Itʼs been almost two years since Music Man released Petar Dundov‘s third album Sailing Off The Grid on CD and limited 4LP. Heʼs been so busy touring and remixing that after last yearʼs single “Origins/Rise”, the two tracks on this latest EP are only the first two new Dundov tracks since the album. Laced with Petar’s melodic signature sound, his latest release is a must-have for all fans out there.

Ahead of the EP’s release on July 6, XLR8R spoke with Dundov about his lengthy hiatus and how touring feeds his creativity. Snippets of his latest EP are available to stream below.

Q:

Over the years, you’ve managed to build a strong relationship with one of the most enduring techno labels out there. From a creative standpoint, do you feel this was a positive for you? 

A:

I have been working with many labels in the past, under many aliases – for me it was all part of growing up as musician. I always liked various aspects of electronic music and I never restrained myself in trying different things.

During my earlier years, I learned so much about myself and music in general – and as time progressed I slowly started to focus on a particular sound. Sometime during that period, I met people from Music Man and we started releasing records under my real name. We didn’t know where it is going to lead us; this was 13 years ago and I was still unknown artist – but they believed in my music and this gave me much needed self-confidence to proceed in my inner exploration. I had complete freedom and this was everything I was looking for.

For me the most important thing was to be able to stay in studio working late hours, focusing on writing good songs, knowing that after it was done, it would find its way to the audience. The label is the bridge between musicians and the listeners, and having one place where they can find you makes it all easier to follow.

Q:

Over recent years, your touring schedule has restricted your output to only one solo EP in two years. Is playing live or DJing something that restricts or feeds your creativity in the studio?

A:

I’ve been constantly on the road for the past two years, playing live or DJing. I did two albums in two years and practically jumped from one tour to another. I did discuss with my publisher as to whether we should do so many releases in quick succession, but I just wanted to put this songs out as they were part of same opus.

Last year I was forced to start to think how to find a way to manage my studio sessions because time became so fragmented. Being able to perform good shows is very important and usually on a trip home I have all this energy from people and my mind starts firing like crazy. I quickly write couple of phrases on my laptop and that is enough for me for to be able to continue where I left off. I have a collection of compositions for the next album but the production process is lengthy because I tend to use complex arrangements. I decided to slow things down with shows to be able to finish the album. In the mean time I did lots of remixes because I could do those in a couple of days during week.

Q:
Is there a relationship (sounds, composition or process-wise) between LPs and EPs or do you see them as two completely independent entities?

A:
There is an overlap but these two formats have steadily been becoming more independent for a number of reasons. Firstly, we tend to release albums with a couple of songs that we could repress as separate singles. That is all over now with the introduction of digital distribution. What makes more sense is to take songs from the album and have couple of artists to remix them and then release it as 12″. When I am doing EPs I try to think how it will sound in a club or a radio. In this way, songs for singles need to have at least some compatibility with the current stream of music that DJs are playing, otherwise they were not be able to introduce them in their mixes. As a consequence of this, for albums, it is not necessary anymore to structure them around singles. Format gained more space for more narrative, stories could develop a deeper meaning. In a way, this is a positive change.

Tracklist:

A / 1. Synchrotonic

B / 2. Holiday In Singularity