Astrix

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Astrix 2013 in Moscow

Astrix (* May 12, 1981 in the USSR as Abram Schamailow, Russian Абрам Шамаилов; real name Avi Shmailov ) is an internationally active Progressive & Psytrance DJ and producer. He has lived in Tel Aviv , Israel , since early childhood . In 2007 Astrix was voted 18th of the 100 best DJs.

pseudonym

Astrix started recording electronic music in 1997. At that time, however, it was often confused with the Asterix comic books by the author René Goscinny. According to an interview with the British clubbing website Harderfaster.net, it emerged that Avi chose the name "because it sounds good". The choice of name was apparently not influenced in any particular way.

Life

1995 to 2002

Astrix began his DJ career in 1995, playing alternative music from the 1980s. At that time he was between 12 and 14 years old. Hardly two years later he discovered the music genre trance after he was invited to a trance party and was confronted with electronic dance music for the first time. " At the beginning it was a very new and strange experience for me. I couldn't find my way around, but I was impressed by the energy and the influence that the music has had on the party people. " Recordings via PC follow. At the beginning of his career in the late 1990s he produced tracks in the so-called "nitzhonot" style of trance. Nitzhonot is a progressive, anthemic subgroup of the GOA trance. Avi's first in-house productions were called "In Peace" and "Eakhis Welt", both of which appeared on the well-known nitzhonot compilation, "Ptzatzot 3".

2002 to 2005

In 2002 Avi signed a record deal with the leading psy-trance label HOMmega Records. He became internationally known through his debut album 'Eye To Eye'. From then on, Astrix began to work on several other music projects. In an interview conducted in 2003, he mentioned that he was working on three other albums by Israeli artist "Alien Project". A short time later, however, Ari Linker (Alien Project) and Avi Shmailov (Astrix) parted ways. World tours followed after the Eye To Eye album release before producing his second album 'Artcore' in 2004.

2005 to 2010

After working as a music producer, Astrix worked on projects in the field of Electronic Dance Music (EDM). He started with compilation productions for leading labels like "Nu-clear Visions of Israel" (Tip / 2003), "Psychedelic Academy" (Hit Mania / 2005) and "Astrix & Friends" (DJ mag / 2007).

He has performed at international festivals such as Dance Valley (Amsterdam), SW4 (London), Creamfields (Liverpool), Love Parade (Berlin & Duisburg), Urban Art Forms Festival (Graz), Planeta Atlantida (Rio Grande Do Sul) and the Burning Mountain Festival (Switzerland).

He also played in clubs and locations such as the Alexandra Palace (London), the Brixton Academy (London), the Pacha (Ibiza), the Ministry of Sounds (including Ibiza & London) and the Nox (including Munich, Cologne and Vienna) .

Since 2010

In the following years Astrix worked on his third studio album at the label and released Red Means Distortion . The 'Acid Rocker EP' was the album's first release in August 2010. As bonus material it contains a remix by the well-known trance artist Pixel, who re-produced the international hit "Closer To Heaven" (singer Michele Adamson ). In addition, the Dutch duo GMS reworked the hit Eye To Eye with a remix. In September 2010, around a month after Acid Rocker was released, HOMmega launched Red Means Distortion. Since August 2010, Astrix has also been regularly publishing mix sessions under the name "Trance for Nations".

Musical style

Astrix's music is known for its solid, driving bass lines and progressively rising melodies. It is very uplifting and, in the way psy-trance is perceived, quite "tough" and is typically played at outdoor trance parties during sunrise and mornings. Many of his songs have a speed between 135 and 145 bpm . His audio productions often have a deep and complicated sound that is adapted by changing the drum beat and tempo. Many listeners define his style of music as a mixture between "full-on" and "clubbing" (mainstream) trance.

Musical influences

Astrix is ​​apparently musically influenced by the Israeli psy-trance duo Infected Mushroom . " Infected Mushroom inspires me and drives me forward like a kind of spiritual fuel. " Other influences are Linkin Park and Tiësto . " I have a love for alternative bands like Linkin Park. Club personalities like Tiësto also inspired me. Tiësto is an excellent example of what happens when business is combined with music and how big something can be that initially seemed so small. "

Discography

Albums

  • 2002: Eye To Eye
  • 2004: Artcore
  • 2008: One Step Ahead
  • 2010: Red Means Distortion
  • 2016: He.art

Singles and EP's

  • 2002: Scientific Reality (single)
  • 2004: Coolio
  • 2005: Closer To Heaven
  • 2007: Future Music
  • 2010: Acid Rocker
  • 2011: Reunion
  • 2012: Stars on 35
  • 2012: Type 1
  • 2013: High on Mel
  • 2013: Remixed (Remix EP)
  • 2014: Shadows (feat.Simon Patterson )
  • 2014: The Old Monsters 143 (Mashup)
  • 2014: Type 1 (Sideform Remix)
  • 2014: Vicious Cycles (Symphonix Remix)
  • 2015: Bungee Jump
  • 2015: Sapana
  • 2015: Closer To Heaven (Alok Remix)
  • 2015: Follow Me (Stryker Remix)
  • 2015: The Fourth Revelation (Zyce Remix)
  • 2015: 3rd Time Lucky (Ritmo Remix)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Top100 DJs 2007 ( Memento of the original from April 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 9, 2014.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.djmag.com
  2. ↑ Interview with Astrix , accessed on May 9, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Astrix
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shmailov, Avi; Shamailov, Abram (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli progressive & psytrance DJ and producer of Soviet descent
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Soviet Union