SIDEFORM (RELATIV) Universal Religion 2013, Nepal

We are pulling out no stops from here on in our ‘Know Your Artists’ section as the days come careening around to the all new Universal Religion edition in a spanking new venue of Bandipur in Nepal. As the festival suggests we are paying ode to life, love and dancing and more than ever to the artists who are ready and waiting to drop bomb sets. The stage is set to experience several of the already shining stars of the Psychedelic world and to usher in the newer talents making waves internationally. Now for the first time ever we are happiest to welcome the debutant Drasko to the consoles of UR…popularly known as Sideform (Relativ) in an exclusive session with us…

Hi Drasko…heartiest welcome to your debut performance at Universal Religion 2013 in Nepal. Can you tell us a bit about Serbia and the music culture prevalent at clubs and festivals that you’ve grown up to, what was the road like in the initial time of you taking up Djing?

SF- Thank you very much guys…Its my pleasure to play at Universal Religion this year, to visit Nepal and the magnificent landscapes of the country. I’m really looking forward to it. Well, Serbia is a state in the Southeast of Europe, around 8 million people, with many varieties in culture,art and music as well.The people are very friendly and I would definitely advise everyone to visit my hometown of Belgrade the capital, which has a reputation of a city that never sleeps. Also recommend eating out in one of many restaurants with the national cuisine, and tasting some of the local specialties. Regarding my beginnings of getting involved in to music, it happened very spontaneously.The electronic music culture in Serbia started in the mid 90s, when I was still a child, but through my sister and some older friends I got to know it very soon. As I hit my teen years I started visiting clubs that played a variety of genres: Techno, Tech-House, Drum’n’Bass and so on. But the music which really caught my ear was Goa Trance, and I was hooked from the first beat. Ever since then have been very involved in the genre, first as a listener and a follower of the scene, and later on gained an interest in producing, because this sound was so different and profound for me, it was my dream to get into it more and get to know the production process.

Did you learn to play any musical instruments in your younger years, how was it that you started to take interest in producing as well. Who were the artists you were listening to back then?

SF- I used to play a little of Guitar in my early teens, but it didn’t last long because I switched to a computer and a sequencing software pretty soon. How I started producing was quite accidental. I had gotten a pair of speakers from my dad as a birthday present and they came with a sequencing software as a gift. Since then I have been experimenting with sound, sampling, synthesis and production techniques, trying to recreate some of my favorite Techno artists’ sound at the time. But as soon as I heard a track from Astral Projection, I told myself that I got to get in to this music one way or another. Other major influences in the time of my first experiments with producing were Miranda, Infected Mushroom, Shakta and Man with no name. Later on when the full on sound had gained momentum it was Astrix, GMS, Cosma and Alien Project.

If you were to put yourself in a category which would it be, in terms of how would you describe your sounds?

SF- In the shortest possible way I can say it varies from Progressive Trance to Progressive Psytrance with Sideform, and with Relativ it gets deeper into the realms of Psychedelic Trance with both of the Progressive and the Psychedelic parts of the genre included.

Can you explain to us the difference of Relativ in comparison to being one half of Sideform; what are the highlights of either project and why the two sides?

SF- The main difference of Relativ is, as I said more Psychedelic based, with more Psychedelic melodies and Goa Trance touches, something that is very close to me since the beginning of my involvement in Trance. Also the music is a bit faster than Sideform’s so at some point it gets in to a totally different genre which is good for me because I can explore two separate ways of the music without interfering with the other project. Sideform was founded with my friend Milos Modrinic and with it I got my first success in the scene. We both worked on it very hard and put a lot of effort in to always implementing new ideas to it and making a synergy of our creative talents. Its very different when you work alone than when you work with someone in the studio, because there are a lot of ideas from both sides and you have to pick out the ones which fits best. There are also a lot of compromises, but its sure a lot of fun when we work on tracks. The main reason for the two sides is my wish to work in both parts of the genre which I enjoy equally and give my share of creativity and evolution of the sound to the both of them.

You have an Audio Engineering back ground, what are the first things that come to mind which helped in having got this professional training?

SF- Well it helped me in many ways, from understanding the nature of sound and its creation to the more complex matters of Acoustics, Sound design and Production. I’m also constantly learning about new techniques and Technologies in the business, so it is an ongoing process which I enjoy very much.

