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INSIGHT 011

PABLO BOLÍVAR


For Pablo Bolívar, music begins with a sense of place. Born in the coastal countryside of northern Spain, deeply influenced by the rhythms that surrounded him, his distinctive sound is rooted in atmosphere, memory, and emotional resonance. After studying sound engineering in Barcelona, he began developing the style he’s known for, blending dubby minimalism with deep, melodic textures, avoiding the obvious while balancing introspective moods with clear dancefloor motives. Running his label, Seven Villas — named for the region of small villages he grew up in — Bolívar has created space for artists working in similarly subtle shades of dubwise house and techno, building what he calls a small family with a shared commitment to music that feels grounded yet expressively honest. In our conversation, Pablo opened up about his evolving workflow, his resistance to creative shortcuts, the impact of recent challenges, and the value of staying connected to what originally drew him to music and sound.

MFA: You were born in the countryside of northern Spain near Santander, studied sound engineering in Barcelona, and later founded Seven Villas Music, the label named after the region you came from. How did those early experiences — your environment, education, and relocation — shape your identity as a producer?
PB: I think it was the main source of my sound, the landscapes and weather of my hometown, the different seasons, the coast, the mountains. It is the main inspiration for my music.

That comes through for sure. Before releasing your own records, you were a DJ and avid record collector. What were some of the key records, labels, or artists that deeply influenced your early musical direction?
I can give you three key artists: Basic Channel, Saint Germain, and Plastikman. If we put their style into a mixer, the juice that we get is something similar to my sound, hah. A blend of deep and dub minimal dance music.

That makes sense. Especially your early albums Anjanas and Recall embody this sound that many now associate with your name: deep, emotive, and dub-inflected yet sleek and modern. How do you feel your music has evolved since those formative releases?
I think nowadays my music has the same spirit, but the production skills and sound design are more polished, more mature. After 20 years I am still learning and upgrading my sound every week.  

The learning never ends, does it? Your tracks often balance melodic, atmospheric, and hypnotic characteristics. How do you approach balancing groove and rhythm with ambient or emotional textures in your productions?
The atmospheric part is my favorite, I love to get lost with deepness, but always carefully; I try to not go too “sweet”, I prefer to keep it “serious” - not “cheesy”. For the rhythm parts I like to keep it simple, minimal and effective.

What does your studio setup look like today? Which pieces of gear or software have become central to your workflow? Are there tools you’ve consciously left behind?
Lately I am using the Deepmind 12 a lot. I also like the Arturia software and Momente Rekorder by my friend Joerg Schuster. I’m not using my Prophet 6, Moog Voyager, or Analog Rytm so often these days, but I am sure they will be back in my productions very soon. And very soon I want to put my hands on your new free synth and all your Manifest devices - they look tasty!

Ha, yeah — we’ll be excited to hear what you do with them for sure. You’ve emphasized working with sound from the ground up: sampling, recording, and shaping audio, rather than relying on loops or presets. Why is this approach important to your creative philosophy?
First, I need a good atmospheric sound, and a basic rhythm. Then I like to jam recording different synths, recording in audio. I prefer to work with audio over MIDI. Sometimes sampling good percussion is a key moment in the production process. 

MIDI stays flexible, but sometimes too flexible — audio kind of commits you, doesn’t it? Your output has been prolific — any other workflow tips you have for producers struggling to finish material on a regular basis?
I know that feeling “it could sound better” — but sometimes if you’re looking to sound like another artist, you’re killing your own style. If you like how it sounds, leave it as it is; if not, maybe someone can help you with the mixing, but don't get obsessed with a track, close it at 90%, start another one, and revisit the 90% track some weeks later.

Yeah, I think it’s so important to keep it moving — and come back after some time with a fresh set of ears. So, how do you know when a track is finished?
Instinct and technical resolution. Also the song needs to have a solid concept or story telling, I don't like to release songs without soul.

