Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
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13:27:00
                                       

Name: Arrakeen || Founder /  A&R of Beyond Perception Music.
Location: Worldwide / Currently  in South East Asia in search of inspiration and talent...

Dimitri: Can you mention your biggest achievements in your music career in 2014 as dj & producer,label owner,radio host and your personal life if it is something that you wish to share with our readers?

Arrakeen: Well I took the leap of faith and started Beyond Perception Music, which wasn't easy at all with little resouces and practically building everything from ground up alone. I had afew great friends in the industry who helped with advise and encouragement though, and they are pretty heavy hitters and shall remain in the shadows for now, and their faith in me gave me the morale boost needed and I managed to get the label up and running from a concept barely over a month ago, to having its first release distributed to over 20 online stores and officially releasing this coming 7 January 2015 with a junodownload.com exclusive this Christmas Eve along with a much appreciated pre-release worldwide premiere on Abora Recordings #Uplifting Only radioshow with OriUplift! Thus we will be celebrating with a 1 hour megamix on where else but 1mix radio at 4pm 24 Dec 2015 where I put together an epic megamix of totally unheard pre-releases and mashups along with some familiar sounds, so hope for your support and do tune in to www.1mix.co.uk at 4pm UTC, which is when the clock strikes 12 on Christmas morning where I live in Asia, that's Singapore / Malaysia time midnight x'mas morning! And 8am over in the pacific coast of America.



Dimitri: 2014 was packed with releases from so many different styles, which Electronic Music style you believe is the absolute Electronic Music Style Of 2014 in the mainstream indifferent if you like it or not. Why you believe this style became so successful in 2014? 

Arrakeen: I have no idea what you are talking about. ;) This genre battle... I just listen to what I like and what I like is uplifting emotional soul wrenching, heart moving music that uplifts your spirits or just makes your legs wanna get dancing. I don't follow trends, hence I don't listen to much radio, or anything for that matter, I just listen to the promos I get from the labels I support because I like THEIR style... and that to me is the most 'absolute' successful style... and I would have to hand it to Abora because their radioshow is the only one I make time for and is my 'weekly indulgence'. Not to mention every single release of theirs is top notch and hits me right there. Everytime.



1) Best Track:
Arrakeen: New World – Ushio. It's a no brainer, I've said it many times, this is my tune of the decade, previous decade would be a tie between Suburban Train by Tiesto and Airwave by Rank1. Although there are so many great tunes to past decade... Recently, not so....  only Abora seems to be keeping it real. And Blue Soho and most of the other uplifting labels. AEZ, D.Max, Trance All-Stars, Beyond The Stars... Some flounder a little but not to far thus are mostly worthy tracks. My former label Camouflage, now WeAre Trance headed by my former manager Dirkie Coetzee is making some great waves too  with release after release hitting high up in the charts and getting great support from big names... Dirkie is one dude that really inspires me... But I digress...



2) Best Artist (Dj & producer):
Arrakeen: Paul Oakenfold has been handing it to it lately going back to psy and his live sets never leave one bored... always delivers... (from what I hear)... I haven't been opening myself to much of the scene what with building my own little space and so this one's through the grapevine...



3) Best Remix:
Arrakeen: Afternova's remix of Freedom by SoundLift. Both original and remix are spectacular but Afternova does wonders by turning an upbeat more inspirational ibe from the original into a somewhat surreal, dark, and mysterious heart-stopping effect with his breakdown... it's quite aazing how music can manipulate and the artists mentioned have got that skill locked down tight!



4) Best Remixer:
Arrakeen: New World... He didn't remix much but his magical touch makes every track a winner.





5) Best New Talent (Dj or producer):
Arrakeen: not really sure on this one... watch Beyond Perception Music and you might find out for yourself. :)

6) Best Electronic Music Album:
Arrakeen: I'm awaiting Ikerya Project's album, due in 2015, but for 2014, SoundLift's latest EP, on promo now, takes the cake.







7) Best Electronic Music Compilation:
Arrakeen: Uplifting Only 2014: Top-Voted Tunes - Vol. 2 (Mixed by Ori Uplift)
But I believe the upcoming breakdowns 'best of' would be a better bet...



