Berlin’s genre-blurring duo GHEIST return with Searching Places, a sleek, emotionally charged EP that leans into everything they do best: big melodies, tactile low end, and that hybrid live/DJ energy built for both headphones and festival stages.
True to the title, these tracks feel like a quest—restless, reflective, and always pushing forward—balancing songcraft with club power in a way only a tight-knit studio family can.
In this interview, we dig into how two producers co-write without losing momentum, the systems they use to avoid creative gridlock, and the moments of friction that turn into breakthroughs. We also unpack the EP’s sonic DNA and how road-testing shapes their final masters.
Welcome to the world of GHEIST—where collaboration is the engine and curiosity is the compass.
Connect with Gheist on Soundcloud / Spotify / Instagram
Gheist – Searching Places is out on all platforms via Embassy One
Congratulations on the new EP, Searching Places — what are you “searching” for, creatively or emotionally? How does the title frame the track’s story?
Thank you very much, we are truly happy about the outcome of this song. The track is about the search within, no matter where you go, you’ll take your emotions with you, and there is no way around them as long as you don’t find peace within yourself. We’re always on the search for songs that move us, basically a reflection of what matters to us and then present it in a way that you ,as a listener, can find yourself in it.
Our emotional and creative output is linked with each other, creativity needs real emotions, otherwise you’re simply trying to copy something already existing, which to us wouldn’t be very desirable.
Walk us through your trio workflow: who usually sparks the first sketch, and how does an idea move from voice note to finished master?
We play ping pong with every idea. There is no particular or fixed order in which we start a track. Both of us write songs, and we both move them forward to a point where we either drop the idea or finish it.
The main goal is to enjoy the process and to have fun discovering new possibilities and ways to lean into your creativity, together and by yourself.
Two producers = two opinions. When you disagree, what’s the tie-breaker? Any rituals or rules that help you “kill your darlings” without killing the vibe?
That’s a good question, cause strong opinions make great art. At the same time, you’ll always have to keep in mind that it was a decision to make music together and to leave room for different perspectives. This means you have to choose your battles and step back once in a while. If that’s not possible, we usually take a pause from the track, start something new and revisit it at another time and allow ourselves to look at it differently. It’s ok to argue or even fight over something that matters to you; you just need to find your way as a group and implement your own “culture” of doing so. It should never get personal!
Biggest pitfalls of writing as a trio—version-itis, over-arranging, clashing schedules? What concrete systems (folders, naming, templates, deadlines) helped you avoid them?
Honestly you’re looking at it differently as we do, we see a lot of chances and great things that come out of us collaborating. We’re a team and we can count on each other. We’re different people with different strengths that come together and trust each other. We want the same thing and we have different things to give, which in the best case leads to something amazing and a great workflow.
For sure, we have to communicate openly with each other. Just like in every good relationship. But being two allows us also to have phases where one of us can step back, if necessary, and recharge.
To maintain a good workflow and stay organised, we use the usual tools, calendars, Dropbox, notes we share with to-dos and so on. There is nothing fancy to it; it’s more about a state of mind and the willingness to follow through.
GHEIST straddles songcraft and club power. On this release, how did you balance topline/hook writing with low-end weight and dancefloor tension?
At the very beginning “Searching Places” was a two minute transition track we created solely for our life shows. We immediately felt that we had something special in our hands and started to create the first full version.
If you have a song that feels strong to you, you can go in any direction. That makes it great and hard at the same time, as you have to take and make the right decisions when it comes to production. We allowed ourselves quite some time to shine different lights on the song. This led to the fact that we are releasing three different versions of “Searching Places”. It’s a bit like dressing up a person; there are many options, and you just have to follow your taste.
How does live testing shape your records? Tell us about a moment when crowd feedback made you rework structure, tempo, or mix.
It’s a very important part of our workflow to test our songs live. But it’s less the feedback of the crowd as it is a chance for us to see/hear our song in a different environment. We usually walk through a variety of interpretations before we’re happy. There are always little things that need fixing in all categories.
Visual identity matters. How did the artwork/visuals for Searching Places extend the EP’s narrative? Any collaborations we should know about?
We used to go with pictures we take when we’re on tour of objects or sceneries that inspired us visually. “Searching Places” marks the beginning of our upcoming album, so we decided that we show ourselves for a change and allow our
audience a clear picture of who’s behind the music. As we also shot a video for the song, the cover matches the vibe we chose for the video. It’s important to us to create a clear vision of who we are and what we stand for as artists.
Where does Searching Places sit in your evolution—bridge, fresh chapter, or reset button? What’s next (tour updates, live show tweaks, remixes, or a follow-up release)?
As we are on the edge of releasing our second album. There is a certain freshness to it, but you can’t separate yourself from your past. It’s a fluent progression and one thing leads to another, “Searching Places”. The entire album is a part of our musical journey and evolution as artists and will lead to more and other things.
We’re currently playing the summer festival season in Europe. But there will also be a couple of headline shows in the US and Asia. We’re actually non-stop on the road.
We also just released a remix of “Oliver Koletzki’s” iconic track “Bones”. And there will be a remix EP of “Searching Places” out on the 21st of August, featuring artists such as “Unfazed”, “Mark Hoffen” and “Oliver Koletzki”.
Other than that, we’ll be releasing a track we made with our friend “Ira 8kays” and more originals of ours in the very near future.
We hope you guys have a great summer and we would love to see you at one of our shows 🙂
Thank you.