Exclusive interview with Materia: My creative urge

Materia is Andreas M from Austria. Born and raised in Salzburg, Andreas was interested in music production from a very early age. As a teenager he recalls listening to genre such as trip hop, dub, lounge, EDM, techno and heavy metal. “I’ve always been a fan of the twisted and melancholic side of music,” he says.

His musical journey began when Andreas acquired his first instruments and synths. “I was more interested in creating music and sounds rather than becoming a regular performing artist,” he explains. “Even after many great years on tour, I still see the music as my main target.”

Andreas has collaborated with a myriad of world-famous artists including Earthling, Compressor, Sinerider, Bliss, Brainiac and others; and frequents the decks of popular psy destinations in Europe such as Austria, Germany, Swizerland, Poland, Hungary and Italy under the 24/7 label. His full-on beats are described as driving and deeply psychedelic.

This year, Andreas will be returning to South Africa for Vortex Open Source 2015. We chat to him ahead of his performance in an exclusive interview below.

*Questions by Brandon Menzies for Vortex Trance Adventures. Edited and compiled by Batia for PSYKED.

Exclusive interview with TRIP: Something higher than materialism.

DJ Trip is Ryan Davis from South Africa. Growing up, Ryan says that he never envisioned becoming a DJ, let alone a successful one, but music has always been a part of his life. As a youngster, Ryan listed to heavy metal, rock, punk, reggae and classical; and spent hours in record stores at any given opportunity. He was also exposed to many musical genres at home. “There was always music in the background and I learnt to appreciate the value of music in my life from a very young age. I even studied piano for a few years,” he says.

After being introduced to psytrance by Moog of Mushroom Mafia in 2003, his life took an unexpected turn and changed forever. Ryan found himself hooked on psytrance and felt determined to get behind the decks as soon as possible so he bought his own equipment and started a collection of trance CDs which gave him the diversity to play any sub-genre of trance.

Moog instilled in Ryan the valuable lessons required in order to advance in his career such as how to read the dance floor and conduct himself as a professional artist. “Moog taught me to have fun with my choice of music and to express my passion for trance through my sets,” says Ryan. Indeed he was a significant mentor and inspiration for the up-and-coming artist who was just beginning to learn about the psy scene and the art of DJing.

Ryan’s first big gig was in Mozambique in the December of 2003. He later went on to play for a collection of production companies in Joburg and eventually started up his own production company called Psychotic Productions. Ryan’s lively sets invigorate and captive audiences of all ages and paths.

We chat to Ryan about his upcoming performance at Vortex Open Source 2015 ♩♪♬ Experience the Magic in an exclusive interview below.

*Questions by Brandon Menzies for Vortex Trance Adventures. Edited and compiled by Batia Efrat for PSYKED. 

PSYKED:
Hi Ryan. Tell us more about a distinguishing moment in your life that led to actualising yourself as a psytrance DJ and producer.

TRIP:
After Frozen Ghost and Hiyarant performed at one of my Psychotic Production parties in August 2008, they invited me on a two-week-long crash course in CuBase. Upon my return home – armed with a copy of CuBase, VSTs – I bought a kick-arse sound card and monitor; and the stage was set to start producing my own music as Synthetic Alkaloid.

#ThursdayNightPsy tonight at VICE CITY

Join the Vice City crew every Thursday night for your weekly dose of Psytrance. Expect a night of the finest Full On Psytrance and techno from South Africa’s top artists. The guys aren’t holding anything back this First Thursday with a monster line up of Cape Town’s favourite producers!

1ST OCTOBER:

SHIFT / ZEZIA / ITONE / HIYARANT (join the event here)

8TH OCTOBER:

AHEE / JESTER / FRACTAL / MATRON

DRINK SPECIALS TILL MIDNIGHT:

R15 TEQUILA
R30 DBL BRANDY & COKE

DECOR TEAM:

Matthew Callan Abrahams & Kei

**GIRLS R20 BEFORE 11:00!**
**DOORS OPEN: 10pm – 4am**
**THE DAMAGE: R50 all night.**
**ADDRESS: 4 BUITEN STREET, OFF LONG STREET. (Next door to Lola’s)**
**For more information, email: drinks@vicecity.co.za**
**R.O.A.R – No Under 18s – No drugs or bad attitudes – Welcome to the underground.*

Win double tickets for Earthdance Cape Town 2015 #EDCT15

Earthdance Cape Town remains one of the most anticipated events on the psytrance calendar; and now the time is nearing to unite in a dance for peace once again.

Located at the organisation’s long time home, Nekkies Resort in Worcester, this year’s edition promises to ignite spirits and enthral ears with a line-up featuring some of the best psytrance acts from near and far. International headliners include Lifeforms (Iono Records), Earthspace (Mosaico Records) and Virtual Light (Zero 1 Music).