8) Best artwork/cover of an Album or Compilation:
Arrakeen: Ashura – Rest in Paradise by Beyond Perception Music, including iTunes Booklet / CD insert, desktop wallpaper and music video. On promo now available all stores in 7 Jan 2015.



9) Best Lyrics in an Electronic Music track:
Arrakeen: Giuseppe Ottaviani & Alana Aldea - In This Together (Acoustic Version)




10) Best Electronic Music Label:
Arrakeen: Abora Recordings and its multitude of inhouse (Edge EDM, Abora Ascend, Abora Skies, etc) and acquired sublabels, which I'll leave the reader to discover...



11) Best Electronic Music Video:
Arrakeen: Got me there, don't really watch much music videos... especially since if they have the budget to make an official video, well its no longer about the music is it?

12) Best online Funny video related to Dance Music:
Arrakeen:  (tehnically last year but I only got to see it this year, recommended to me by my friend and fellow artist Neo Kekkonen. Good laughs indeed and don't take it too seriously for 'Duck's' sake! It's a troll!



13) Best Online Social media network:
Arrakeen: Facebook

14) Best Twitter or Facebook message you received from a fan or friend or you have read on someone else’s account:
Arrakeen: Wow so many... Arctic moon makes pretty snide comments at any and everything he comes across... 

15) Best personal selfie of the year, where, when and under which circumstances you took it?
Arrakeen: Don't take selfies... in fact I just got wind there was such a word and even devices to accomplish that feat.... 

16) Best music composition software:
Arrakeen: Still a huge fan of Ableton Live! Especially in 9 where they've granted ,y wish and gone multiscreen friendly!

17) Best Event or Open Air Festival:
Arrakeen: Not been to any but the latest “A Land of Trance” right here in Borneo, East Malaysia. organised by my pals gotta take the cake with the lineup it had.... 

                                                           

18) Best personal Dj Gig:
Arrakeen: Opening for Arctic Moon was a blast.... I messed up mixing my own song and double beat for a good half a minute which gave us all a good laugh... Audience wasn't the wiser though, and it's even up on my soundcloud coz everyone makes mistakes... Own it! :) And how I was spinning SoundLift's Freedom and him saying, “perfect track to end the night and I'll take over” (which was the plan anyway).... then as I'm about to cut it out for him, “Play one more, I gotta pee!”.. (AFTER THE MIX POINT)... LOL! Fun times.

19) Best country that you have visited to perform with the most up for it crowd:
Arrakeen: Didn't have the good fortune to tour but the Arctic Moon and Andrew Rayel gigs I opened for were smashing with the venue going beyond capacity!

20) Best Radio show:
Arrakeen: Uplifting Only with OriUplift by Abora Recordings



21) Best Radio station:
Arrakeen: 1Mix Radio ;)

22) Best Online Record shop that you purchase your music:
Arrakeen: beatport.com

23) Best Website that you visit frequently:
Arrakeen: soundcloud.com

24) Best Smart phone/Mobile phone device:
Arrakeen: I'll tell you if you get me one. If not it's my current Samsung Note 3.

25) Best Dj equipment (software or hardware): 
Arrakeen: I'm in love with my (now obsolete) Denon SC2000 controller... so well built like a proper piece of solid metal club standard piece of gear. 

26) Best new sound or sample that has been used in Electronic Music this year perhaps introduced first by you?
Arrakeen: Bring on the acoustics...  The Duduk flute has been getting good attention for awhile now.... gives that nice arapic ethnic vibe.



27) Best tip that you learnt this year for your Djing techniques or music composition:
Arrakeen: Delay and reverb to the sends and all sidechained to self and kick. Didn't learn it this year but its importance is massive!

28) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career in 2014:
Arrakeen: “Just do your thing”

29) Best hobby or activity that you spent a lot of time in 2014:
Arrakeen: Building the label... passion and hobby and hopefully bread winner or I won't be around for next years interview :P

30) Best holiday destination for 2014 that you manage to visit this year either to relax or to perform in a club or festival:
Arrakeen: No holidays in 2014... Just work work and play... 

31) Best piece of News you learnt this year related to Electronic Music Culture:
Arrakeen: That's I'm now a contributing part to the scene and here to assist with fresh new talents,providing guidance that I wish I had before. 

