Toby Liyah, better known as Querox, set forth on his musical journey in 2008. Since then, the Berlin born muso has sky-rocketed in the world of progressive trance with countless hits behind his name, including The Girls Stuff, Berlin Soundtrack, Keep Walking, Because Of You and The Last Kiss. Having performed at some of the most iconic festivals across the globe, he’s due to make his first ever appearance in South Africa at Sunflower Festival. Enjoy our exclusive interview with the man himself.
PSYKED:
Hi Toby! Let’s start at the beginning: what genres lead you to become a progressive trance producer and DJ? Is it true that you come from a Punk background?
QUEROX:
Hey. First of all, it’s so nice to be here with you 🙂 Well *laughs* yes, this is true. You know those crazy times – the guitar on your back, dyed hair and very big shoes, eager to go to all the crazy Punk Rock Concerts in your country. I was the singer/songwriter and guitarist of my band called Vis; we played 100 % garage punk rock. I also had another band called Prypjat that was hardcore D-Beat. It was great.
One night, all of the sudden, I went to the wrong party, and they played this insane electronic music that they called psytrance. At that point I totally fell in love with it. Step by step, I got my own equipment together to start making my first mix. I kept mixing and training really hard for a quite few years, annoying all my neighbours, before I started to perform. The musical background that I had from before really helps me nowadays in production.
Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of chatting to the one-and-only Morten Granau in an exclusive interview right before his set at Imagine: a day party.
Following his 2014 debut appearance in South Africa in at The Collective’s #ParadiseBeach, Morten’s popularity has continued to rise within the local scene. Globally, he’s become one of the most in-demand producers in the progressive psytrance genre- in just four short years.
But where did it all begin and what inspires the magical Morten to keep producing the emotive beats for which he’s known and loved? We find out from the man himself in this little video snippet. Enjoy!
From the same crews who brought you some of the Mother City’s most beloved festivals, including Paradise Beach and Vortex OpenSource, comes “Image;” a day party like no other. Following the ground-breaking debut of Morten Granau in South Africa at Kogel Bay (read the review), The Collective is proud to announce that the progressive sensation is due to return for an unrivalled outdoor adventure featuring Emoutikon, Deadbeat FM, Sad Paradise, Feedback, Connecto , Humerous, The Commercial Hippies and Sway. Experience a fourteen-hour-long musical journey set in the lush valley of Franschoek Valley. With rolling grass lawns and a massive dam situated right by the dance-floor, it’s the perfect setting to dance your innermost dreams into existence.
Psyked in the City is giving away 2 x tickets to one lucky trooper. To enter, follow the instructions below.
As the days progressed, my excitement reached its peak. I was more than ready to party it up on the beach with the masterful Morten Granau. I’ve got to hand it to The Collective for pinning Kogel Bay as the venue for their first-ever psychedelic gathering.
Calling all psytrance lovers; the gremlins of the twilight hours, the proggy’s, Sunday stompers, daylight dancers and all trancling in between. Come and experience a full-spectrum psychedelic music journey with headlining act, Morten Granau, making his debut in South Africa.
For the first time ever, The Collective presents Paradise Beach. Set at Kogel Bay, an all time popular party spot this season, The Collective is worth adding to the list. Picture a dance floor that’s a stone throw from the ocean, hula-hoopers on the beach, bikinis, sun-kissed skin, happy faces, a mountainous backdrop and the phatest beats.
Winner will be announced on Wednesday the 19th of March.
Please check your Facebook inbox promptly as you’ll need to respond to claim your prize. See terms and conditions below.
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T&Cs:
Tickets are not transferable for cash.
You cannot cede or sell your ticket.
You WILL be asked for ID at the door.
This is your chance to score tickets to one of the most anticipated psytrance events
this season, starring the international Vibe Tribe and DaVinci Code, as well as all your favourite locals.
At 5 A.M on January the 2nd, the talented DJ D-rang3D (aka Sirajuddin Kadri) got behind the One World decks to deliver a seriously banging psychedelic set. Inspired by the likes of Captain Hook, Class A, Morten Granau, Freedom Fighters, Astrix, Sub-6 and Ace Ventura, this one is worth adding to your playlist.
Now, with great excitement we present: D-rang3D’s Exclusive One World NYE mix (available for free download). What better way to celebrate reaching Psyked in the City’s 7000-view goal? Listen, enjoy and pass on.
Want to know more about the man behind the decks? Read our D-rang3D interview.
Love & Light is a party that remains true to its name, if you’re looking to uplift your spirits to beautiful beats or just take advantage of Cape Town’s summer sun, look no further. This is a party best suited for the lovers of Sunday sessions and day-time beats.
The fun began at 10 a.m on Saturday morning. We arrived bright and early at Mountain Shadows Guesthouse in Paarl, not willing to let a ray of sunshine go to waste.
Israeli-bred, Yotopia opened up the party and got our juices flowing, delivering deliciously proggy tunes to a very hungry audience. I allowed myself to get lost in the music, and closed my eyes for a moment to enjoy the sun upon my skin.
And when I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the Drakensberg Mountains that surrounded us, encapsulating the scene. I felt as if I had entered party paradise.
Massive respect to the individuals who managed to stay on the dance-floor the entire time! That must’ve taken a lot of stamina (and hopefully sunscreen too). The blistering heat was made bearable, however, by the Mountain Shadows dam alongside. There’s nothing like taking a refreshing dip in crystal clear waters in between your favourite sets.
All around me, party-goers embraced the weather and reveled in the dam. For the sun-babies among us, it was a dream come true: to celebrate the season with some mates in nothing but a bikini with an icy-cold drink in hand. And in the background, the sweet music continued.
I must give credit to the crew, at this point, for the much-needed tents that were set up to give the dancefloor some shade. The sprinklers that hovered overhead also did wonders to cool down a very hot lot of stompers.
Another highlight of the event was, of course, Liquid Soul (or rather Nicola Capobianco). This highly successful Swiss DJ is recognised all over the globe for his proggy psytrance sounds. And Cape Town couldn’t have given him a warmer welcome, the dancefloor was thriving when he got behind the decks.
It’s one thing to love a DJ when his tracks are blasting through your speakers but it’s an entirely different story to experience that very same DJ live in your backyard.
The local DJ sets did not disappoint, either. FogShow and Afterlife kept the party pumping, but it was Connecto’s set that really engaged me and had me floating away in musical ecstasy. Perhaps it was the awesome sound clip of Nelson Mandela’s speech that he cleverly wove into the mix..
The great German, NOK brought the evening in and then rounded things off beautifully, blasting a Morten Granau track that had everyone talking. Can you say progressive perfection?
When the sun set, the DJ box was illuminated by LED lights and trippy visual projections, creating an awesome atmosphere on the dancefloor.
What I adore about Love & Light is it’s a short yet unbelievably sweet party experience. I headed homebound feeling airy, sun-kissed and happy. I couldn’t get that beautiful doof-doof-doof out my head for the entire ride home.
PSYKED IN THE CITY 