I’m always humbled when I get the opportunity to interview artists I admire, and this was a big one. To be able to ask questions from the perspective of a fan is something, and when they answer baring their soul, it is everything.
Not only do we dance to their music or enjoy it when we are happy, but when life has us down, we can always count on music to lift our spirits and bring us joy.
But who are the people behind the music? Humans like you and me.
Antinomy has been releasing top shelf music for 5 years, gaining praise from the biggest names in the game like Astrix, Ace Ventura and Liquid Soul, to name a few. And now he introduces his debut album, A State of Mind, which he has been working on for the past 3 years. Out via Iboga Records and currently sitting at #1 on Beatport, the album features 7 out of 8 solo tracks, representing his soul’s expression through music.
We listen to his tracks, dance to his tracks, and feel alive through his tracks, and now you can get to know the man behind the music. This is Adir Sahar, known to you as Antinomy.
Besides your music, there is VERY little information about you online. Your ‘about me’ on Soundcloud, Facebook and Beatport is bare to say the least. Before we dive into your new album, I personally (and am sure many of your fans) would love to know how you got started?
Antinomy: Well, I started my path in the musical world 8 years ago, with no musical background at all. I have always been a music lover and have listened to every possible genre, from rock music to indie, pop, and jazz, but the real passion and attraction has always been electronic music.
Over time I have had many musical influences in electronic music, from New York House to Psychedelic Goa Trance music.
I got to the point where I had lots of ideas and melodies in my head, and I really wanted to know how to convert everything from my head directly to the piano and the computer.
I started learning music theory and harmony long before I started digging deep into synthesis and software, which by the way is an important tip for any beginning artist- first understanding the basics- music is a language and it is important to understand it from the beginning.
Over the years I did a lot of research on the net, read, and watched tutorials about sound techniques and music production and did lots of sketches until I got to Psytrance Music.
5 years ago, when I felt ready, I sent my first EP (Life Beyond Earth) to the Canadian TechSafari Records that received it with love and support and from there everything rolled to this day.
Were you always a fan of music- what did you listen to growing up?
Antinomy: It started with MTV music that my sisters and I used to listen to at home and the 80s and 90s classics that my parents used to listen to. When I grew up a bit the wonderful rock music of the 90s took its place and I was slowly exposed to a lot of musical genres.
What was the first electronic music you got into?
Antinomy: Well, there were many, the one I remember most is – ‘Robert Miles – Children’.
I was only 7 years old when this song came out and he stayed with me for a very long time. Later come ‘Darude – Sandstorm’ which already has trance motifs.
Later I was exposed to real psychedelic music, it started with the legendary band Infected Mushroom and continued with trance legends like Yahel, GMS, Astrix and more.
You made quite the splash when you debuted in 2017 with “Life Beyond Earth” and “Humans Evolution.” Suddenly everyone was talking about this new artist on the block, and I mean, your music speaks for itself, so the hype was called for. It seemed like you came out the gate with banging production and musical imagination to match. How did it feel to almost immediately get praise from the biggest names in the game like Liquid Soul, Ace Ventura and Astrix and did that ramp up the pressure?
Liquid Soul & Antinomy
Antinomy: Definitely. I have always been a big fan of those artists and it was very stressful at first. The fact that you suddenly communicate with the artists you admire and get such huge support from them was a strange and exciting feeling at first but on the other hand it pushed me to create more music and keep moving forward.
Since then, you have continued to set the bar high and deliver flawless tracks that have been played to thousands of people all over the world. And now comes the album, which I believe you have been working on for 3 years- during a pandemic- where there were no festivals for inspiration. Aptly titled State of Mind, how did you keep your mind in a state of creativity and functionality when the world was so doom and gloom?
Antinomy: It was extremely difficult for everyone throughout the Corona period. For some people it manifested itself in anxiety and others managed to transcend themselves.
As an artist it has definitely been a challenging time. The fact that you have to create music- something that is supposed to happen naturally and out of passion- suddenly shuts down.
God willing and the birth of my second daughter happened. Right after that I moved into a new apartment and built my new studio all by myself and it lifted me up and got me to keep creating and being very active.
Is Antinomy your first production project? The quality of your production is years and levels beyond for someone who has only released music for 5 years. I mean, how DO you get your hats and high-end synths so crispy? What is the secret to your top-notch production?
