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With Ruminations, arriving October 17, Truant.J steps into one of his most focused and emotionally charged creative phases to date. Rooted in a renewed fascination with dark and trancy soundscapes, the EP unfolds as both a “dark celebration” and a moment of personal clarity — a reflection of an artist rediscovering his flow and creative instinct. Across its tracks, Truant.J balances introspection with kinetic energy, blending shadowy textures and hypnotic rhythms into a sound that feels both cerebral and physical. Deeply shaped by Vancouver’s thriving underground and its spirit of experimentation, Ruminations stands as a statement of evolution — the sound of Truant.J fully embracing darkness, motion, and meaning in equal measure.
Ruminations arrives on October 17. What kind of mindset or personal state were you in while creating this record, and how do those emotions translate into its sound design and structure?
I’ve been feeling truly inspired. Recently, I’ve rediscovered my love for blending dark and trancy sounds. These sounds have always interested me, and finding new inspiration allowed me to run with it without overthinking things. This EP was one of the easiest for me to write, simply by leaning into this.
The title Ruminations evokes introspection and mental wandering. Was there a specific narrative or philosophical idea guiding the project, or did it develop more organically through experimentation?
The idea really started to take shape once I had finished the first title track. I built the rest of the EP around it, using it as a North Star, while still intentionally taking the other tracks in some different directions I wanted to explore in terms of writing. That being said, once I had the first track and started experimenting with others, I really wanted to build an EP that was a ‘dark celebration.’ The project felt like finding my stride in a different way, so I wanted to celebrate that while keeping to some dark themes. In terms of narrative, the EP certainly has a story for me that I want to tell. I want to leave breadcrumbs of that for the listener, but part of what I love about Techno is allowing people to impose their own story on it, so I didn’t want to go too deep there.
Your work often blends raw, shadowy textures with a certain emotional precision. What sound palette or production approach did you focus on this time to capture that atmosphere?
I’m really focused on finding a dark element as an anchor and building around that. It often means a lot of experimentation at the start to try and find something that feels interesting and evokes a certain feeling for me. However, sometimes you get lucky, and that was the case with Ruminations; the core elements didn’t change much and really just fit together and clicked quickly for me.
When you look back at your earlier records, what stands out as a key evolution in your production — whether technically, emotionally, or in terms of storytelling?
I’ve certainly evolved in terms of my technical abilities, but I think more so in the different stages of life and taking some of what I’m going through and incorporating that into what I’m working on. I think that comes across from earlier EPs being specifically very focused on dark sounds, some broken beats, and atmospheric records, whereas now I’m having more fun with it. I still love making things like dark ambient tracks, but I’m more interested in groove and energy right now. I think that’s just a reflection of going from a time in my life dealing with some challenging things to a better place, and not abandoning those darker sounds but using them in different ways.
Vancouver’s underground scene has a unique, moody aesthetic. How do the environment and the artists around you influence the energy or tone of your releases?
Vancouver’s scene profoundly impacted my musical preferences and the sounds I find interesting. It exposed me to a wide range of genres, not just limited to techno, which I incorporate into my productions. The city boasts a wonderful, supportive techno scene that has grown massively in the last few years. Artists such as Nancy Dru, AWood, Kloves, The GOAT, and Joel West helped me experience different sounds, find my footing as an artist, and continue to inspire and push me.
After Ruminations, are you looking to further deepen the darker minimalism you’ve been exploring, or pivot toward something entirely unexpected?
Kind of both. This EP really feels like it’s helped me find my stride doing darker, driving techno, and I’ve already finished a bunch of music in a similar vein that I’m very happy with. That being said, I’ve completed another EP that is in a very different direction, one I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I finally felt inspired to just do it and create something very different, and I’m very happy with it and can’t wait to share it.
artist: Truant. J
EP title: Ruminations
Label: Truant
Cat No TRUANT003
Format: Digital
Release date : Oct 17th, 2025
Order Link https://thisistruant.bandcamp.com/album/truant-j-ruminations
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