BTWRKS.
Between production and emotion.
BTWRKS on “ahead”, melodies between pop and drum & bass, and a very personal moment at Electric Love.
In conversation with Raphael · BTWRKS
A topline, a few chords and a shared day in the studio: Raphael explains how BTWRKS’ “ahead” took shape with Julie’s vocals. As BTWRKS, he connects personal stories with the energy of drum & bass. We talk about making room for voices, songs that stay with you, and a festival closing moment when the emotion almost became overwhelming.
BTWRKS is Austrian producer and DJ Raphael Kaufmann. His music combines melodic hooks with drum & bass and influences from pop and trap. In this written interview from October 2026, he discusses “ahead”, “taught me” and his day-to-day creative process.
How ahead came together
In “ahead”, you write about thoughts of the future and what you actually want to achieve. How did that feeling turn into the first musical idea? Was there a sound or melody that made you think: that’s it?
The story of “ahead” came into my head first. The subject was really present in the studio, so I started experimenting with it. I began with a vocal melody, a topline, and the lyrics. Through the lyrics, I found the feeling of the story, and that was the starting point for the whole track.
ahead – twelve hours, one song
Julie’s vocals and Christoph Wall’s piano also feature on “ahead”. What was already there before they joined you, and which contribution made you rethink the track?
That was actually quite funny. Apart from the lyrics, the topline and a few chords I already had, there wasn’t much there. Then Julie and I were in the studio. We’d been out for food and afterwards just started jamming a little. You get those moments when things simply flow, and this was one of them. That’s when the new chords and the melody for “ahead” came together, and something clicked: this really works, including with the topline. The song was then produced from start to finish in about twelve hours in the studio that day.
Julie gave it the finishing touch, because until then the topline had only been recorded with my voice. After that came another session with Christoph on piano, then mixing and mastering. Christoph brought in a piano element that is very distinctive and really underlines the essence of the song. It meant I could convey the story I wanted to tell through the music as well.
It’s important to me that melodies, just like voices, have the freedom and space they need.
Pop meets drum & bass
Your music combines memorable melodies with drum & bass and other bass sounds. When you’re producing, how do you decide when a melody needs space and when the drums can take over? Can you talk us through a track where you found that balance?
It’s important to me that melodies, just like voices, have the freedom and space they need. I like starting with the melody. If there’s already a topline, I put the two together and build an arrangement from there. It becomes clear quite quickly where the drop should go and where there should only be the melody or the vocal, because vocals often need a lot of space. I like the dynamic between melodic passages and a drop that is emotional but still has energy.
I think I found that balance on “taught me”. It was the first track in the drum & bass direction I’m making now. I experimented a lot and shut myself away in the studio, trying to tell the story emotionally through melodies. That’s where I realised you can begin with pop-influenced breaks and still move naturally into a drum & bass drop. The moment where the melody deliberately gets space is the break with the chorus. For me, that’s a very, very catchy part.
A dream on stage
You’ve written very personally about playing Electric Love. What did it feel like to play your own music at a major festival back home? Did the response to a particular track surprise you?
Electric Love has a special place in my heart. From the day I started making music at 15, it was my dream to play there one day. My best friend and I were already talking about it back then. It was this big picture in my head, until it really happened. Being able to play at home, with friends and family there every year, is incredibly special. When you think about starting out as a young lad and then having the honour of playing your own songs at a festival like that, it’s incredible.
“taught me” surprised me. The song holds a lot of emotion for me personally, and a profound story from 2025, and it was the last track of my set. That was a very special, emotional moment. I was very, very close to crying on stage.
Finding the flow again
You recently mentioned making three songs a week again. With so many ideas, how do you know which ones are worth pursuing? Has a sketch that initially seemed unremarkable ever become particularly important?
I’ve come out of a period of writer’s block that happened for personal reasons, and right now the flow is really good again. But it isn’t always strictly three songs a week. It can change from week to week, and sometimes a song takes two weeks or a month. That’s part of the creative process. Sometimes ideas arrive in the middle of the night, and I go back to the computer or hum or play a melody.
In the end, deciding what to pursue is often a matter of feeling. I like finishing lots of songs to the point where they could be released. But I usually only put in that final one per cent on the tracks you hear in my sets or that I release. Three questions matter to me: how important is the story I want to tell? Do the melodies stay in my head? And how important is the song to me overall?
One sketch that seemed unremarkable at first and then became special was “breathing again”. At the beginning, it was just a melody I liked, and everything developed from there.
BTWRKS
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. blackbeck.at · SCENE:ID