Please tell us about your Tech oriented avatar by the name of ‘Avax’, what plans with this project; how is it shaping up?

SF- I have made a plan that as soon as I finish the album for Relativ and some EPs I have for Sideform, I will give more of my time to Avax. For now I have a few tracks already made and another few that are in the making. I want to give my full attention to it and shape the sound of the project in a mixture of Techno, Tech-House and Deep House, and for sure move towards a completely different scene with it.

Drasko can you tell us about which festival or club that you really like performing at, as you’ve been to many?

SF- Well there are a lot I could mention but to name a few : Hadra festival in France and Aurora festival in Samothraki, Greece were quite memorable gigs. I also enjoy playing in Serbia because its always nice to play for the home crowd and playing in Denmark and Switzerland is also a lot of fun, because of many friends there. I will also mention Chidneris and Shivaneris festival in Brazil, as my first encounters with the Brazilian crowd was a very warm vibe and atmosphere. Also the locations are amazing, surrounded by beautiful nature and totally different to the European landscapes I’ve been used to.

We hear through the grapevine that you are working on a debut album, how’s that coming along and when are you scheduled to release it and under which label?

SF- Album is going on nicely, my main preoccupation is to be satisfied with it so have already postponed the release from this Spring/Summer season to the Autumn/Winter of 2013. I have a few very interesting collaborations and remixes on it, so am really looking forward to finishing everything and get it ready to see the daylight. About the label I’ll think when I finish the album 😉

Your thoughts on Universal Religion in Nepal, what do you know of the guys who make it so special year after year and the festival in itself?

SF- The guys I know from the organization are very cool and friendly and have shown a great deal of dedication and devotion to make it happen. I’ve heard from my mate Marko E-Clip, who has played on the previous edition of the festival all the best about the guys,and also the location itself is something special and I think  the line up is very good and diverse each year so the only way I can see the festival going is forward.

Did you follow the early years of Goa Trance in its authenticity and also have you visited the place in person and seen the scene as such in these current years?

SF- I know a lot about the early years of Goa Trance because this music was what I first encountered of the Trance culture and was really eager to find as much about it as I could. Unfortunately I was still a child when it was taking part in Goa, so I didn’t even have a clue about it. Definitely would visit the place right now, as it is a legendary piece of our scene and culture 🙂

What upcoming gigs in this year are you really looking forward to, and if you can tell us of the activities that Drasko will be busy with in the next couple of months?

SF- Something I am really looking forward this year is Universal Religion no doubt about it, also the Burning Mountain festival in Switzerland, as well as Freqs of Nature and Spirit Base Festival which will be my first appearances. A Mexico tour is in plan for this year and for the New Years Eve a trip to Thailand for The Experience festival will be the icing on the cake.

When you’re not Djing do you have any other hobbies that you pursue?

SF- Reading and following my team in sports, Partizan Belgrade! 🙂

Do you have a full blown studio back home, and what is your favorite piece of musical gear?

SF- My studio is based at my flat, but I have just rented a new place for it and have started to equip and  do an acoustic treating of the room. I had to leave for Brazil without finishing it, but when I get back I’ll invest in some new gear which is planned, for example new studio monitors. Since a majority of my equipment is digital. If I had to point out something it would be my favorite VST instruments: Sylenth 1 and Massive.

How do you like your Dj setup to be?

SF- I only do Live sets based of my own music, so I prefer using my Laptop, a Midi controller which I map to many effects that I trigger during the set and a lot of the tracks I play are edited specially for my Live sets.

If we rummage through your music bag, which are the 3 essential tunes we’ll find currently?

SF- As I have said I don’t play other people’s music, but the three tunes I’m quite enjoying now are Krueger & Coyle – The Witness (Phaxe remix), Beckers – Free your Mind and Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus (Sideform rmx) for which we got great feedback from the people wherever we played it and has turned out to be much more than we expected.

Lastly any message to your Universal Religion fans and followers, and what your set plans are or will you just take it as it comes after seeing the venue and crowd vibe?

SF- For the set I already have a few ideas of how to base it, but I’ll definitely check the atmosphere of the party and decide which one to go for. My message for the guys is that I’m really looking forward to seeing them and enjoy the festival and music together. Can’t wait to have a great time, check out another amazing place on the globe and celebrate life together with everyone out there!

