Fresh off the back of two stunning EP releases on the Blank Dust label, we caught up with Madrid based producer unsui to take a deeper look at his Drops From The Sun & Drops From The Moon collections, his journey so far and more.

Your artist name, Unsui, symbolizes the flow of water and the search for wisdom. How does this concept influence your approach to music production and live performances?

Hi, thank you so much for featuring me on your blog and for being interested in my project!

The connection between water and my creative process is something absolutely spontaneous. Even before I started producing music, water had always been an element I anchored to in my imagination as a way to expand my state of consciousness.

When I began taking my first steps into the world of electronic music, every time I dived (no pun intended) into my projects, I noticed how water would manifest itself to guide my ideas. Sometimes it would be the image of a vast, dark ocean floor; other times, a river with green moss embracing the stones.

For me, water represents purification—it has the ability to reach hidden places and adapt to its surroundings. In the live sets I create, I always try to follow a cyclical flow of energy, as if the sound emerged from a source, flowed through forests to reach the sea, and then evaporated to return to the beginning.

Your recent EP Drops From The Sun  is a stunning collection of work. What inspired this project, and how does it reflect your creative vision?

Drops from the Sun and Drops from the Moon are two sides of the same coin. Two opposites that coexist within the same identity, impossible to exist without one another. Drops from the Sun focuses on the emotions evoked by the daytime world—the contrasts of light and shadow. The tracks in this EP are energetic, perhaps even euphoric, but they always carry a touch of melancholy. The first image that comes to mind is someone lifting their head to let the sun warm their face. In that act there’s the joy of a fleeting moment, a sense of elevation and freedom, but also a certain vulnerability in that surrender.

With Drops From The Moon set to release in February, how does it build upon or contrast with Drops From The Sun? Are there particular themes or moods you aimed to explore in this follow-up?

Drops from the Moon dives into the world of the night. Yet, just as daylight implies shadow, the calm of the night can harbor unexpected energies. The night belongs to the moon, to its feminine energy that governs the tides, but it’s also the stage for our fears and for beings that remain hidden during the day. It’s also the time for dreams and unconscious fantasies. The night, for me, represents the opportunities that come with the undefined. During the day, I feel like we move with clear goals and precise missions, while the night invites us to lose ourselves in our projections.

The press release for the new EP describes tracks like Lucid Dream and Red Clouds; as exploring dreams, transformation, and perception. Can you elaborate on how these concepts influenced your songwriting and sound design?

Lucid Dream explores more atmospheric textures contrasted with dreamy arpeggios and leads. It even has an extended breakdown, like a slow awakening—if it was ever a dream! Red Cloud speaks of the clouds during a sunset. It was inspired by a summer evening when I thought about how, as night begins to take over, those clouds spark the start of our lucid dreams. We see them morph into dragons, whales, or horses. Cloud-gazing is something that reconnects us with our childhood. And children hold the power of dreaming. Red Clouds starts with a fairly shapeless structure, a broken kick, and scattered vocal chops that seem to be searching for something. Like clouds trying to take on a precise form, it gradually builds and culminates in a powerful lead, expressing that we’ve finally recognized the shape we were seeking in the clouds.

Your music often merges natural elements with abstract emotions. What role does nature play in your creative process, and how do you translate those experiences into sound?

Nature is for sure a common source of inspiration for many artists. Somehow, surrendering to nature reminds us that we are already living in a Garden of Earthly Delights and that our origin is being part of something pure and inexplicable.

I recently watched a documentary about Ryuichi Sakamoto called Coda. In one scene, the maestro explains how a grand piano is made—layers upon layers of laminated wood compressed and bent by precise machinery to hold the piano’s shape. Over time, however, the piano goes out of tune. According to him, that “out of tune” state is the tension created by the wood trying to return to its natural form. We call it dissonance, but perhaps our harmonic system is an imposition on nature, which has its own harmony. I found that idea fascinating, and it made me think that drawing inspiration from nature is also my way of resisting the twists and compressions the modern world imposes on us.

