Vellichor Talks Algorithms, Creative Pressure, and Reclaiming Personal Expression

Over the past decade, I have watched electronic music move further into a system shaped by playlists, algorithms, and short-form consumption, and that shift sits at the center of this conversation with Vellichor.

Based in the United States and working internationally, Vellichor approaches house and electronic music as a way to process memory, influence, and personal history, while staying aware of the economic realities that shape how music circulates today. In this interview, Vellichor speaks openly about creative pressure, the narrowing of stylistic risk in modern releases, and the internal tension that comes from balancing personal expression with the demands of visibility in an increasingly standardized environment.

We are premiering Vellichor & Discognition – Lillian here ahead of its official release on January 23, 2026, with the track arriving through our record label a few days early. That timing feels aligned with the ideas explored below, which focus on resisting uniformity, valuing longer-form ideas, and trusting instinct when a track feels right even if it falls outside current trends. This conversation offers a clear look at how Vellichor listens, creates, and thinks about electronic music as a space for curiosity, restraint, and intention rather than output shaped purely by metrics.

Interview With Vellichor

Have you noticed streaming platforms nudging everything toward the same tempo, texture, or polish?

As a millennial, I have watched the industry change drastically, from radio-driven playlists, to the evolution of tapes, CDs, streaming and one thing remains the same, the industry leans on similar types of tracks that will win the most plays and streams for the most available market-listener. It remains the same today, in the electronic music space, with genres mostly staying the same, producing the similar sounds, with the target of being under 3 minutes to ensure playlist slotting.

I understand the need of labels & artists to make money for the investment and time they put into their art; however, it becomes a gateway to similar sounds, and I feel, artists becoming untrue to themselves.

What kind of tracks do you think are less likely to show up in algorithm-driven playlists?

I was originally attracted to electronic music through some of the innovation of Kraftwerk, alien sounds,that felt natural to the ear, some foreign that was like home. I believe these types of innovation and sounds are less likely to hit the algos due to their niche audiences.

Also, I LOVE long tracks, that evolve and menace emotion throughout, songs that would most likely do well on a set, but miss the radio & algo playlists. I think we are really missing out on discovery of new artists and new sounds.

Has that changed the kind of music producers make—trying to fit into that mold?

I can not lie, I feel the same urge to produce music that will sell. Softer sounds, with flowing, simple melodies, that sound lush and caring. I feel like when I sit down to produce, there is a war inside to move towards algos and not what I want to express or what comes naturally.

Recently, I have ignored fitting into genres or my “favorite” labels and focus on what makes tracks great, detail, meaning and feeling.The mold is just that, a cage that you try to fit in, that limits expression and what you are willing to put into the sessions and work.

When you’re crate-digging now, how do you stay sensitive to tracks that might not “sound right” but still feel right?

I find the best way to prepare a mix or set that resonates with your own sound is to intermix tracks that will be safe with others that you feel are a bit edgy. In my opinion, those tracks are the ones that make people stop and think or even change their own taste, finding new fans along the way.

Do you ever miss the weird, raw, or imperfect songs that used to find their way into crates?

Of course, these are the tracks that usually inspire me to be better. Without these songs or art, nothing would change the next generation. I think of imperfect not as bad sound quality, poorly made sounds, but more so tones and progressions that do not land right on the ear originally. I usually find these sounds and variations in longer tracks, little minutes of crazy creativity or something that is like a side-story on the way to the end.

Has streaming changed how much sonic diversity makes it onto dancefloors?

I think it would be naive to think it hasn’t, as many top artists are considered the ones that deliver the most streams, not necessarily the greatest feeling or creativity. However, the dancefloor is for the people, and people pay with their money and continue to come back.

There are sounds that just resonate with listeners and playlists. I think the goal of artists should be to continue to challenge the status quo and find new things that people can not ignore.

What’s one track you love because it breaks out of that clean, polished pattern?

This is so hard. I am absolute fan of Traum Schallplatten, it really captured me into the world of creating electronic music. I would say, a track that changed my mind about what “EDM” could be and what it is, would be Dominik Eulberg’s Die blaue Sekunde. It is an absolute masterpiece. Detailed, unique, sometimes wandering, nothing you would hear on a radio or mainstream playlist.

To me, it is everything electronic music is supposed to be, a deviation from just guitars, drums, bass & keys, into something futuristic, that makes you feel at home.