Dimitri: Finally, 2015 is ahead of us would you like to tell your plans with your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, Dj gigs.

Arrakeen: Hohoho! Please follow Beyond Perception Music and you'll be in for hellava ride... I have so much good stuff lined up for 2015..,, Yet keeping it real with sounds from yesteryear not forgotten....
www.facebook.com/beyond.perception.music
www.soundcloud.com/bpmrec
www.twitter.com/bpmrec
www.youtube.com/bpmrecordings
www.bpm-recordings.com

and of course my own artist pages:
www.facebook.com/arrakeenmusic
www.soundcloud.com/arrakeen
www.twitter.com/arrakeenmusic
www.arrakeenmusic.com

Dimitri: Thanks very much for your collaboration to reply in this interview

Arrakeen: Your're very welcome. And thanks for the opportunity! Don't forget to catch me in the mix every FIRST wednesday of the month at 4pm UTC for 'Beyond Perception' Radioshow only on 1mix.co.uk, with a celebratory kickstart this Christmas eve, 4pm UTC Wednesday for a super megamix.... been awhile since you heard one of those yeah! But ALL unheard tracks and prereleases!!! Don't miss it! Cheers! Arrakeen




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08:32:00

Extravagance SL, a project, founded in the late summer in 2009 by the 2 DJs and Producer Philipp Leske and Marcus Schleickmann.

Long before they were on several events as DJs together behind the turntables and realized very quickly that they are on the same shaft. They share not only their preference for Trance and progressive trance, they also know exactly how this should reflect in their own productions.

Since the end of 2010 they found their musical homebase in FENology Records, the well-known label of Woody van Eyden, where their second Release *Rebuild 3.0* was directly grapped by Talla 2XLC on his Techno Club Mix Compilation Vol.39 and played by many big player such as Paul van Dyk, Alex M.O.R.P.H, Claudia Cazacu and Woody van Eyden to name a few. Moreover it was reviewed from 2 big magazines in Germany (Raveline, DJ Mag) and another big one in the USA (DJ Times Magazine).

One month in front of *Rebuild 3.0*, their track *Nightshift* with a bomb remix of Dan Stone, released on Tool Trance, was *TUNE OF THE WEEK* on Armin van Buuren´s *A STATE OF TRANCE 570*. The track reached the TOP 20 in the Beatport Trance Charts and was also played from big players like Above & Beyond, Solarstone, Cressida, Max Graham, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Woody van Eyden and many more.

Meanwhile they toured through various gigs and played also on Heavensgate Events, the well-known Radio & Event brand from Alex M.O.R.P.H. and Woody van Eyden.

Since the beginning of 2013 they present a monthly Guestmix on Heavensgate Radio with a big global radio network.

The next logical step was that they are exclusively managed throughout the world by Music & Artist Agency.





Name: Extravagance SL
Location: Dortmund Germany

Dimitri: Can you mention your biggest achievements in your music career in 2014 and your personal life if it is something that you wish to share with our readers?

Extravagance SL: Well thats easy, we are so proud to become a new member of the Vandit Records Family with our two releases Cthulhu and Kurai. It was a dream to have a release on Paul van Dyk’s Label a long time and now the dream come true. And we found a second homebase with our progressive sound at Vandit Records. Also in the beginning of 2014 we had a release on Tool Records named “Brera” where Alex M.O.R.P.H. did an awesome remix for us.

Dimitri: 2014 was packed with releases from so many different styles, which Electronic Music style you believe is the absolute Electronic Music Style Of 2014 in the mainstream indifferent if you like it or not. Why you believe this style became so successful in 2014?

Extravagance SL: Well the so called EDM was quite big this year. If we look at Festivals like Tomorrowland or Electronic Love or all the other big Festivals they had shown that EDM is still a big thing in 2014. But if we look at the last Festival we played at, which is called Legendary Festival, we can see that Trance Music is still a very very important part of this whole EDM Culture thing.



1) Best Track: 
Extravagance SL: Flynn & Denton & Audrey Gallagher – Say my name (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix)



2) Best Artist (Dj & producer): 
Extravagance SL: Alex M.O.R.P.H.