See you in Nepal! 🙂

The Relativ conciseness will be complete when we get to make shapes with the Serbian’s Psychedelic side which will be on full display at this year’s new edition and to catch more news and information regarding all of the festival madness, please visit the links provided below:

http://www.facebook.com/relativ.music

https://www.facebook.com/universal.religion.nepal

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mountainmadnessnepal

Event link- https://www.facebook.com/events/455924434463144/

http://www.urnepal.com

Interview courtesy- Priya Sen

AJJA at Universal Religion 2013, Nepal

The Universal Religion ‘Know your Artists section is ablaze with excitement, as the Psychedelic space craft to the brilliance of one man never comes down. He is celestial with his sinewy take on Psychedelic. He is the ultimate experimental and vaporized rhythm master. A rush of reverence always precedes his name and a hush when he gets on to control our minds to a dimension unknown. So with much happiness we present the main protagonist of every beautiful Psychedelic story…

Ladies & Gentlemen..Ajja in an exclusive interview for the first time ever; where we embark on a journey to know more about not just a special human being but an artist whose truly chosen by god to entertain us with his brand of ‘Peakalogical’ grooves….

Hello Ajja Leu…delighted to have you at Universal Religion 2013; can you share with your fans where you were born and how you got in to the Djing scene?

Ajja- Hi Priya, I’m equally delighted to be a part of the festival again – I’ve already participated in three editions and can’t wait to be back!

I was born in London, although I have never lived much in the U.K as most of my early years were spent on the road traveling with my family. Coincidentally, we lived in Nepal for a while in the late seventies… in Swayambhu, if I recall correctly. Traveling has always been a big part of my life, as I was raised in the belief that it’s important to keep our minds stimulated with new experiences. I started to Dj with my friend Gaspard when we started the Yab Yum project in 2004. He had already been Djing for over a decade at that point, and I had been an electronic Funk, Blues and rock musician for even longer. Sharing our knowledge, we learned how to produce Psy-Trance together, playing at innumerable underground parties in Switzerland and releasing our first album in 2006.

What made you lean towards Psychedelic Trance, any influences in the early days that drove you to it?

Ajja- Having spent part of my childhood in Goa and coming from a family of freaks, I was always aware of parties and the Psychedelic movement. Although the early parties were driven by Live music, in later years I realized the importance of a good Dj and how it could influence the vibe. I must admit that at the beginning of what was then called Techno and later on Trance or Goa Trance, I didn’t like it very much. I was already an accomplished musician and didn’t understand why producers would limit themselves to such a restricted form of expression. I enjoyed it when I was dancing at the parties of course, but could never have imagined that I would want to produce it myself. What I did know was that I liked the intention of the music: the idea of a Trance rhythm that was manifested temporarily by the music and could be tapped into by the dancer, unifying the dance-floor on a very primal level.

It was only when I encountered Psychedelic Trance again in the late nineties that I grew interested in producing it. By then machines had evolved enough to make it an interesting form of expression, able to translate all the same subtleties as an acoustic or electric instrument. I think it’s because computers were able to handle audio files relatively easily by then, which exponentially increased the electronic sonic palette to infinity and beyond. There is a whole new generation of great producers that will never have to know the mind-numbing task of loading samples into an Akai, or step programming drum beats using an LCD display the size of a postage stamp, haha!

 

Not many people know that you are an accomplished Tattoo artist, do you still practice the art. Is it another face of Ajja when not Djing?

Ajja- I tend to make the distinction that I am a Tattooer, not a Tattoo artist… The difference is that Tattoo artists have given their life to the profession and always strive for greatness, while Tattooers are content with doing good clean work. I come from a family of Tattoo artists and my brother Filip Leu, is now one of the most respected names in the profession. I was never actually taught how to Tattoo as such, although I did Tattoo Oranges or my fingernails for fun when I was young. However, by my early twenties I had seen my parents and brother teach so many people that I had absorbed most of the basic theories. So at some point, when I needed to earn a proper living, I returned to Switzerland to the family studio and started working. I tattooed there for several years before my attention gradually shifted back towards music. These days, I don’t have much free time to dedicate to drawing for Tattoos, so I prefer to only work occasionally to ensure that I will be able to concentrate fully on the project at hand.

