Sariel Orenda: Dreaming Between Worlds with "I Dream My Destiny"

Sariel Orenda is a Bulgarian musician and producer whose path through music has taken him from classical influences and heavy metal to the spacious, soul-driven sound of organic downtempo. With his new release "I Dream My Destiny" on Sounds Of Sirin, he explores the tension between choice and surrender, memory and imagination, channelling years of inner work and cultural roots into something both deeply personal and universally felt. In this interview, he opens up about learning to lead with melody over rhythm, his growing obsession with live looping, and why he sees music not just as something to hear, but as a living experience.

Q: You are described as a musician and producer, not just a producer. How important is that distinction to you, and what instruments or musical roots do you bring to your electronic work?

A: That distinction feels quite important to me. I usually see myself as a musician first and a producer second. My relationship with music started through instruments, through touch, emotion and physical expression, not through a screen. In my productions I try to use real instruments as much as possible — guitar, vocals, ethnic strings, flutes, percussive textures, organic sounds. Of course, many of these instruments are sampled nowadays, and sometimes that is simply more practical, especially because many traditional instruments can detune quickly or be difficult to maintain. But I still try to keep the feeling of something alive and human. At the same time, I am becoming more and more open to the world of synthesis. I love when electronic sound can expand the emotion of an acoustic instrument without replacing its soul. I understand music more naturally than the technical side of mixing, where I often just tweak knobs until it feels right. For me, the emotional truth always comes first.

Q: Bulgaria has a rich musical heritage, from folk traditions to a growing electronic scene. How has growing up there shaped the way you hear and create music?

A: For a big part of my life my focus was actually more abroad. I was listening to music from many different cultures and looking for inspiration outside of Bulgaria. But in the last few years I started digging deeper into my own roots, and I realized that a big part of my inspiration is actually coming from there. Bulgaria is one of the oldest countries in Europe, founded in 681, and it carries a very deep cultural memory. The folklore here is incredibly rich — the asymmetrical rhythms, the powerful female voices, the mountain songs, the old village rituals, the feeling that music is not only entertainment but something connected to life, land, prayer and community. I feel that Bulgarian music has this ancient, raw emotional quality. It can be very beautiful, but also intense, almost mystical. I think this shaped the way I hear music — I am drawn to melodies that feel timeless, rhythms that move the body in an unusual way, and harmonies that carry both light and melancholy.

Q: Your philosophy is about helping people connect with something beautiful and positive. Where does that come from personally?

A: When I was younger I played metal and heavier music. At that time it felt very resonant with me — it had power, fire and emotional intensity. Later in life I started discovering more sustainable ways of living, spirituality, Eastern philosophies and different forms of inner work. That changed not only the way I lived, but also the kind of music I was listening to and creating. Organic downtempo felt like a perfect bridge for me. It had the modern electronic sound, the healing and spacious atmosphere, but still carried the fire and movement of dance music. It allowed me to express softness and intensity at the same time. Nowadays I feel myself transitioning more and more back into being a musician, rather than only a producer. I am interested in music as a living experience — something that can help people remember beauty, presence, connection and something deeper within themselves.

Q: The slow beat as a gateway to inner flow — how did you arrive at that idea, and how does it guide your production decisions?

A: For some time I really felt that slower tempos were the perfect gateway into inner flow. They gave space to breathe, to feel, to enter the body in a softer way. A slow beat can create a kind of trance without pushing too hard. But nowadays I am also breaking through that belief. I am experimenting with much faster tempos, and also with very slow, almost ambient pieces. I don't want to bind myself to one specific BPM or one specific genre. I think any tempo can become a gateway if it is honest and if it serves the moment. For me, the real question is not "Is it slow or fast?" but "Does it open something?" Sometimes the doorway is a deep slow groove. Sometimes it is a fiery rhythm. Sometimes it is silence.

Q: What does your creative process look like? Do you start with an emotion, a melody, a rhythm?

A: Most of the time I start with melody. Melody comes most naturally to me, probably because of my background as an instrumentalist. I often begin with a guitar line, a vocal phrase, a harmonic atmosphere or some emotional color that I want to follow. Honestly, I usually leave drums until the very last moment, because rhythm programming does not come as naturally to me as melody and harmony. I like when the track first has a soul, and then the drums arrive to support it. I also find that my best creative moments often come when I have no idea what I am doing. When there is no big expectation, there is more space for surprise. I try to enter the process with curiosity rather than control.

Q: Are there any instruments, tools or plugins that are essential to your sound?

A: I wouldn't say there is one essential tool, because things are constantly changing and evolving. I try not to become too attached to one plugin or one piece of gear. Ableton has been a big part of my production process for many years, and I really enjoy how flexible it is. Recently, I have also been using Loopy Pro more and more on stage. It is an amazing live looper and a real powerhouse for spontaneous performance. At the moment I am becoming more interested in tools that help me stay connected to the body and the moment — live looping, instruments, pedals, hands-on controllers. Less staring at the laptop, more playing.

Q: "I Dream My Destiny" moves between choice and surrender, memory and imagination. Is that duality something you experience in your own life, or did it come purely from a creative place?

A: I think it is definitely something I experience in my own life. There is always this dance between having a vision and surrendering to something bigger. We make choices, we walk in a certain direction, but life also has its own intelligence. For me, "I Dream My Destiny" carries that feeling — the idea that destiny is not something fixed, but also not something we fully control. It is somewhere between dreaming, remembering, choosing and allowing. In that sense, the track is both personal and universal.

Q: When you think about the artists or records that shaped you most, who comes to mind?

A: From an early age I was influenced by artists like Andrea Bocelli, Oliver Shanti and Sarah Brightman. Later I went into a completely different world — Black Sabbath, Pantera, Lamb of God and heavier music. That period gave me a lot of fire and intensity. After that I entered the electronic scene, and The Prodigy was definitely a big game changer for me. Later I listened to a lot of drum and bass, but I remember hearing a Mose track and feeling, "That's it." It felt like the perfect combination of where I was in my life and where I wanted the music to go. So artists like Mose, Satori, Be Svendsen, NU and Nicola Cruz became big inspirations. Nowadays I also get inspired by more cinematic and emotional artists like Grandbrothers, SYML, Moby, and of course many of the artists from our label Resueño.

Q: Do you perform live or DJ, and how does that side of things connect to what you make in the studio?

A: I do both, but I am transitioning more and more into live looping. I recently decided to take a bigger break from producing and focus on developing my live looping set. It has already been a two to three year process of building a setup that allows me to create music completely on the spot, with zero prepared material. No backing tracks, no fixed arrangement — just instruments, voice, loops, effects and the moment itself. It has been quite a journey, sometimes very technical and challenging, but I feel it was totally worth it. I am also planning to bring this approach into writing new music. I want the studio to feel more like performance — less thinking, less screen, more hands-on experience and more life inside the music.

Q: What's next for you after this release?

A: After this release, I feel called to slow down with production for a while and focus deeply on my live looping performance. I want to test it at some festivals this year and possibly next year as well, and just see how it unfolds naturally. I am curious to explore a more spontaneous way of creating — music that is born in the moment, in front of people, shaped by the space, the audience and the energy of the day. That feels like the next chapter for me.

Get it on Beatport