3) Best Remix: 
Extravagance SL: Trilucid – Syntax (Gai Barone Remix)



4) Best Remixer: 
Extravagance SL: Gai Barone



5) Best New Talent (Dj or producer): 
Extravagance SL: JayB



6) Best Electronic Music Album: 
Extravagance SL: Deadmau5 – 5 years of mouse



7) Best Electronic Music Compilation: 
Extravagance SL: HeavensGate Vol.3



8) Best artwork/cover of an Album or Compilation: 
Extravagance SL: HeavensGate Vol.3

9) Best Vocalist/Singer featured on Electronic Music track: 
Extravagance SL: Audrey Gallagher



10) Best Electronic Music Label:  
Extravagance SL:  Vandit Records & FENology Records





11) Best Electronic Music Video: 
Extravagance SL: Disclosure – Grab her



12) Best online Funny video related to Dance Music: 
Extravagance SL: When will the bass drop? 



13) Best Online Social media network: 
Extravagance SL: Twitter

14) Best Twitter or Facebook message you received from a fan or friend or you have read on someone else’s account: 
Extravagance SL: From @FathimaChocpie “…you guys are amazing, thank you for a great set!!!...” , very nice to get those comments from South Africa…for sure we are happy about every nice message!

15) Best music composition software: 
Extravagance SL: Logic Studio

16) Best Event or Open Air Festival: 
Extravagance SL: Legendary Festival



17) Best personal Dj Gig: 
Extravagance SL: Nature One 2014 



18) Best Dj set of the year from other fellow Dj: 
Extravagance SL: We can´t pick one mate, there were a lot of great sets this year.

19) Best country that you have visited to perform with the most up for it crowd: Country?? 
Extravagance SL: We only can say town :D, that was Kastellaun @ Nature One!

20) Best Radio show:
 Extravagance SL:  HeavensGate for sure ;-)



21) Best Radio station: 
Extravagance SL: AH.FM Afterhours FM

22) Best Online Record shop that you purchase your music: 
Extravagance SL: Beatport 

23) Best Website that you visit frequently: 
Extravagance SL: www.heavensgate.co.uk

24) Best Smart phone/Mobile phone device:
 Extravagance SL: iPhone

25) Best Dj equipment (software or hardware): 
Extravagance SL: Allen & Heath Club Mixer

26) Best tip that you learnt this year for your Djing techniques or music composition: 
Extravagance SL: Look beyond the obvious



27) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career in 2014: 
Extravagance SL: Constantly moving forward and see everything from different angles

28)Best hobby or activity that you spent a lot of time in 2014: 
Extravagance SL: For sure in producing a lot of music stuff and Wing Tsun

29) Best holiday destination for 2014 that you manage to visit this year either to relax or to perform in a club or festival: 
Extravagance SL: Denmark, only to relax, no internet, no telephone, no social media, at least most of ;)

30) Best Movie of the year preferably related to Electronic Music that may inspire you to compose a track: 
Extravagance SL: Lucy

31) Best online/PC/video game of the year that you have played this year? 
Extravagance SL: Battlefield 4 and DayZ

32) Best soundtrack for video game of the year: 
Extravagance SL: Assassin´s Creed Unity

33) Best track used on video game or TV/online advert in 2014: 
Extravagance SL:  Digitalism – Wolves (feat. Youngblood Hawke)



Dimitri: Finally, 2015 is ahead of us would you like to tell your plans with your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, Dj gigs.

Extravagance SL: For sure a lot of releases, collaborations and gigs are in the row for 2015, but a little bit to early to speak about. ;) but also we can promise you it will be big! 

Dimitri: Thanks very much to Extravagance SL for their fantastic answers

Thanks to Timo at Music and Artist agency for organizing this interview.



Additional info:
http://www.extravagancesl.com
http://www.fenology.com
http://www.musicandartist.com
http://www.heavensgate.co.uk
http://facebook.com/ExtravaganceSL


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08:13:00

Corderoy is undoubtedly one of the most exciting exponents of the future electronic scene. His productions have been described as fresh and innovative by some of the leading players in electronic music and his records have been consistently backed by the big names that count. Combining elements of House, Trance, Progressive and leftfield Electronica, as well throwing in some rock influences, Dale is now starting to mix it with the big boys.

