Interviews

How did you approach music in the first place?

My first approach with music happened at an early age when I was in elementary school, as I had been studying and learning piano on a regular basis for 3 years. Actually, that didn’t go very far because my musical tastes as a teenager revolved around rock n’ roll, metal and hip-hop. The real trigger came to me when I discovered psytrance: I was so curious to learn how to make this kind of music through technology, because it had and still has a big and positive impact on me, so through the years I was continuously on and off learning music and experimenting on various software and keyboards, from Mad Tracker to Cubase and Reason. A journey experimenting with different genres to acquire knowledge and use it creatively, which is still happening and that’s the beautiful part of it, I’m grateful!

What about Psytrance, how did you get in touch with this genre?

Well I couldn’t miss it, it all started around 2000. I was more or less a 16 year old kid, hanging out usually with my friends doing this and that. But yea, one day we had the idea to go and check out a psytrance party, so that was it basically... we were hooked.

I can’t remember myself not being around festivals and parties to experience this kind of music, listen to new artists, be with friends and of course the feeling of dancing together with people who all love the same genre of music: this is great. That actually became a need and a drive to meet and connect with people from around the world sharing same views and ideas. Celebrating life and existence.

Tell us something more about the psychedelic scene in Greece.

The psytrance scene in Greece as far as I know goes back to the early 90’s, where many underground parties were happening at a constant rate with massive attendance. I believe the impact of this music was huge on people because it was something new for the time and everyone was curious to explore and discover new horizons. For that reason many festivals took place around 2000: one major was in Samothraki island, which is a very beautiful destination and attracted a lot of people back in the days, together with many other smaller ones scattered all around Greece in magical locations which can’t be forgotten.

Nowadays I don’t think it is as massive as before but I still believe people will give it a chance as long as there is appropriate music and of course the right comfortable place. The important thing is that the scene is still active and you see more efforts being made towards the quality of the events. So yes, when you see something growing and even slowly maturing, it is a good thing, as what matters is not the size but the intentions and love that you put in building it.

You also have other projects. Could you give us a small presentation?

Thank you for asking, my side project is called Quadraphonic and it is a collaboration with my friend Yanis aka Tromo. It all started around 2011 when we were colleagues, so after work we had plenty of time. One day we started talking about quadraphonic systems and how could they work on psytrance music. We could see it in the studio happening, but in big stages with a lot people moving around, we could see the obvious reasons how it would not work efficiently. We never tried to materialize the idea but despite that, we liked and kept the name and when we did our first track called ‘Antigravity’ we used it. At that time, Sonic Loom Music was founded by a collective of friends and released that track on the first compilation.

I would characterize Quadraphonic as a full power style of psychedelia with strong elements of FM leads, deep and emotional pads and atmospheres, which can be played at night or day depending on the flow of the party.

We are currently working on our album so expect to listen to new material soon!

What do you look for when you experiment with sounds?

Ah that’s a nice question, it depends on the mood of the moment when I’m experimenting: there is no specific direction, I can spend hours exploring various sides of the sound from chaotic to emotional pads to random sequences, trippy FX, atmospheres, rhythmics and more. At some point, something will draw my attention more so I will start creating around this, to see what happens and how it feels. I believe it is a combination of the above with the right balance to create a dimension you will enjoy and feel excited about.

Studio equipment: what tools do you usually use?

That’s a topic we producers can talk about forever, especially on the technical details and the applicability of the tools, either software or hardware. For my music, I like to use Cubase but from time to time I like to experiment with other DAW’s like Ableton or Bit Wig, alongside with various midi controllers and midi keyboards. To create sounds, I like using both software and hardware synthesizers. I believe they have endless possibilities, like our imagination, and it’s a matter of taste what to use, plus many different VST FX’s to play around from delays, reverbs, to phasers etc.

We will welcome you at Shankra Festival 2022. How will you prepare your set?

I’m very happy to be invited, thank you! I will prepare it based on the time slot given and the flow of music is being played, i will perform with my laptop and my midi controller which I will tweak different parameters, maybe the final form of the set will take place there having the energy and vibes of the festival.

A special message to the Shankra Family!

I am honored to be part of this multicultural event in Sri Lanka and can’t wait to be in Shankra Festival 2022, to share my energy on the dancefloor with all the people celebrating life and freedom.

Get in touch with Antonymous and Quadraphonic music!