House community worldwide. In a short space of time Ruben’s work has become highly sought after, and has spread across the world to our scene’s top labels, DJ’s and Producers.

Balance Selections 260: Ruben Karapetyan

Tracklisting:

1. Not Demure – Vis Pace
2. Meeting Molly – Joy a toy
3. Zankee Gulati – HereAfter (Original Mix)
4. Gol’man – Vesnoy
5. Nacres – Naturalize (Original Mix)
6. Ruben Karapetyan – Dicite (Kenan Savrun Remix)
7. Neuralis – Arritmia (Original Mix)
8. Berdu – Ciclon (Vitaly Shturm Remix)
9. Dave Shtorn – Avalon (Yonsh remix)
10. PAUL (AR) & EANP – Insane (Lexicon Avenue Remix)
11. Ruben Karapetyan – Frequency Formula (Original mix)

Balance Selections Q+A

Name: Ruben Karapetyan
Location: Los Angeles, USA
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Alias/Producer name: Ruben Karapetyan
Labels affiliated with: The Soundgarden, Mango Alley, RKP

My last 3 releases:

Ruben Karapetyan & Kristina Sky – Interjection (Original mix)

Ruben Karapetyan – Erectheum (Original Mix)

Ruben Karapetyan – Frequency Formula (Original mix)

What music did you listen to as a child?

I grew up in USSR times in Armenia, so music from outside was very limited. Limited options to choose from and therefore I would listen to what we had available from Modern Talking, Sandra and Sabrina.

When was the first time that you realized that you liked electronic music?

A friend invited me to a desert rave in California. The first time I heard Acid House (I think was back in 1992) it was love at first sight. It’s been over 30 years that love has only grown stronger and stronger.

When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?

First time I really paid close attention was an event in San Bernardino, CA. when Rabbit in the Moon was performing live followed by Orbital. That is the day I thought to myself this is what I want to do with my life.

Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?

I don’t have anyone that really inspires me, I just love good music from every genre, from Jazz to classical. If the music is good it’s inspirational.

What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?

The Richest Man in Babylon by Thievery Corporation, it’s not new but I just got it. I’ve always been a big fan of the band.

What is your current production and DJ set up like?

I used to work on full hardware back in early 2000s, but now I have a very simple studio, I am on Pro Tools / FL Studio, pair of Adam X7 and Yamaha SH8 Monitors, all connected to Scarlet 18I20 soundcard, custom build Mac Pro running windows operating system, only piece of hardware I still use is MOOG 37 for baseline, on the DJ’ing side, I have 2 CDJ 3000s and DJM900 Mixer.

What releases do you have on the horizon?

Ruben Karapetyan – Erectheum (Original mix), Ruben Karapetyan – Frequency Formula (Original Mix), Ruben Karapetyan & Kristina Sky – Interjection (Original Mix), Ruben Karapetyan – Dicite (Remixed) and 2 track EP on Movement Recordings out September 1st.

Where can we hear you perform?

I had to cancel most of my shows next 3 months due to health Issues, but I’ll resume touring again in October, starting from Pakistan, Sir Lanka, London, and few shows at ADE 2023 in Amsterdam.

Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?

Everything is programmed on Rekordbox, and mixed on CDJ’s. Included in this mix is my upcoming track ‘Frequency Formula‘ on The Soundgarden, also Nacres‘s – Naturalize coming out on my label, and included is upcoming tracks from my favourite labels like Mango Alley, Meanwhile, and SLC-6, to name a few.

My Recommendations

The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:

Ruben Karapetyan – Dicite (Kenan Savrun Remix)