A Sit Down With DJ Andrew Rayel

What a year the trance producer Andrew Rayel had so far. Among his activities, the young Moldovan has released incredible tracks and traveled all over the world to perform at some of the greatest festivals known to trance. He is the definition of a dream come true, who’s last 2-3 years have seen him being compared to one of the most imposing figures in trance.

 

“I wanted to create something special. I really wanted to create a history, so every song has a history behind it. I did a special intro and a special outro.”

 

What is your usual workflow process in the studio?

There is no workflow to be honest, well other than always having my tea next to me! Haha, But I mean it’s not like I walk in to the studio and follow steps, I just go for what’s on my mind, my heart…have fun, u know…

Talking about your label, you have worked on it for so many years! What made you decide that you were ready to fully pursue it?

I finished my second studio album this year this past May called Moments, I was working on that for the past two years and I was very busy with the album, it was my sole focus at the time. About a month after I finished it I also put together three new tracks. At that point I realized I didn’t want to release straightaway because it would be too much music and confusing for the fans. So I realized I was feeling very productive and good about my work and so I decided this is the moment I would put all that new music on the album and also get new artists and start promoting them and creating the in Harmony music family and growing together.

Were there any underlying personal inspirations that went into producing “Find Your Harmony?” How much of your personal-self did you have to commit to the music in order to give it life?

Of course! The entire album is all about the journey of life in which every track has a story and feeling behind it, and my main inspirations to the album are from life experiences as well as touring experiences and the love I get from my fans.

If you had the chance to sign any artist to your label, who would it be?

Of course I would love to have Armin, but since in Harmony is on his label, it cannot be. We are all one big family over there but I respect and enjoy so much more music then just big names. I would love to have David Gravell, William de Roo, ending up with Dash Berlin, W&W, everybody! I have a very wide spectrum of musical tastes and aspirations.

A little bird told us that you are preparing something huge – you are planning to launch your own label. Is that true?

Yes it is. It will be launched by the end of this summer and we already have the first three tracks (all mine) and the name of the label. I am thrilled by this because it’s a new stage in my musical career. Now I can help other artists to be promoted not just promote myself. Maykel Piron – Armada Music director – has been saying this to me for two years now and I was always telling him that I don’t have the time, or that I don’t feel like I am ready for this. But now I am, I have an amazing team beside me so I can’t wait to do it. We already have a few names confirmed, like David Gravell. It’s very exciting!

You are fairly fresh to the commercial Trance scene, yet even as a rookie you took the industry by storm and nearly overnight had an impressive following. What was your call to fame? What catapulted you from DJing as a hobby to DJing as a profession?

Well, music is something that I grew up on, I took classical musical classes when I was a kid which has helped me a lot for my background as an artist, and I used to listen to the radio to names such as Armin Van Buuren, ATB, and more which also inspired me more to produce trance music, and well as they say the rest was history. And I’m so humbled how the entire process has worked out.

You had a busy 2017 with your new label, new music and your “Moments” tour; what are you bringing to us for 2018?

Next year, my main focus will be the label. We just finished the Moments tour, which was very intense. I’m gonna make things a little easier for me next year and do more normal shows and catch up on the festivals that I missed this year because I was focused on the tour.

Describe to us your sound.

Well, my sound is something in which harmony, melodies, euphoria, and most important is to have a journey in the track, is what my sound is all about it. I like to make sure that my track can connect with my fans with their emotions on a higher ground, so they can have a story to remember or someone to remember when listening to that track, to make it even more desirable.

Your favourite tracks…

I actually have two favorite tracks that I’ve been involved in this past year. The first was Daylight with Jonny Rose, it’s a vocal track that has been really well received, and the second being Chased with Mark Sixma, which has a great, pure energy to it. We did a really unique music video for it as well, which was shot in LA. When the video people sent me the first version of the video, I though “this is pretty different and unique compared to what other people doing their videos. After a few times watching it, it really grew on me because of that.

What would you say to a youngster that wants to be successful in this industry?

It’s pretty simple really. In order to succeed in this business, you need to create something new and unique. Create and inspire yourself from other artists work until the point when you feel ready to go on your own. But careful! Inspiration doesn’t mean copying someone, you must think outside the box which sometimes is easy and sometimes is very, very hard. There is a lot of electronic music on the market today, basically each 15-year-old kid with a laptop can create a track, but most them are just copying. To get away from the crowd you need to create something new and beautiful.

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