After and string of high quality releases on imprints like Napith, High Contrast, Vandit and Perfecto, Dale has launched his own imprint - CDRY.

“There are no genre restraints which allows me to be creative and experimental. I’m not jumping on bandwagons or staying within one tight niche with this label”.

Being open minded and extremely versatile is very definitely his modus operandi. Always keen to show he’s not scared of fusing big melodies and great vocals, Dale is constantly looking to deliver fresh sounding material that works on dance floors and as well as through headphones.

His recent production, for Perfecto Records, the highly flammable ‘Kerosene’ is another mould breaker. Co-written with members of seminal rock-trance act ‘Dogzilla’ and indie band ‘Belasco’. Corderoy takes guitars and vocals and mashes them within an inch of their lives to create this totally original sounding hybrid club anthem. Paul Oakenfold, the label’s owner, loved the track so much he just asked Corderoy to remix one of his classics ‘Ready Steady Go’.

As Dale stamps his unique mark in dance music this year risks will be taken, boundaries battered down and ultimately his music will filter into the ears of the masses.





Name: Dale Corderoy
Location: London

Dimitri:  Can you mention your biggest achievements in your music career in 2014 as dj & producer, label owner? 

Dale Corderoy: It’s been quite a year of achievements but still loads to nail in 2015 mind you! Being asked to remix for Paul Oakenfold and Mason was pretty special, on the label front the reception from DJ’s and music fans on the CDRY releases this year have been completely amazing. Can’t thank everyone enough for all the love and support!



Dimitri: 2014 was packed with releases from so many different styles, which Electronic Music style you believe is the absolute Electronic Music Style Of 2014 in the mainstream indifferent if you like it or not. Why you believe this style became so successful in 2014?  

Dale Corderoy: It’s probably still that big ravey EDM sound that’s the current trend right now. To be honest I love pumping energetic house music but I’m a little over the brutal rave riff sound, I can see the appeal but it’s just become like a burnt stake, unpalatable and overdone. Negative comments aside, there’s some brilliant music coming through at the moment and I’m predicting 2015 will bring a new wave on sound.



1) Best Track:  
Dale Corderoy: Shiba San – OKAY.  Genius in the way it’s so simple yet completely infectious!



2) Best Artist (Dj & producer): 
Dale Corderoy: The title of 'DJ' has changed quite a lot in recent years, to me a DJ has to be a mixture of producer / performer and DJ all in one! Ferhplay productions are always so good and this year has been no exception, he's delivered some mind-blowing tunes and remixes.



3) Best Remix: 
Dale Corderoy: Umek & Mike Vale on Mason's 'Exceeder': Loved being involved in the rerelease of this electro anthem, Umek & Mike Vale smashed it with their mix and went on to top the Beatport charts!



4) Best New Talent (Dj or producer):  
Dale Corderoy: Funkin' Matt: I was all over his track ‘Alive’ a couple of months back and love his sound, predicting 2015 will be a really strong year for him!



5) Best Electronic Music Album: 
Dale Corderoy: Aphex Twin – Syro, such a brilliant album and incredibly cohesive, immersive listen. 



6) Best Vocalist/Singer featured on Electronic Music track:  
Dale Corderoy: There’s this guy called Stevie B who’s been on a wicked dirty electro cut this year, he’s got a bright future that’s for sure!

7) Best Electronic Music Label: 
Dale Corderoy: CDRY: (Because it's mine and there's some very tasty tunes on it!)



8) Best Electronic Music Video: 
Dale Corderoy: Tiga - “Bugatti” – Directed by Helmi / produced by Division Paris, this brilliant quirky video is really creative and expertly put together. If you’ve not seen it yet check it out!



9) Best music composition software: 
Dale Corderoy: Ableton closely followed by Logic

10) Best Event or Open Air Festival: 
Dale Corderoy: Burning Man: a breathtaking event that everyone should go to a least once in their lifetime!!



11) Best Radio show: 
Dale Corderoy: My Digital Enemy: What can I say the boys know how to put it down to the masses!

