French techno producer and DJ Hayden F returns with Thoughts and Prayers, a five-track EP complemented by a powerful remix from Mexican techno veteran Fixon.
Hayden F has spent more than a decade refining this approach. His productions and DJ sets come from a place of precise construction, shaped by a cinematic instinct where every element is a character and every track a self-contained world. The familiar dualities of his work anchor the EP. Somber depth against clarity, force against brightness, restraint against emotion. It is a balance he has carried through releases on Obscuur, Room Trax, TUTU, Vanity Dust, Off Recordings, Trapez and Trau-ma, and it is the quality that caught Richie Hawtin’s attention, leading him to play Hayden’s unreleased Urban Pressure across a long run of clubs and festivals.
Released on his own Silencio Records label, the new EP traces a sharp line between punishing, fast-paced rhythms and hypnotic melodic passages that lend the whole release a sense of lift. It is tough, engrossing music, built for full immersion rather than surface-level impact.
What’s been catching your ear lately outside your own work?
I’ve been listening to a lot of non-techno music lately, mostly things I hear around me at events or at home. It helps me reset my ears. At the same time, I end up hearing a lot of techno anyway through the demos we receive on Silencio Records. It’s interesting to discover what’s happening under the radar, things you wouldn’t notice if you only followed the main characters.
When you sit down to make something, what usually sparks the first idea: a sound, a feeling or a kind of energy you want to capture?
It usually starts with a sensation. I experiment until something grabs my attention, something that feels alive enough to pull me in. I follow that thread without overthinking it. Once I catch that first spark, the rest starts shaping itself almost naturally.
Thoughts and Prayers has a distinct atmosphere running through it. What was the starting point that set the tone for the whole project?
There wasn’t a defined starting point. These tracks were written over the past months without knowing whether they would end up together or not. From the pile of material I had, I selected the ones that felt like they belonged to the same story. It was a bit like casting actors for a play: choosing the ones that fit the role without forcing anything.
The EP moves between weight and clarity in a way that feels deliberate. What guided those choices as the tracks took shape?
Honestly, I don’t overthink that contrast. Every track does it by nature. You add something, it gets heavier; you remove something, it becomes clearer. It’s the most basic movement in music… and everywhere else, to be fair. So I just follow where the track goes. Nothing philosophical behind it, nothing calculated. It’s simply how things evolve when you let them.
The pacing across the release has a real sense of movement without losing intensity. How did you approach sequencing the record so it feels cohesive?
The record feels cohesive because it was made by the same person during the same period. There are foundations I apply to all my tracks, habits and techniques that leave a kind of fingerprint. So even if the moods shift, the core remains consistent.
You often work with tight, driving percussion. How do you decide when to let melodic or textural elements take over and shift the emotional edge?
It’s always about balance. A track can’t rely only on percussion, and it can’t be only melodic either. You feel when the rhythm needs to step back and when the textures or melodies need to take the weight for a moment. It’s an internal conversation more than a formula.
Techno is in an interesting place right now where extremes seem to coexist with more nuanced strains. How do you see your work sitting within the wider landscape?
Honestly, I don’t think too much about where my music sits. I’m aware of the extremes and the subtler trends, but I don’t try to place myself inside any of that. I just follow what feels honest, and the landscape arranges itself around that.
You play to different scenes and crowds around the world. What has surprised you lately about how people respond to harder or more hypnotic material?
Nothing has surprised me much lately. People still want to dance, disconnect, and connect with something that speaks their language. Crowds evolve, but the core reaction stays the same. Energy responds to energy.
You’ve built a clear aesthetic over the years. What challenges you most when trying to evolve that sound without losing its identity?
I don’t actively try to evolve my sound. My identity stays the same, and the music shifts naturally as I learn new things, explore new tools, and absorb new influences. The evolution happens on its own and I just follow it.
Reinterpreting ideas is a big part of techno culture. What qualities do you listen for in a remix or outside perspective that tells you it adds something meaningful to your original vision?
I’ve always been fascinated by how differently we can all interpret the same source. It’s like a multiverse. That’s why I loved FIXON’s remix for this EP: he took “SRLY” somewhere I couldn’t have taken it myself. When a remix opens a new door instead of copying the original, that’s when it becomes meaningful.
