From the early days as a resident DJ for Ruby Skye, Niko Zografos quickly became the frontrunner in the U.S. for trance. Niko Zografos is known for his euphoric melodies and driving trance.
In 2014, Ruby Skye approached Zografos to revive to trance in SF by starting his own promotion company, now called Phoria Events. Since its launch, Phoria has been a strong name in the trance community and returned faith to trance lovers in SF. Phoria then became the inspiration for his radio show and first his release of Future Sound of Egypt.
Aly & Fila soon caught steam of Zografos after falling under the bewitching melodies of “Phoria”, a collaboration with Mitka. The track was an instant hit when Zografos premiered it at a packed Ruby Skye, followed by instant support from Aly & Fila and Armin van Buuren. The track gained more worldwide with touching remix by French star Ferry Tayle.
Since then, Niko Zografos has been steadily rising with support and releases. “Revelation” was the first single from Zografos and an immediate winner for fans that want to hear elegant synths while tearing up the dance floor. Fans danced the track all the way up to the #7 on Beatport’s trance chart. Then Zografos proved to be a sound to keep a look out for with his third release on FSOE, “Mykonos”, which reached the #11 spot. Label heads Aly & Fila introduced the world to Zografos’ Greek infused San Francisco tune “Mykonos” on their BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. M.I.K.E. Push tweeted that this is “San Frans finest trance”.
As one the U.S.’s fast rising trance stars for the past 2 years, Zografos was brought on to play for FSOE400 at the Civic National Civic San Jose and FSOE450 Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium. Niko Zografos achieved other milestones by playing Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2016 & 2017, Dreamstate SoCal 2016, & ADE In Trance We Trust 2017 and many more in 2018.
Dimitris: Can you mention your biggest music career achievements in 2018?
Niko Zografos: Playing 2 new countries (Mexico & Greece)
Dimitris: Can you rate 2018 for you as a year with 1 being very bad until 10 that is perfect year!
Niko Zografos: 8 very good year, I've played 2 new countries for the first time, had some awesome gigs, and a good amount of releases. Solid year but there's always room for improvement.
1) Best 3 Tracks from other artists in 2018, please give us a short comment for each track:
Niko Zografos: "Greg Downey - Retrograde" is an amazing fued of tech trance with an emotional uplifting trance melody. It also destroys live.
"Simon Patterson - Solo" such a next level track with psy, tech trance, and euphoric melodies... So good!
2) Your 3 Best of 2018 personal productions, give us more background info about them:
Niko Zografos: "Porto Katsiki" did really well and it was a follow up of my track "Mykonos" a few years ago. It got lots of support.
"One Night In Amsterdam" did really well and got support introduced on ASOT live with me in the studio getting interviewed by Armin Van Buuren after the play.
"The Vision" with the voice hymns recorded by Crystal Blakk also had awesome reactions in my live sets.
3) Best Artist in 2018(DJ & producer) please explain why you pick him/her up:
Niko Zografos: Sean Tyas, His productions are next level. I'm also loving Degenerate Records.
4) Best Remix in 2018, please explain why you liked it so much:
Niko Zografos: Andres Sanchez remix of "Lange ft. Sarah Howells - Out of the Sky" was simply too amazing. So captivating, euphoric and energetic! Trance fans go nuts to this live.
5) Best Remix that you have produced in 2018, please tell us why you believe is your best work?
Niko Zografos: My remix of "Indecent Noise ft Noire Lee - Glitches" It also got tons of support. It was an amazing experience remixing one of my idols. Seeing him play it all over the world, and the reaction from fans, was amazing.
6) Best New Talent in 2018 (DJ or producer), please explain the reasons why you choose him/her :
Niko Zografos: Vlind is an amazing up and coming artist. His style of tech trance is top notch!
7) Best electronic music album in 2018? Please explain your decision why you think is the best album?(b) Do you believe that albums are still relevant or you prefer singles:
Niko Zografos: Neptune Project - Question of Reality, This album has a classic trance roots and emotions, but with modern production. Albums are definitely important and is definitely a goal of mine.
8) Best electronic music compilation in 2018, please explain what exactly you liked about this compilation(the elements you appreciate):
Niko Zografos: The new VII compilation hands down! Multiple discs of amazing trance... All perfect journey sets too.
9) Best electronic music label for 2018, please justify why you choose this label and what was so special in 2018 about it:
Niko Zografos: VII- Every track is next level.
10) Best music composition software in 2018, please explain why you appreciate it so much:
Niko Zografos: I used logic X and love the quality. For this though, it's not just what you use, but how you use it.
11) Best Club event or Festival that you have performed there or you would love one day to perform there, please explain the reasons that influenced your choice of the event & festival:
Niko Zografos: Festival- Dreamstate Mexico
It was the biggest and most energetic crowd I've ever played for.
Club- Bolivar Beach Club in Athens, Greece FOR FSI events. Such an unreal experience playing in the country of my roots in front of thousands on this amazing beach club.
12) Your Best personal DJ Gig for 2018 (if you are active as DJ) and why you believe is the finest.
Niko Zografos: My best gig was Dreamstate Mexico. Not just because of the crowd, because I properly showcased the new direction my music is now going.
13) Best DJ set from other fellow DJ in 2018 and why you believe his/her set was so fantastic?:
Niko Zografos: It was amazing hearing Darren Tate/DT8 live at Luminosity this year. Always been one of my favorites. Hearing all of those classics played by the man himself on the beach was unreal.
Dimitris: Do you have a radio show or vlog? Have you produced any YouTube tutorials for fellow artists to learn from you? If yes please tell us here the details and choose the best episode from your radio show/vlog/YouTube tutorial for 2018.
Niko Zografos: I do my monthly podcast called "Phoria Radio", which is on my soundcloud.
14) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career in 2018 and has helped you to progress even further:
Niko Zografos: Momentum is really important. You have to continue to improve and constantly be doing something, or have something going on. If you aren't consistently getting better, you're getting worse.
Dimitris: In 2018 the electronic music talent AVICII died and this has alerted several artists to become more health conscious. Are there any lessons to learn as an artist out from this sad event?
Niko Zografos: Take care of yourself before worrying about what anyone else thinks. Your health should comes first, including mentally health.
Dimitris: In 2018 there was a big movement for revival of classic tracks and retro events have boomed with music policy of solely classic tracks. What is your opinion about events or stages only with classics and can you choose for us your absolute 3 favourite classics?
Niko Zografos: I feel this wave will always happen. It's always great to pay homage to our roots. Especially with how much amazing music there is from back in the day. As long as we don't do it too much and over saturate it, I love classics. It's important to know there is loads of amazing new music out there as well.
Impossible to choose just 3 but here is some I will always love.
1) Armin Van Buuren ft. Jay Vayne - Serenity
2) Darren Tate vs Jono Grant - Let the Light Shine in
3) Ferry Corsten - Fire
Dimitris: Can you mention briefly your plans for your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, DJ gigs for 2019!
Niko Zografos: There will be new solo singles from me, new remixes, and I'm sure working with a few artists on collaborations.
Dimitris: Finally, what is your biggest wish for 2019 and give us your wishes for our readers?
Niko Zografos: I want to connect with my fans and listeners more. They're the reason I keep growing as a artist. Without their support, I would not be where I am today. Also, I'm looking to really step up production wise, as well as gigs.
Thanks so much to Niko Zografos about his wonderful answers!
Additional info:
Instagram.com/nikozografos