12) Best Online Record shop that you purchase your music: 
Dale Corderoy: Beatport, the new Beatport Pro is brilliant!

13) Best tip that you learnt this year for your Djing techniques or music composition:
Dale Corderoy: I’ve been getting more and more into sound design and one thing I really love is working with granular synthesis. The sounds you can create are completely mental and you can really get creative.



14) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career in 2014: 
Dale Corderoy: Stay focused on what you believe in and not get drawn in by hype or negative energy.

Dimitri: Finally, 2015 is ahead of us would you like to tell your plans with your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, Dj gigs. 

Dale Corderoy: Lots of new tracks from me appearing on CDRY in 2015, Perfecto will release my next single Mombastik in Feb with a bit of a surprise included! The new Outcast Radio Show will start and I’ll be out on the road a lot more performing. There are a few collaborations in progress but I’ll reveal more about those next year!

Dimitri: Thanks very much for your time to reply in this interview

Dale Corderoy: Absolute pleasure! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!!

Thanks to Simon Tillotson – PR Manager at SLK Associates Limited for his support to organise this interview.

Corderoy – Dark Disco (Das Kapital Remix) is out now on Beatport click here



Additional info:





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06:25:00

Grabbing the attention of the Trance World and quickly climbing the ladder of success in the cut-throat world of music, James Dymond has captured the adoration of fans and co-artists alike with his spellbinding sounds. James Dymond has taken the term, “grand entrance”, to a whole new level..

Hailing from training in classical music, James Dymond entered the Trance scene in September 2011 in a blaze of light of musical glory. His captivating sound brought him quickly to the attention of many established artists but most notably Armin van Buuren who featured James’ track ‘Gundam’ on his ‘Universal Religion Chapter 6′ CD compilation, which was later released under Armin’s legendary label, Armind Recordings. Armin has also rewarded James’ musical prowess by labeling multiple tracks of his as, ‘Tune of the Week’ on his weekly “A State of Trance” radio show where he has stated – “If you were to look up ‘uplifting’ in a dictionary, I’m sure you’ll find James Dymond in there somewhere!”

Throughout James’ music career he has had a string of hit releases, both in originals, collaborations and remixes. With his #3 Beatport collaboration hit with Ben Nicky, titled ‘Refresh’, the hugely supported original ‘Siren’s Song’ released on Armada’s exclusive ‘Who’s Afraid Of 138 Recordings’ and tracks such as ‘Slingshot’, ‘Millenium’, ‘Solidus’, ‘Carbon’, ‘Just Let Me Be’ and ‘Samples of Silk’ on labels including, “Perfecto”, “Mental Asylum”, “Monster Tunes” and more have all shown Dymond’s wide range of skills in his production portfolio. As equally on form with his remixes James has put his slant on classic Trance tracks such as, “Armin van Buuren – Communication”, “Binary Finary – 1998” and “Ralphie B – Massive” (which immediately gained a spot in Black Hole Recordings’ “In Trance We Trust Records” and then topped the Trackitdown Trance download charts) as well as a string of remixes for industry heavy weights Indecent Noise, Jordan Suckley and Mark Sherry.

James has regularly found support from almost every notable DJ in the scene, whether this is live at worldwide performances or on countless digital radio stations, as well as 2 plays on BBC Radio 1 ‘In New DJs We Trust’ show. Hailed by Armada as someone who, “…could very well be the answer to a promising future of trance,” James Dymond continues to prove his admirers true. His stunning rise has left a wake of successful gigs. He opened at the “Who’s Afraid Of 138” stage at ASOT 600, the first time the arena was created in front of crowd that topped 5,000 people. He has headlined at the world famous Ministry of Sound in London, been booked for gigs in almost every continent of the world including sold out shows in London, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Madrid, Prague,  Warsaw, Belarus, Bangkok, Borneo, Dubai, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Auckland and Argentina to name just a few. Add to that festivals such as ‘Nature One’ (Frankfurt), ‘420 Festival’ (LA), ‘Volksfest’ (Plymouth), Grotesque (Amsterdam), Luminosity twice (Amsterdam) and ‘Amsterdam Music Festival’ (Amsterdam), James is no stranger to performing in front of some of the biggest crowds in the scene.

