Can you tell us about your background and how you first got started in music?
I Was Introduced to good music at a very early age by my brother and sister, I had quite very good audio and sight memory and could beatbox all those 90’s hits which was getting a lot of attention between the adults resulting them having a lot of fun in the Friday night Iranian come together of the families. Soon after I was introduced to CD and first computers, my friend had a shop fixing computer and we created an A to Z catalog of CDs of whatever was available, and people could choose albums and we would burn them a CD. This turned soon to us also assembling Professional Car Audio in the hood. Subwoofers , Amps , crossovers and transistors , with some other geek friends with were taking advantage of the early Dial Up internet in Tehran and we were already much further than many other in terms of audio and music. At this point I think I was 15!
How did you first become interested in electronic music and what drew you to it as a medium for self-expression?
I got drawn into underground RAP for a long time, and then when I listened to some early Psy Trance and Techno I understood that my mind is now free from all those words hitting all the time and my brain trying to pick them up. now my mind was free to get inspiration from a more formless and pre defined source. A more certain predictability of electronic music that always is the first satisfying part for the fans.
Yes that hit I had in I guess 2003 or something, where I then started collecting a lot of Techno and House, very early experiments with a piece of software called Rebirth, unlocked some interesting stuff in my mind , then we had some weird jams with my friend Behnam also known as Haoma , he is on our label Deed Music today. He had Reason in his computer, I would jam on reason and he would shredd some guitars chinks on it, and we were flying for hours on this. Soon after I was introduced to some Dj software, you know Atomic, Virtual Dj, and very soon I found a Traktor and installed it. OMG world was another colour at this point. we were now downloading all the mixes with E-mule and listening
to them day and night I had to start the Download during the night and in the morning I had an INCOMPLETE file . Walking in the city in the car mountains around Tehran and in the shop where I used to sell cloths, all over.
At this point I got to know a very mad friend of mine Ata, he had CDJs , Pioneer 200. We vibe that very first moment and exchanged a lot of musical knowledge. mYears of practice trial and error in front of the mirror and eventually some gigs would come up! Yeah crazy times, I got a version of Ableton 6 after hearing about it, I was totally clueless, having no copyright in Iran at all, of course I installed a crack very cheap, and started translating all the PDF, lesson pages using a hand dictionary. My world changed totally at the second I found out what the hell is a clip and how they can be played in x and y axis. I was so excited trying to make something minimal with impulse. Even now I get goosebumps when I think about those realisation moments.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences, both within electronic music and outside of it?
2Pac Shakur, Jim Morrison, Klaus Schulze, John Digweed, Deep Dish, Carbon Based Lifeforms , Radio Head, Dead Can Dance, Steve Lawler, Stephan Bodzin , Maceo Plex , Ramin Djawadi.. to name some
How have these influences shaped your sound and approach to creating music? Can you walk us through your creative process for writing and recording a new song?
Well, our brain and understanding of patterns is really amazing, we do all this somehow passively , sometimes trying less and letting things happen, creates a state of recall of all the rhythms and melodies we have heard in this life and beyond. I heard we are bon with the rhythms of all times saved in our reptilian brain that’s why babies even dance to rhythm when the groove hits. I try to get ideas from the field , our human psyche is involved with certaintopics and there are all so abstract at the beginning, letting it out in form of art helps manifesting of ideas that can also help us see who we are.
How do you typically begin a new track, and what are some of the key elements or techniques you focus on as you develop it. Your latest project is really gaining traction, can you tell us about it?
At this point I can start a track from any place, a melody in my dream, or inspiration from a Sci-Fi Nobel sound track, or and Astrological Report , only one heady word on sentences sometimes is enough to get me to a deep journey for hours and I write a mood board of melody and harmony and sound design in my Ableton It takes a lot of time and experiment to find out your sound, this is almost ever evolving too, very wide and unlimited way. but at this point of my career I have standard that I created for myself, I have methods of starting a standard club ready track from any ideas in hours, which I can go back to in the next days, and finish it up. This way I have less time to waste and I end up being more productive.
The last project for example Till We Meet Again, with Gil Santi , the beat and Harmony and groove and piano solo part is made in my YouTube live shows , where I would prepare myself s half raw template and improvise on it and compose live. Then after I sent it to Giovanni and he wrote the vocals, at this point the track is born in minutes but it takes many months of leaving a track and coming back and polishing details till it’s a real song!
At the same time I have templates that I created after years of research and analysis that I start there and is like filling up a puzzle then , any simple idea turns into arranged tracks like magic. The good news is I am working on a new department on my label Deed Music where we are going to share my methods and templates to help other producers finish more tunes! This is coming sooner than you think.
How did this project come about and what inspired you to create it?
As I mentioned, you can see me sketching the tunes back bone , inside my Youtube channel at my Sunday Spice episode 4, and it was around this time that Mace Plex released ‘Revision’ with Giovanni, it got my attention right away because first I though it’s a Depeche Mode remix and the vocals sounded awesome , I wrote Giovanni to congtrats him, and we got friend and the rest is history , Till We Meet Again was the first one we produced together , and some other exciting tunes are coming too.
What was your approach to making it and what do you think sets it apart from your previous work?
