From Egypt to the Carolinas, Atlanta, and more recently Seattle, Abe Nour, better known by his stage name Ra, is on a mission by spreading his bigger-than-life musical vision everywhere he goes. Ra started his journey in the electronic music industry back in 2013 and soon began playing alongside many highly reputable names such as Seven Lions, Illenium, Zed’s Dead, and many others.
Already a well-known artist in the city of Atlanta, Ra recently made his way to Seattle for the first time to perform a headlining set at The Underground with Safe Escape Events. While backstage during the setup of the show, I sat down with Ra to talk with him in-depth about music, his inspirations, and a precarious upbringing that began in Egypt and led him to the U.S. In quick time, Ra is making a bold and daring rise in the electronic music world. Who is Ra? You’re about to find out.
RMR Interviews Ra
*This interview was edited for clarity*
RMR: What was it like playing alongside artists like Seven Lions, Illenium, Zeds Dead, Snails, and G Jones? Can you think of any experiences that were especially memorable that you might share?
Ra: I’m lucky enough to have met and opened for all the guys who have inspired me in electronic music, Illenium, Said The Sky, Mitis, Seven Lions, Minnesota, all the people who I look up to most. I’m lucky to be acquainted with them. One of my favorite experiences was when I went B2B with Minnesota in Atlanta. I’ve performed with him two different times now. Typical big name artists like that wouldn’t go B2B with smaller artists, but he’s very humble.
RMR: Are there any important artists outside of the electronic music realm who have inspired you?
Ra: Linkin Park inspired me quite a bit growing up. Hans Zimmer has also been huge. If you don’t know who Hans Zimmer is, he’s one of the biggest movie score producers in the world. Movies I really liked, Interstellar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, any type of big scale movie, thrillers, action, epics, Hans Zimmer has had his hand in them all. He’s absolutely phenomenal.
RMR: Tell me about your recent B2B with Sullivan King. What was that experience like?
Ra: The Sullivan King set was awesome. Tagging with him felt natural since him and I are pretty good friends. I found him when he still had around 1,000 followers on SoundCloud. Then I got a chance to meet him when I opened for him in Carolina a while back. We instantly clicked. The guy’s super talented, super dedicated, and he’s about two years younger than me.
RMR: Where did your inspiration come from with ‘Ra’ and the Egyptian sun god style and brand? How does that concept reflect in your music?
Ra: When I chose “Ra” it was of course partly because of my Egyptian descent. It was also because growing up, I was into mythology and was quite a big nerd. I spent a lot of time watching big action-adventure movies and epics. The soundtracks in the background always seemed to touch me because they felt bigger than life, which is exactly what I wanted my music to reflect. That’s why I chose the name Ra. What could be bigger than the Egyptian sun god?
When I initially began DJing and producing, I was only interested in heavy dubstep. Once I started listening to artists such as Seven Lions, I discovered a love for melodic bass music and wanted to introduce that style into my production. I also wanted to incorporate my Egyptian heritage, and I began to add middle eastern drums and other similar sounds into my music. What I came up with, ‘Ra,’ is a mix of melodic, metal, and middle eastern dubstep, with an epic touch to it. Ra is meant to be bigger than life.
RMR: Tell me about Egypt and your experience there.
Ra: My upbringing was in Alexandria, Egypt. My family and I moved to the U.S. out of the blue when I was very young, about seven. My parents had their name placed in a lottery to win a visa to travel to the U.S. By some higher power we were chosen, and my parents sold everything they had to get the money to fly and trip over here. A lot of people in the U.S. don’t know, it’s actually really hard if you don’t live in America, to come here. I was seven and a half, maybe eight, at the time. My little brother and I just went with the flow, not knowing what to expect. We ended up living in the Carolinas throughout my youth, and I became pretty Americanized. I would later move to, Charlotte, and more recently Atlanta, Georgia, to help further my musical career.
RMR: What was your new life like the U.S. and how did you get into DJing and producing?
Ra: Growing up in America, I stayed to myself a lot. Music was the only thing I could relate to, and in school, I was always hiding in my headphones. I was like this even throughout high school, but for some reason, I never considered a career in music. It always seemed like an unachievable dream, something totally impractical. Society teaches you to always be practical and reach for lesser things that you can achieve, and I guess I always believed that was what I had to do.
After graduating high school, I didn’t go to college. I didn’t do anything. I took a break. During that break, I found the electronic music scene. The first show I ever went to, Zedd, opening for Porter Robinson, opening up for Skrillex, was $18 dollars. It was absolutely incredible. That night totally blew me away, and I don’t think it could ever be topped. Because of that night, I eventually gave DJing a try. From there, I started performing, and my career just sort of took off. I found a knack for DJing on stage. Producing, however, was a whole nother monster that I didn’t start to tackle for a few more years.
RMR: What is your creative process like when making music?
Ra: When making music I typically start out with my mini piano and experiment with a nice melody. From there I create chords from the melody, then start to add drums and pads. Slowly but surely my mind will start to come up with ideas that go with the track. What I’ve learned is that creativity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the easier it comes.
RMR: What other hobbies do you have that help you strengthen your creativity?
Ra: The only other hobby that I think helps my creative process is video games. A lot of people don’t realize that many popular video games have soundtracks made by amazing producers. I often hear them and realize, wow, that background sound is dope! I want to use that! Video games, shows, movies, those are all some nice relaxing ways to find inspiration.
RMR: What are some of your favorite shows or video games?
Ra: Gundam Wing is the most underrated anime of all time! They need to make it bigger. Af for video games, Assassin’s Creed is definitely my favorite. The most recent one is even based in ancient Egypt. My next favorites would be Kingdom Hearts, then God of War. I’ve been sober for my entire life, so I see video games as being my only vice.
RMR: What has made you decide to remain sober?
Ra: Focus and control. Growing up, I remember watching my friends get drunk and do really stupid things. I never wanted to be that guy. It’s not a good look.
RMR: This is your first time performing in Seattle. How has your experience been so far? What do you like about being here?
Ra: I just flew in yesterday and had some time to explore Seattle today. It’s a gorgeous city. I’m honestly, I’m falling in love. It’s going to be hard for me to force myself not to move here. It’s great being here, and I’m really excited to play my first Seattle show tonight.
RMR: Tell me about the recent EP you’ve been working on.
Ra: It’s going to be a four-track EP with middle eastern vibes. The title that I’m considering right now is Contact. I’d like it to get on a label like seven lions’ Ophelia, or Minnesota’s new label Outer Realms, or Suicide Sheep because they’ve always supported melodic dubstep. Some of the tracks on the EP were started a few years ago, some pretty recent. Patience in creating this EP has been the most challenging part of the process. I’m striving to be innovative and create a sound that nobody else has, but I also just want to get the EP out there so I can share it with all my fans.
I’m excited to be working on this EP with Adara. She’s an amazing vocalist, and I owe her a lot. She’s actually the reason that one of my tracks even got completed. It was this really challenging unfinished song that I was getting ready to throw away because I just couldn’t figure out how to finish it. Then I showed her the track, and she sent me some vocals that absolutely completed the song. Adara is an amazing singer and I hope to have Adara featured on at least one track in every EP I create.
RMR: is there anything you want to tell your fans in closing?
Ra: Your patience will be rewarded, I promise you.
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