James continues to impress with his emotionally-charged performances that fill the dance floor with energy. A Dymond set is not just another trance set but a deep and passionate journey into emotion and sentiment while riding the waves of electronic music.





Name: James Dymond
Location: London

Dimitri: Can you mention your biggest achievements in your music career in 2014 and your personal life if it is something that you wish to share with our readers? 

James Dymond: I think my biggest achievement is that in May this year I quit my job and went full time in music production and Djing. After working very hard for a good 3-4 years it was a great feeling to be able to do something I love each day! At the same time I also had my new studio built. It was a custom job by a professional studio builder, created to the exact measurements of the room, with special fibre glass acoustic panels, which are 10x better than your standard foam ones. It's my little baby for sure! 

Dimitri: 2014 was packed with releases from so many different styles, which Electronic Music style you believe is the absolute Electronic Music Style Of 2014 in the mainstream indifferent if you like it or not. Why you believe this style became so successful in 2014? 

James Dymond: The new style of Progressive House music, or EDM as it's commonly known, has definitely been the music of 2014. Artists like Hardwell, Martin Garrix and Steve Aoki have had an incredible year and the EDM gigs around the world are huge. I think the USA has helped this style become so successful as they are beginning to really welcome Dance music, and with EDM being more commercial than other genres such as Trance, it reaches a wider audience. 



1) Best Track: 
James Dymond: Simon Patterson – Brush Strokes (Original Mix) – has everything in one track: driving bassline with a tech trance vibe, big uplifting breakdown and a mainstage style drop!



2) Best Artist (Dj & producer): 
James Dymond: Mark Sherry. I've loved every single one of his productions this year and he has been great to work.



3) Best Remix: 
James Dymond: Max Graham – The Evil ID (Mark Sherry Remix). My go to track in all my live sets, the production quality is second to none!



4) Best Remixer: 
James Dymond: Jordan Suckley. He has the ability to turn any track no matter how different to his style, into his style.



5) Best New Talent (Dj or producer): 
James Dymond: Sam Jones & Will Rees. Haven't heard a bad track from these two as either collaborators or as solo artists. Top blokes also who have the right attitude towards their music and the trance scene. 



6) Best Electronic Music Album: 
James Dymond: A State Of Trance 2014. A little biased here as one of my tracks was on this album, but a great album none the less.



7) Best Electronic Music Compilation: 
James Dymond: Tales From The Mental Asylum Chapter 2. Uplifting, Techy & Psy; what more could you ask for?



8) Best artwork/cover of an Album or Compilation: 
James Dymond: Tales From The Mental Asylum Chapter 2. Deon Butler is a hell of a designer! 



9) Best Lyrics in an Electronic Music track:
 James Dymond: 'I know I'm burning, this is my final day, I'm gonna go out smiling. A king for a day.' (Above & Beyond – Blue Sky Action)



10) Best Vocalist/Singer featured on Electronic Music track: 
James Dymond: Meredith Call. Beautiful voice, really loved her track with Boom Jinx titled 'The Dark'.



11) Best Electronic Music Label:
James Dymond:  Damaged Records. I have pretty much played all of the Damaged releases in either my live sets or radio show. Jordan has ensured high standards not just for melodies but production quality also, which for me is sometimes more important. 




12) Best Electronic Music Video: 
James Dymond: Does anyone do music videos these days? 

13) Best online Funny video related to Dance Music:
James Dymond:  'When Will The Bass Drop' (Saturday Night Live parody)  So funny!!! 



14) Best Online Social media network: 
James Dymond: Facebook, what else? :) Soundcloud is also up there.

15) Best Twitter or Facebook message you received from a fan or friend or you have read on someone else’s account: 
James Dymond: A message I received on Twitter, was something along the lines of: 'Your set from Singapore makes me moist!' hahahaha WTF!?



16) Best personal selfie of the year, where, when and under which circumstances you took it? 
James Dymond: Myself and Angry Man playing B2B at Godskitchen, UK, at 5am in front of a packed crowd.



17) Best music composition software:
 James Dymond: FL Studio, have used this for years and absolutely love it! Best work flow out of all the DAWs.