It’s born in an improvisational environment, and it’s a collaboration with a real POP singer and song writer, and it’s a collaboration that happened over seas, just over internet. Also very first time I created a Radio Edit of a song, so the fans can have more fun on Spotify and Radio shows.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
It’s hard to say but playing some of most amazing clubs or Raves in Berlin has been so extreme as an experience, they were kinda milestone, and there are a lot more to come. Everyday is a highlight for me when I get to work on what I love.
Can you talk about a specific moment or accomplishment that stands out as particularly meaningful to you?
Like getting on the labels that I have downloaded their tracks for years like Natura Viva, or Keno records and some other releases that will come in 2024 and 2025 can’t tell about it now. it was very important to pass those A&R filters.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or collaborations you have in the works?
Just mentioned Keno Records , I have a remix for a friend Simon Jetzke that is coming on David Keno’s imprint, also my second remix for the KitKat resident and very good friend of mine Somaphon will drop on our very own Deed Music. More with Giovanni is on the way , eventually we are going to meet in a villa for a week or so where we will finally sit on the piano and write some music together. But the biggest collaboration that makes me excited is our new event series past//future with a few dates lined up in Istanbul , Berlin and Den Haag and many more to follow, we have Denis Hornet on board for the first one in this very exciting venue called Kastel and future is looking very brilliant.
Are there any new directions or sounds you’re exploring in your music right now?
I have written a lot of cinematic stuff, more electronica and Dark Ambient that some of them been licensed by Audi Deutschland and Vice Magazine, I make a lot of ambient and cinematic experimental in the Ambient Corner of my studio this is just for myself , but who knows maybe sometime soon I give put on the concert that I always dreamed of!
As a musician, what message do you hope to convey through your music?
I tend to create abstract landscapes, and reveal missing links, I am sure the human potential is much more that the modern human experiences and I am trying to encrypt these in my musical projects. Some sort of spiritual and extra dimensional messaging.
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to again and again in your work?
Sacred Geometry, Extra Terrestrials and Gigantic Architectural structures, Collective Consciousness, Mastering the Duality and Maoist philosophy and it’s relations to quantum physics and heady abstract stuff like that.
Can you tell us about any challenges you have faced in your career and how you overcame them?
As an Iranian we grew in a very strictly limited environment , that’s why I got out to be able to work in a wider range and be able to inspire many more people. In my journey outside my own country I had to face many challenges here in Europe , something that used to bother me the most is when in some amazing platforms people who are in charge of topic like Booking Djs for the club are not really qualified , I grew up learning that you need to be both good producer to become international and successfully dj around. But you see people who never
produced one song, or even worse ghost produced are getting to play biggest stages and tour around, a lot of these unfair examples ,this used to bother me but I found out I have to create my own playground and keep up with my values and ignore the superficial achievements of those groups. Especially in Berlin its getting even more funny after the pandemic years , influencers are becoming Djs and cluelessly playing huge stages and some of finest musicians and performers are sitting in the darkness of studio. I meditate and practice martial arts and study everyday so first of I feel great about myself, my competition is actually with the Best version of myself , and the only revenge is success.
Have there been any specific obstacles or difficulties you’ve had to navigate as an electronic musician?
Overcoming and staying far from daily drama, superficial standards of electronic music scene. Not everyone got to have the same lifestyle! And dealing with bookers and A&R people is still an obstacle, I have a hard time reaching out and ask for help, I have more of a giving hand , there fore many people who are very good in giving want to take advantage always, but I am learning to balance these aspects in my professional encounters and relationships.
How do you see the music industry evolving in the next 5 years?
Electronic Music Scene is loosing it’s underground and Mysterious exclusivity everyday and it is becoming more and more mainstream. With technologies that are rising everyday , making music and sing are becoming much easier, same for event production and massive A/V shows . Fans want more of a 360 experience and the underground might push the envelopes of music toward more Digital and Robotic elements. Virtual and completely avatar based personas will pop up, it’s actually very exciting times we are living in , I also remember the time my mom had to go a few block further to phone her parents with a special Telephone cabin, yet I get to see all these technological insanity. A lot of changes in a lifetime!
What changes do you think we’ll see in terms of technology, distribution, and audience engagement?
I have a feeling that fans will become more part of the creation and performance in terms of group decision in a short fraction of time , almost in the real time , imagine for a second that the machines that is used by the Dj can read the crowds impulse and can help with some sort of decision making ? Not sure if that make sense to you but like a classic Disk Jokey with Quantum possibilities .
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians trying to make it in the industry?
In my own journey I benefited always more from doing things myself, I start doing it myself and I learn by doing, not waiting for others to pick me up or show me how it’s done! If I think I wanna do it, I start myself, no matter how ambitious the idea ! The people you need to meet are on your way, they are just hidden and not active in your field yet, by taking the road of actions you will find them one by one. You actually have many of those invisible supporters, they will see you eventually and will work with you. Be more giving than expecting to receive , it’s a win win game that can become a sustainable career.
Are there any particular tips or strategies you’ve found to be particularly effective in building a career as an electronic musician?
Consistency and frequency in releases which takes almost opening the DAW at least everyday! Self study as much as you can, and try to learn all aspects of the game beyond beat matching. Your friends are the best feedback givers. Show them your stuff.
What’s next for you?
I have a big bucket list of labels to release with , and venues to play in and
organise our parties and shows, hitting them one by one!
