Symphonix Interview ahead of Wanderlust

It’s been a while since we last did a Symphonix interview.

That’s because it’s been a while since they were last in South Africa. They’re a firm favourite in these parts though and are guaranteed festival crowd pleasers.

This time around Symphonix will be performing at the Wanderlust Day party taking place at the magnificent Zevenwacht Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

WIN tickets to Wanderlust 24 hour day party here

Symphonix shares headliner billing with D-Nox, another massive favourite in South Africa as well as a host of top local acts including Richard Marshall, Ivan Turanjanin, Toby2Shoes and The Fogshow.

The venue is simply stunning and the lineup promises an awesome mix of techno and progressive trance.

READ: What is Wanderlust?

…it’s probably a good thing to have more and more of these crossover parties. Everything gets a bit more playful and experimental again, it’s not so restricted to genres and styles anymore.”

I’m sure you guys are happy to be performing in South Africa again. Which brother will be joining us for Wanderlust on 19 November?

Symphonix Interview: Indeed, both of us are extremely happy to be invited to South Africa again! Such a beautiful country, such an amazing scene and energy… We almost had to draw straws to decide who would play at Wanderlust, because both of us were very eager. Well, Sirko is the lucky one.

I’m sure there are many times when only one member of Symphonix travels to a gig as this has become the norm now; how do you guys normally decide who goes where?

Symphonix Interview: Both of us have so many projects going on, music and private life, so that’s a factor when it comes to bookings in faraway places. It’s super, super nice to travel so much and to see all these different scenes, we still love it. But all the long distance flights become a factor, as well. How do we decide who goes where? We are brothers, and we have a really good vibe, so usually we just figure out who has time and the best energy. Sharing is caring.

We last chatted back in 2013; this was ahead of your second visit here; what has the German outdoor party scene been like since then?

Symphonix Interview: It’s blooming! During the summer months there’s at least one big, international festival every weekend and most of these festivals have a healthy amount of visitors, as well. In hot spots like Hamburg there’s many outdoor parties in summer, most of them daytime like Wanderlust that attracts thousands of party heads. It’s really amazing to see how this scene is still so strong and dynamic.

And the rest of Europe?

Symphonix Interview: The same, pretty much. Progressive Trance and Psytrance are still on the rise. For a couple of years now there have been some really good festivals in the Balkans, for example. This region has definitely become a new hot spot of the festival scene, well worth a visit for the traveling Trancer.

Globally are there any new destinations you’ve played to for the first time recently?

Symphonix Interview: Sure, we’re happy to play in new places pretty much all the time, all around the world…

Do you both still juggle your time between being promoters and music producers or do you only do music nowadays?

At the moment our focus is clearly on the music side of things. Despite the busy touring schedule we try to keep up a quality output of Symphonix releases. Being in the studio is still amazing; we keep discovering new technologies and ideas. On the other hand, we are also very passionate with Blue Tunes Records and Blue Tunes Chillout. Besides our long-time producer family, there are some great new talents out there and we’re happy to bring their music to the dance floors.

You artist BIO on your Facebook page makes for interesting reading. You make it very clear that the sound of Symphonix is pure Progressive Trance. Is this in response to the hordes of club trance that is released under the prog trance genre?

Symphonix Interview: Well, this “club trance” thing, as you call it, seems to have quite an appeal for a certain audience. However, it is not and has never been our thing. We got hooked by Progressive Trance when this genre popped up around the turn of the millennium. Back then it had a strong Psy background, but it wasn’t Psy. That’s still a pretty good definition of our approach: We really like deep, intelligent sound that sends your mind on a journey. Psy elements, if want to call it like that. But we use them in a progressive way.

Do you think commercial tracks like Psy or Die by Timmy Trumpet & Carnage is good or bad for the genre?

Symphonix Interview: Live and let live… it’s really hard to keep up this attitude when we talk about tracks like that. Hands down, these producers have nothing to do with our scene, they don’t have any sense for the culture of Psytrance or Progressive Trance, and that’s why they create a pretty weird vibe. And all of a sudden people get a wrong impression of the scene because they think about music like that. That’s kind of bad, yes.

Is the Hamburg offbeat sound still quite strong in that area? Around 2013 when we last spoke there were entire parties playing that sound.

Symphonix Interview: For us, offbeat is not a genre – it’s just a way of using low frequencies to create a certain rhythm. Sure, it was and still is very popular in the Hamburg area. But an artist is more than his or her bass line. You should do whatever you feel like. And we know many producers, also from the Hamburg area, who are using an offbeat bass line for one track and a rolling 16^th for another.

What festival has been the highlight for you guys in 2016 so far?

Symphonix Interview: If we really had to pick only one, which is a very tricky task in face of all the festivals we enjoyed: High Paradise was quite amazing.

Wanderlust in Cape Town is a 12 hour day party which will feature techno/deep house and progressive trance. Do you guys find yourselves playing more crossover parties nowadays than, say, 10 years ago?

Symphonix Interview: Sure, we frequently play at crossover parties. Maybe 10 years ago it was a little less, but if we go back even further it was very common: In the early 2000’s artists like D-Nox or Krüger & Coyle played very clubby Progressive House, and the next artist played Progressive Trance. It worked out just beautifully. That said, it’s probably a good thing to have more and more of these crossover parties. Everything gets a bit more playful and experimental again, it’s not so restricted to genres and styles anymore.

I’m sure you enjoy lots of music outside of trance. Is there any specific electronic artist that you listen to a lot (outside of trance)?

Symphonix Interview: In our private lives we are really into Ambient and Downbeat. That’s the main reason why we came up with Blue Tune Chillout. You might also hear the music of Muse or Depeche Mode coming from the speakers of our home stereos.

How do you entertain yourself during flights to gigs (especially long haul ones like South Africa)?

Symphonix Interview: Sleep. If you have kids you actually might enjoy some shuteye time very now and then.

Final question: When you first started Symphonix did you ever think the music project would take you this far in your lives?

Symphonix Interview: When we started the project, we didn’t really think about anything but finishing the latest track. If you really love doing something, if you’re really passionate about it, there’s a strong tendency that it will eventually develop a life of its own. That’s probably what happened with Symphonix. Our studio might be much more sophisticated than back in the day, but the way we interact with each other when we work on a new track… it’s still the same energy.

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Symphonix Interview ahead of Wanderlust