The Journey

From first ideas and early studios to the sound and identity of Rolla Tunes today. A collection of places, sketches and moments that shaped the journey along the way.

The Journey
Ralph at age 15 or 16 in his first music studio.
Long before Rolla Tunes existed, music production was already part of the journey. Ralph in his first studio at 15 or 16. © Rolla Tunes
Macintosh computer running Logic Sequencer in Ralph's studio around 1997.
Around 1997: Logic Sequencer running on a Macintosh in Ralph's early studio — years before producing completely in the box became the norm. © Rolla Tunes
Front view of Olivia's home studio around the time Olivia and Ralph first met.
Olivia's home studio as it looked when our paths first crossed in 2020. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia smiling at the camera in her home studio during the day.
Olivia in the little studio where she had already been writing, producing and recording her own music long before Rolla Tunes. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia and Ralph taking a playful selfie together shortly after they met.
Two paths had just collided. Newly in love, completely ridiculous — and still unaware of where the journey would take us. © Rolla Tunes
Ralph working in Olivia's studio, photographed from behind.
Ralph working in Olivia's studio during the earliest days of making music together. © Rolla Tunes
Panoramic view of Olivia's home studio with a slight fisheye effect.
A wider look at Olivia's creative space — small, personal and equipped with everything needed to turn ideas into songs. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia working at the computer in her studio at night.
Late-night sessions were part of the story from the beginning. Olivia working in her studio after dark. © Rolla Tunes
Black-and-white selfie of Olivia and Ralph pulling playful faces.
There was a lot of music in those early days. There was also an unreasonable amount of nonsense. © Rolla Tunes
Logic running on the studio display and MacBook between Adam Audio monitors in Olivia's studio.
Logic, a MacBook and Adam monitors — the centre of Olivia's home studio. © Rolla Tunes
Synthesizers, drum machines, samplers and effects laid out during the construction of Ralph's studio.
Time to bring the old studio back to life. Years of stored synthesizers, drum machines, samplers and effects finally came out of their boxes again. © Rolla Tunes
Ralph wiring synthesizers and studio equipment during the studio build.
Rebuilding the studio meant reconnecting years of hardware — one cable at a time. © Rolla Tunes
Black-and-white photo of Olivia cleaning and setting up equipment, photographed from the recording booth.
Building the new creative space together — Olivia setting up and bringing the old gear back to life. © Rolla Tunes
Original hand-drawn sketch of the Rolla Tunes puma logo.
Before it became the puma we know today, it started here — Olivia's first sketch of what would become the visual identity of Rolla Tunes. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia playing piano and singing into a microphone in her studio, photographed for the Ich Ziehe Los cover.
Olivia at the piano in her studio. This photograph later became the basis for the Ich Ziehe Los artwork — the song that helped start Rolla Tunes. © Rolla Tunes
Playful selfie of Olivia and Ralph, with Ralph wearing two caps.
Still taking ourselves extremely seriously. © Rolla Tunes
Ralph's newly built studio at night with the equipment powered on.
Not quite finished yet, but already alive. Ralph's rebuilt studio during one of its first nights back in operation. © Rolla Tunes
Roland MC-307 and MC-303, Korg Polysix and keyboards in front of the TEAC mixing console.
Hardware everywhere: Roland grooveboxes, a Korg Polysix, keyboards and the enormous vintage TEAC console behind them. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia polishing studio equipment while putting the finishing touches on Ralph's newly built studio.
The last little details before the rebuilt studio was officially ready for Rolla Tunes. © Rolla Tunes
Black-and-white photo of Ralph working in his studio, photographed from behind.
Back where he belonged — Ralph producing in the rebuilt studio. © Rolla Tunes
Close-up of the TEAC mixing console faders with illuminated VU meters in the background.
Faders, glowing VU meters and several hundred kilograms of glorious analogue excess. © Rolla Tunes
Full view of Ralph's completed home studio.
The finished studio — and the place where a new generation of Rolla Tunes tracks started taking shape. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia working in Ralph's studio at night, surrounded by orange and blue light and the TEAC mixing console.
No fixed roles. Olivia producing at the workstation, surrounded by synths, lights and the unmistakable TEAC console — because Rolla Tunes has never been producer plus vocalist. © Rolla Tunes
Saturated view across the TEAC mixing console towards desktop synthesizers and rack equipment.
A wall of sound waiting to happen — synths and rack gear seen across the channels of the TEAC mixer. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia posing in a Rolla Wear sweatshirt.
Our logo looked too good to leave on a screen — one of the early Rolla Wear pieces. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia and Ralph posing together in Rolla Wear clothing.
Wearing the sound together — Olivia and Ralph in Rolla Wear. © Rolla Tunes
Ralph posing in a Rolla Wear hoodie.
Ralph representing Rolla Wear — because apparently having the logo on every screen wasn't enough. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia recording vocals at the microphone in Ralph's studio.
Where ideas become performances — Olivia recording vocals in the studio. © Rolla Tunes
Producer's view of the workstation and equipment in Ralph's studio.
The producer's view: screens, monitors, keyboards and hardware ready for another session. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia producing music in Ralph's studio, photographed from behind.
Another day at the office. Olivia deep in the production process — shaping sounds, arranging ideas and turning them into Rolla Tunes. © Rolla Tunes
Custom-built racks for desktop synthesizers and rack equipment during construction of the current Rolla Tunes studio.
Another chapter, another studio. Custom-built racks taking shape for the current Rolla Tunes workspace. © Rolla Tunes
Producer workstation taking shape during construction of the current Rolla Tunes studio.
The new producer workstation during construction — still empty enough to look suspiciously tidy. © Rolla Tunes
Synthesizers installed during construction of the current Rolla Tunes studio.
The synthesizers move in. At this point it officially starts feeling like home. © Rolla Tunes
Olivia building the recording booth in the current Rolla Tunes studio.
Olivia building the recording booth in our current studio — because apparently we don't just make music, we build half the room too. © Rolla Tunes
Mixing console and studio monitors during construction of the current Rolla Tunes studio.
Mixer and monitors in place as the current studio slowly comes together. © Rolla Tunes
Front view of desktop synthesizers, drum machines and effects in the current Rolla Tunes studio.
Desktop synths, drum machines and effects finally arranged in their new home. © Rolla Tunes
Completed producer workstation in the current Rolla Tunes studio.
The finished producer workstation — ready for whatever comes next. © Rolla Tunes
Desktop synthesizers beside a wall of Drum & Bass record covers in the current Rolla Tunes studio.
The tools and some of the inspiration: synthesizers beneath a wall of Drum & Bass history. © Rolla Tunes
Perspective view of drum machines, samplers and desktop synthesizers beside the studio's red acoustic panels.
Drum machines, samplers, synthesizers and the red acoustic wall of the current Rolla Tunes studio. © Rolla Tunes
Synthesizers and studio equipment illuminated at night in the current Rolla Tunes studio.
The Enterprise cockpit after dark. Somehow all those blinking lights eventually turn into music. © Rolla Tunes