18) Best Event or Open Air Festival: 
James Dymond: The Gallery, Ministry Of Sound. Have been a regular attendee of The Gallery for years, so goes down as my favourite event.



19) Best personal Dj Gig: 
James Dymond: 420 Festival, San Bernardino (USA). Had absolutely no idea what to expect for this gig. Thought it was in LA, was actually over an hour outside of LA. Thought it was a club, turned out to be a massive fair ground complex with aircraft style hangers for the rooms. Played to around 2000 people who went mental for my whole set. Walking around the fairground with people dressed up in all kinds of costumes, two guys in flashing Transformer masks were the best! Loved it, very memorable. 

20) Best Dj set of the year from other fellow Dj:
James Dymond:  Astrix, Ministry Of Sound. You'd think it would be a Trance set, but I've seen the majority of Trance artists already. Having never seen Astrix play before I was pretty excited. I do love Psy Trance, but having played at Psy events and listening to radio shows for me I can only listen to about 30 mins none stop. However, Astrix proved me wrong and I stayed for the entire 1.5 hour set, each track better than the last! What a set!!

21) Best country that you have visited to perform with the most up for it crowd: 
James Dymond: Belarus. I played an extended 6 hour set earlier this year in Belarus, and the crowd literally did not stop dancing the entire time. The setting was very intimate and we were all in this together. At no time throughout the set did the dance floor thin out, their determination and stamina was on form! 

22) Best Radio show: 
James Dymond: ASOT. I don't really listen to many radio shows, but have been a regular listener of ASOT for years. The variety in the tracks played is what I like the most. Everything from 132 – 138 Trance. 



23) Best Radio station: 
James Dymond: AH.FM

24) Best Online Record shop that you purchase your music: 
James Dymond: Beatport

25) Best Website that you visit frequently: 
James Dymond: Soundcloud. Not one day goes by where I don't look on Soundcloud. It's quick and easy to find new tracks, follow your favourite artist, manage my own profile, and send private links of my 'work in progress' or finished productions to my friends.



26) Best Smart phone/Mobile phone device: 
James Dymond: Samsung Galaxy series. No Apple products for me! 

27) Best Dj equipment (software or hardware): 
James Dymond: Rekordbox, it has transformed the way I prepare for my live sets. Absolutely love the way you can insert cue markers in the tracks to quickly skip forwards or backwards.

28) Best tip that you learnt this year for your Djing techniques or music composition: 
James Dymond: Using vocals as a trigger for sidechain compression on the main lead.

29) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career in 2014: 
James Dymond: Pretty generic, but from a high profile artist manager: 'Keep doing what you've been doing and soon enough you'll be smashing it'.



30) Best hobby or activity that you spent a lot of time in 2014: 
James Dymond: Playing my Xbox :) 

31) Best holiday destination for 2014 that you manage to visit this year either to relax or to perform in a club or festival: 
James Dymond: Sydney, Australia. I stayed for 2.5 weeks in March this year, primarily as a holiday but also did 2 shows while out there. I really like the vibe of Sydney, beautiful city and lots to do!

32) Best Movie of the year preferably related to Electronic Music that may inspire you to compose a track: 
James Dymond: The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, incredible music!!

33) Best online/PC/video game of the year that you have played this year?
 James Dymond: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2. The ONLY game I've been playing this year :P 



34) Best soundtrack for video game of the year: 
James Dymond: Not a game from 2014, but Deus Ex: Human Revolution has some pretty awesome scores! 

Dimitri: Finally, 2015 is ahead of us would you like to tell your plans with your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, Dj gigs.

James Dymond: Some big tours and gigs are coming next year, in places such as Australia, USA, Asia and Europe. I'll be taking part in a world wide Mental Asylum Records tour also so really can't wait for that!

Music wise, I've recently finished a remix for one of the top Trance artists in the scene and will be released on Armada early next year, as well as a remix for Perfecto Fluoro. Myself and Ram have finished a massive vocal collaboration which we are looking forward to getting released as a single and on his album. For original productions I've been working hard and have a brand new tech trance influenced uplifter to be signed, and lots of ideas for new originals!

Thanks so much to James Dymond for his excellent detailed answer to his interview.

Thanks so much to Chris Duncan, Artist Manager at Audio Religion Music LTD




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