The narrative component is crucial I think. You’ve described your label Seven Villas as “connected with your roots” with a focus on deep, expressive music, yet there’s a decent amount of variety in the output. What are the core values or aesthetic boundaries that define Seven Villas?
Music with spirit, connected somehow with nature. I like to release new talented artists and create a small family — but always focusing in the 7V style: a mixture of deep-dub-techno-house, or like I define it: soft, deep, and dark.

Hard techno has been a trend for so long, I wonder if this means the next trend will be soft techno. Anyway, how do you manage the balance between family, your own artistic output, and the demands of running a label: curating releases, managing artists, handling business?
I don’t know. I just do it! Ha. I would like to have more time to spend for my music business like back in the days, but, nowadays I start very early in the morning, so I try to spend around eight hours per day in the studio and label office. But we also have a lot of digital tools that makes the workflow more easy.

Sounds busy! Your artistic work spans several monikers and projects, including Pulshar and more ambient-focused music. Do you approach these as distinct creative identities, or are they different expressions of a single artistic vision?
Pulshar is different from my personal projects — we are two minds with different inputs, which helps to deliver a different sound than my own. My project Korper Und Seele alongside Ruben Garcia is also different; we have released few tracks, but we are working on an atmospheric drum & bass album for the next year — it will be a great exercise outside my usual sound.

That’s exciting. Can’t wait to hear it. But all your music tends to be described as meditative or even therapeutic — is this a conscious goal, or something that naturally emerges from your process?
It emerges naturally, and I love that!  When I receive messages from people saying that my music helped them during tough times, that's wonderful to know.

Speaking of therapeutic, you were recently diagnosed with a rare health condition. How has this impacted your creativity, outlook, and workflow?
Of course it impacted my DJ touring; I get tired easily from airports and traveling, and to recover from a night show is getting harder for me. But the studio and creativity is on top now! So it's time to focus on my productions and start slowing down the touring side.

That must be tough — but ultimately sounds like a positive development. You’ve been active across several eras of electronic music. From your perspective, how has electronic music evolved over the past decades — creatively, technically, and culturally? And what excites you most about the future of electronic music?
I think technology is helping artists to arrive to new horizons easily, and of course the one-person studio is possible thanks to new software. But, if we use technology to make the work for us, that is killing our creativity. Culturally, I think techno music and DJing has become much too popular and easy, losing some of its underground spirit in the process. Nowadays it is possible to “create” a so-called top DJ/producer that’s more like a “business product”: with a big amount of budget, yet very little talent or passion, and that can be quite sad. But there are lot of artists that stay true to their roots, digging for the best records, releasing real underground music and keeping the spirit alive, and that is what I love to see!

No doubt. So what’s next for you in terms of personal projects, collaborations, or the direction you’re steering Seven Villas? Any new projects or releases you’re excited to share?
Lot of stuff coming soon: my album Anjanas celebrates a 20 year anniversary, and I have reworked all the tracks. A collaboration album with Dovim is in the making, also that atmospheric drum & bass project as Korper Und Seele will see the light soon. Plus other collaborations with VRIL and Martin Jarl to name some of my favorite projects.









THE LANDSCAPES AND WEATHER OF MY HOMETOWN, THE DIFFERENT SEASONS, THE COAST, THE MOUNTAINS — IT IS THE MAIN INSPIRATION FOR MY MUSIC.

















I PREFER TO WORK WITH AUDIO OVER MIDI. SOMETIMES SAMPLING GOOD PERCUSSION IS A KEY MOMENT IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS.



















IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO SOUND LIKE ANOTHER ARTIST, YOU’RE KILLING YOUR OWN STYLE.


















AFTER 20 YEARS I AM STILL LEARNING AND UPGRADING MY SOUND EVERY WEEK.












Follow Pablo Bolívar on Instagram or Soundcloud.
Follow Seven Villas on Bandcamp.