I love using water sounds, recording my own samples of dry leaves, or contrasting those noises with synthetic ones. I believe they connect listeners to a sense of origin. And the rhythmic part? Well, I’ve been passionate about percussion for as long as I can remember.

You’re also known for your live performances. How does performing live influence your production process, and do you test new ideas during your sets?

Honestly, when I’m producing, I don’t think much about the live set. They’re two very different worlds, but they complement each other naturally. The live performance side is an infinite playground, and I’m still exploring and figuring out the best way to structure a show. Usually, I like to remix my tracks to adapt them for live performance or more club-oriented settings. I enjoy adding new melodies or arpeggios that I can modulate live using hardware. Adapting tracks for live shows is also a way of keeping them alive. Many times, you discover new layers, and fresh possibilities open up.

Can you give us some insight into your live setup? What equipment or tools do you rely on to create your immersive soundscapes?

My live set is built around Ableton Live, where I have all my track clips organized into eight channels that I control using a Novation Launch Control XL and a Launchpad. These controllers also let me manage some effects, which can apply to the master or individual channels. That’s my “safe” foundation. Alongside this, I use hardware like the Moog and the Prophet 6 module, which I can connect as external instruments or control with a Push 2. I’m not a keyboard player, so I feel more comfortable improvising on pads. I also use an Elektron Digitakt to add new percussion live.

Let’s say my way of working is to build a solid foundation to improvise on. I love improvising, and I think a live set should keep that “raw” character that makes it unique and different from a DJ set.

Looking ahead to 2025, what are your main goals as an artist? Are there any specific projects, collaborations, or performances you’re most excited about?

For 2025, I have a lot of hopes and goals. Most importantly, I want to keep doing what I love most: producing music and performing live. I say this because I truly believe that staying connected to the reasons that led me to pursue music (which isn’t easy) is the only way to stay on track. I want to keep developing a unique, personal sound that feels like a true extension of my inner world.

I’m also working on a new project that might become my first album—or a longer EP with seven tracks, inspired, of course, by water! I’ve been putting a lot of effort into this new material, and I’m pretty satisfied with the sound I’m reaching. Beyond that, my goal is to keep growing as an artist, gaining more visibility, and collaborating with other artists. And, of course, playing live as much as I can. Exciting opportunities are already emerging in that regard!

As someone who explores the balance between dreamy atmospheres and rhythmic energy, what challenges do you face in maintaining that balance, and how do you overcome them?

Finding the right balance in each track is always a challenge. My biggest difficulty is managing the coexistence of many ideas, which often translates into too much information in the mid or high-mid frequencies. The rhythmic part, on the other hand, feels more natural to balance, so I dedicate most of my energy to resolving the harmonic side.

In my latest productions, I’ve noticed a tendency to reduce the number of channels, focusing more on the main idea. I don’t follow a strict method. My creative process is mostly emotional and intuitive. Sometimes I start with a rhythm, other times with harmony, or even a specific sound. However, if I begin with harmony, I tend to integrate the rhythm quickly. I usually create a lot of freeform chaos and then focus on cleaning and refining. That’s why I love those moments when you stumble upon your own sounds and feel excited as they emerge. For me, it’s crucial to work on the main idea of a track quickly and deeply because, once time passes, it’s harder to recover that initial emotion and connection to the idea.

Finally, what message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from your upcoming EP and your music as a whole?

I hope my music moves something within people—sparks surprises and unexpected feelings. I can’t define exactly what sensations because I think music, like any art, is open to the most personal interpretations once the creator releases it. I hope that anyone who connects with my songs can make them their own—whether it’s part of a road trip, a morning coffee, or even background music for making love! In the end, music has the power to make us travel, to make us feel like we’re in a movie. It can turn a dream into reality—or reality into a Lucid Dream.

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