Antinomy: Yes, Antinomy is my first musical project. Even though it’s only been 5 years since my first release, I’ve always been very pedantic and have always taken sound production and engineering seriously.
I think when you really like something you have to be focused on it and give it the best you can. That is actually also my ‘secret’: always take care of the smallest details and do not compromise on anything until you are totally happy with the result.
Over time, collaborations with artists and a lot of self-learning, reading, and watching tutorials helped me to improve the sound quality. I recommend it to everyone.
Besides your remix of Astrix’s legendary track Acid Rocker, all the tracks on the album are 100% Antinomy- no collaborations. Did it just end up that way or was it planned; your way of saying, “this is all me, this is my soul’s expression through music?”
Antinomy: Exactly. It was very important to me to express my self-feelings through music, and I think there is no more authentic way to do it than releasing a solo album – it’s just you with yourself in the whole process.
Your first few releases were through Tech Safari, but Iboga quickly snapped you up. How did it feel getting an offer to join one of the biggest Psy-Trance labels in the world and how has it been to be part of the Iboga family?
Antinomy: As a new artist there is always the desire to get to the top and climb as fast as possible, part of which is to reach the big labels where the exposure has grown naturally.
So, after a few releases on TechSafari Records I got the chance to do a remix of the legendary track from Zentura – ‘Light Mutations’ which was a pretty successful remix and opened doors for me.
I was very happy that the contacts were made with Iboga Records and over time I became very connected with them, and I am very happy about this move.
This is also the place to say thanks to Yoni Oshrat (Ace Ventura) and Mikael Dahlgaard (Dj Emok) who believed in me, supported, and helped me get to where I am today.
Out of all the tracks on the album, which one gave you:
A: The hardest time to perfect in the studio?
Antinomy: The winner in this category is definitely ‘State Of Mind’.
This is the song that started the long journey of writing the album and it had a lot of changes. After almost every time I played it, I went home to the studio to fix it and change certain parts.
B: Which track came together the easiest?
Antinomy: ‘Something Different.’ The process of writing music sometimes becomes routine, and artists are always trying to get out of the square and think differently. The fact that it’s the only track that is not Psytrance made the whole writing flow very quickly and it was a great opportunity to try something different.
Okay so with an album title like State of Mind, I think it’s only fair for you to reveal your state of mind while writing each track:
State of Mind:
Antinomy: This is the track that started this whole journey 3 years ago. At the end of the production of this song I felt like I had the beginning of a story to tell, and I just kept writing while building a concept for this album.
Closer:
Antinomy: A tribal atmosphere combined with the aggressive feelings I had during the days of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Twisted:
Antinomy: The birth of my second daughter brought huge happiness to my life and lots of inspiration and this is how this track was created.
The Edge:
Antinomy: Depressed mood, one of the hardest and lowest in my life. I wanted to express this feeling in every way possible, so I specifically chose this vocal speech and to make it even more deep I chose the lowest note on the musical scale – C (Do) which gives a very dark feeling.
Signs of Light:
Antinomy: The name of the track says it all.
I finished mixing this song just about two months before the album came out and the song was still untitled. As we can all see, the world is opening up to us again and it is definitely a sign of light!
Something Different:
Antinomy: The last song written for the album, a sigh of relief and a feeling of huge satisfaction.
Awake:
Antinomy: The second track written for the album, right after State of Mind. In this song I wanted to keep the powerful psychedelic vibe and still give melodies with emotion.
Astrix- Acid Rocker (Antinomy remix):
Antinomy: A remix I made a year ago to one of my all-time favorite artists – Astrix.
This remix opened his massive remixes album and I it was a huge honour to get his support.
I decided that this song fits the concept of the album and deserves to be included.
Now with the world opening up again and the release of your debut album, what does Antinomy have in store for 2022 and how excited are you to play your music to the masses?
Antinomy: It definitely feels like a great time to release the album now that the world is opening up to us. I am very happy and excited to have the opportunity to play the album at amazing festivals around the world like ‘Hilltop’ Festival in Goa, ‘Boom’ Festival in Portugal, ‘Atmosphere’ in Mexico, ‘Indian Spirit’ in Germany and many more.
Later this year I will release some interesting collaborations I have been working on recently and many more surprises on the way.
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