Did you ever play a musical instrument and or take any formal training in production or to Dj?

Ajja- I play Guitar and Bass professionally, can hold a basic drum beat down for a while, fake it on a Piano and get some sort of tune out of most instruments. Although I have never had any formal training, I’ve been a musician since I was a child. When I was nine years old, my parents asked me to pick a form of artistic expression, which I was to practice for at least one solid hour every day. I chose music. Soon I realized that, as long as I was playing Guitar, I wasn’t asked to do the dishes or other chores so I kept playing until eventually, I became proficient and started to enjoy and take pride in what I could do. So in this way, my parents gently manipulated me into learning that creativity is the act of focusing on the task at hand and dedicating time to it. I will always be grateful to them for this invaluable lesson. I have always loved Drum machines and anything electronic. When I was fourteen I started to record my own songs on anything I could find. I have owned countless Drum machines and hardware sequencers and samplers in my life, learning and loving every one of them and their quirks. This gave me a solid base in how to process samples, program a Drum beat and set up a sequence, before I hit the overwhelming possibilities of computers. I learned most of my Dj skills much later from Gaspard.

What is your role in Peak Records, how did it come about and are you happy with the way things are at the moment?

Ajja- Peak Records is a project I started in 2003 with my wife Tanina Munchkina and our friends Gaspard and Master Margherita. Our main intention was and still is to create a platform to release quality music and give young aspiring artists (ourselves amongst them) a chance to be heard by the international psychedelic community. It’s been a long road with many twists and surprising turns, and I wouldn’t recommend being a label owner to anybody that gets discouraged easily, but with over twenty releases of quality PsyTrance and Chill we’re very proud of what we have achieved so far.

Describe yourself in 5 words

Ajja- Very happy to be alive!

Is it a conscious decision to stay in the intelligent non-commercial musicality, borne out of let’s say to tell the Psychedelic world that one can make a success out of it without falling in to the regular chart topping mode?

Ajja- I’m not sure anything I do is a conscious decision haha! Actually, I think that kind of makes your point nicely if I can become well known just by making music that I enjoy, without consciously deciding to follow current trends and accepted formats, that means that anyone can. All you need to do is keep true to what you really like, and the odds are that someone will eventually hear it, appreciate it and show it to their friends.

Your thoughts of performing in Goa and Nepal during season, is it musically different from being in the rest of the world?

Ajja- It’s a wonderful opportunity to be in a place where there is such a concentration of good parties. It’s a great chance to test out new tracks and find new ways to recombine my material. Also, these are some of the most aware dancefloors that I have encountered. There is a wonderful mix of travelers and locals that have been listening to this style of music for years, and they aren’t easily impressed. In some ways, they give the most useful feedback because there is such an abundance of good music and regular parties there, so keeping the dancers interested can be a bigger challenge.

How did you come to be associated with the Universal Religion crew?

Ajja- I was first invited in 2009 to come and play at what was then called Mountain Madness. It was a great little festival a few hours from Kathmandu in a beautiful valley next to a river. I had such a good time there that I was more than happy to be part of it again. It’s been great to see the crew develop it over the years into what it is today.

How much time do you spend in your family run shop back in Ste-Croix, Switzerland; close to your heart?

Ajja- These days I’m in and out of the shop as I spend most of my time on music production and performing around the world. I do still manage to get some tattooing in and hope that I will always have time for that part of my life.

Which do you prefer the process of sitting in the studios and cooking up a tune vis a vis going for gigs around the globe?

Ajja- I enjoy both for different reasons. I love being in my studio making music because it’s one of the places where I’m entirely in my element exploring different ways of making sounds. The live performances are where I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, and as a bonus make people happy. It’s a great feeling to see people letting their hair down on a dance-floor and being transported to another world for a while. It always fascinates me that music producers sit in studios, bedrooms, trains, planes or wherever pushing pixels around on a screen, which makes numbers on a hard-disk change from zeroes to ones, which causes the computer to produce certain sounds, which are then reproduced on massive sound systems and take on a whole new dimension. Just the sheer quantity of air displaced by the speakers staggers me sometimes.

What’s happening with music, can you share with us if you have plans for any releases this New Year?

