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/
Interview courtesy- Priya Sen
universalreligionartists 