With over sixteen years of involvement, NANO RECORDS will be bringing the beats of eminent local talent such as Headroom, Sad Paradise, The Commercial Hippies and Regan.

Awakening is the theme of choice for Earthdance Cape Town 2015; join us as we focus on awaking ourselves and the world around us so we may activate our ideas and build a better earth for all.

In light of this, we are proud to announce another exciting addition to the upcoming event: the Psychedelic Dream Temple, a visionary mobile art gallery which will be showcasing artwork from around the globe.

Stand a chance to win a set of double tickets to #EDCT15 by following the steps below.

Exclusive interview with Querox: it comes from the heart

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.

Win double tickets for Elevate The Mind by ETM

Enternal Trip Media is celebrating seven years of mind travel with MARK, KILLAWATT, XUENO, PSYOPS, FRACTAL, CRUZADO MOTION and RAPID STATE. Join us at the new Mercury Live on the 22nd of August 2015 for a party like no other ♬♪♩♥

Want to win tickets? We’re giving away a set of double tickets to the event. Stand a chance to win by commenting on this photo and tagging your stomping buddy. Remember to use the #psyked hashtag.

Sharing is caring.

#Psyked: Sunflower Festival 2015 ft. Skazi, Upgrade, Querox, Berg and friends

Start outdoor festival season with a BANG this spring at Sunflower Festival 2015. Just as the sunflower awakens each dawn to follow the sun across our sky, now is the time for our hearts to come alive and look towards the summer. Since the dawn of time, people of the earth have celebrated the return of spring through music, dance and love. We invite you, once more, to be part of the transition from winter towards the warmth at this year’s anticipated event. Expect only the most acclaimed local and international DJs and live acts, performance artists, body painted characters, fire dancers, LED hoopers, graphic poi artists and so much more.

The line-up:

INTERNATIONALS

Skazi (Israel)
Berg (Israel)
Upgrade (Israel)
Querox (Germany)

Exclusive interview with DJ Mark: I knew when I started that I would never give up

Mark Cullinan AKA DJ Mark is easily one of Cape Town’s most known and loved DJs. Praised for his full-on psychedelic style and an ability to blend older and more contemporary sounds, Mark continues to draw a massive crowd no matter wherever he performs.

*These questions were compiled by Brandon Menzies.

Psyked:
Hi Mark. First things first; what inspired you to embark on the path to becoming a psytrance DJ? And how did you first become exposed to the festival scene?

Mark:
I’ve always been interested in electronic music; I used to listen to some house when I was still in school. One day I found myself standing on the floor at a mammoth psytrance festival; it was the millennium. I was in awe! I turned to two of my mates and said, “I want to play at these jols,” and I pointed towards the DJ. Two months later, I had a mixer and two discmans, and that’s where it all began.

 

Exclusive interview with DJ Bruce: With imagination and intention, we can create magic

Bruce Abrahamse is signed to Nexus Media. Although he goes by many names, including Solar Axis, Spliff Politix and Synchronist, he is more commonly referred to simply as Bruce. The respected DJ is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s psytrance greats with almost two decades of experience behind him. Known and loved for his humble approach to life, Bruce can be described as somewhat of a guru in the local psy scene, inspiring beats as well as brainwaves. Catch him later this month at Vortex Phoenix Festival of Fire.

Psyked:
Hi Bruce! It’s a an honour to chat to you today. Tell me, what originally influenced you to become a psytrance DJ and producer?

Bruce:
Playing and making music has always been my favourite form of expression. My dad played guitar in bands professionally for twenty odd years and had an incredible vinyl collection that I immersed myself in as a kid. It gave me a deep love for a very diverse range of musical styles; as far back as primary school, I was frequently asked to DJ for friends parties. I think I was twelve or thirteen when I played my first ‘set’ on two tape decks and a guitar amp busting out Snap, Metallica and The Time Warp in the same hour *laughs.* As a teenager, I used to play guitar in little garage bands and then, once I got bitten by the goa bug, I guess it was just the next natural step to try mix and make this music myself.

Exclusive interview with Jonathan West: The inspiration is contagious

The first time I met Jonathan West was in March at Altered States. It was the grand premier of the Psychedelic Dream Temple. I’d never seen anything like it; a mobile art gallery showcasing the works of fifteen visionary artists including Aumega, Jacqui Van Staden, Liquid Faeries, Flowmotion, Sean Ravenhill, Rossi Toltech, Franny Erasmus, Brad Briscoe, Jake Grayham, Hakim Hasan, Raphael Araujo and Pixel Pusher.

After chatting to Jonathan for a short while, I began to understand that The Temple however was not just an art gallery but rather a platform to inspire and expose concealed creativity from the core.