Ajja- I tend to work in an eclectic manner on multiple projects simultaneously, I guess that’s because of my short attention span haha! I’m happily at work on my next solo album and can’t wait to have it ready though I can’t put a time frame on it. One of the interesting projects at the moment is a new live Guitars and PsyTrance set with Cosmosis. It’s based on the idea that Guitars played live by human beings can be an integral part of the 144 bpm range PsyTrance experience, without getting in the way. We realized that if you think of yourself as a human sequencer, you can fit into the groove of the track quite easily and actually enhance the trance experience by adding human variations to the pattern. We are trying to keep the guitars as funky and natural sounding as we can, without disturbing the PsyTrance lovers, although I must admit there are a few classic Rock’n’Roll moments in there just for the fun of it. There are also parts where the Guitars are more heavily processed and meld better with the track, and of course some really fun solo parts here and there. We have been recording all our live sets and soon will have enough material for what should be a surprising album for the Psy-community.

As far as Peak Records goes, the next PsyTrance release will be our first digital download only compilation, “Peakadelic”, compiled by Dj Amazon who has been one of our label Djs since the beginning. It will be followed by the debut album of my chill project with Cosmosis, recorded live in the H.R. Giger Museum in Switzerland. And later in the year there should be a collaborative album I’m getting together with all the interesting new tracks I’ve made with friends recently. There is also an album from Gaspard in the works, as well as one from our newest Peak artist Simiantics.

You will have had a full season in Goa and head to Universal Religion 2013 up in Nepal; how excited are you about this?

Ajja- I can’t wait to be back in Nepal on my way to Universal Religion. Its one of the festivals I really enjoy, partly for the beautiful location and the Nepal experience itself, but also because it’s such a nice crowd to play to. I’m always impressed by the amount of people that make the effort to come all the way out there to party.

Do you have any idea of the kind of respect and awe you inspire in Djs and clubbers alike; your take on the fame and adulation you’ve received over the years?

Ajja- I’m just happy that all the effort I put into my music is appreciated, thank you all very much! One of the joys of working in the Psychedelic genres is that people tend to really listen to the music that is playing, which usually makes their feedback very relevant and meaningful.

A birdie tells us that you are on the verge of reviving the spectacular Yab Yum project with an old partner Dj Gaspard, what are your thoughts behind this?

Ajja- Yes, we are happily working on a new Yab Yum album. It’s the project we started when we were learning how to make this style of music, so it’s really fun to be producing together again, using all the new knowledge we have acquired separately over the past few years. These days, our live sets are a big mash up of the new material we have produced so far and new remixes of our old classics. Also, it’s great to be working in a purely electronic duo again, as it allows a lot more brainpower to be spent on the live parts of the performance.

Could you also share with us the status of your ‘Peaking Goddess Collective’, what is the status of this four piece band? Is it under Peak Records and could you explain to us how different is it musically from the rest of the work you do?

Ajja- The Peaking Goddess Collective is a Live Trance and Chill project formed in 2003 that currently consists of Master Margherita, Flooting Grooves, Dymons and myself. Our setup is live Guitar, Flute, Bass, Percussion’s and Synths mixed with electronic Progressive or Downtempo beats. It’s a collective rather than a band, as we are all busy with our solo projects most of the time, so we tend to only come together for big festivals a few times a year. Over the years we have opened or closed dance floors at most of the major Psychedelic festivals in the world including Boom, Universo Paralello, Antaris, and this year Ozora. Amazingly enough we have only ever released one studio album, although we have enough recorded material in the vaults for at least five albums by this point, not counting live recordings from gigs.

To sign off, we are very curious to know as to what you would be doing if you were to take up an alternate profession?

Ajja- It’s very hard for me to imagine a life without music, Tattoos and graphics in it. I think I would probably end up being a street musician again, it’s a very honest way to make a living.

If you want to complete the Ajja story, you got to get up to this years edition of the festival at a brand new venue waiting in the wings…for each one of your presence..

Interview courtesy- Priya Sen

For more information on the event and artists follow the links below:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ajja/49408601989?ref=ts&fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/universal.religion.nepal

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mountainmadnessnepal

Event link- https://www.facebook.com/events/455924434463144/

http://www.urnepal.com