illumiNaughty catches up with the legendary krunch for
a exclusive interview!
Krunch is going from strength to strength but you are also originally famous for being part of the legendary project Dark Soho. It's now over a decade since the release of Dark Soho's ground breaking album Sun Spot and you have had many releases since then, it must seem like a long time ago! Could tell you tell us a bit about the early days and how you came to be involved with the trance scene?
Well actually yes. all that was a really long time ago, but it was a good time for sure. I started dealing with music at an early age listening to heavy metal and rock. Then when i was 15 I was already playing some rock and heavy metal songs as a guitarist and when I turned 17 I first went to an outdoor psy trance party in Israel and listened to trance music. I guess
what I liked back then and what I like today is the fact there is so much power in music which can blow your mind away
Your music has taken you all over the world playing at all the major festivals including Tribe in Brazil where you played to an audience of over 25000 people which must have been an incredible experience! But which events stand out as being most special for you?
That was a massive one for sure but I think the one I'll remember the most will be actually Boom Festival and the after party of Boom in 2008. Japan always rocks, Tribe Light in Brazil was very good as well. And of course illuminaughty playing as Dark Soho was a crazy one as well!
At a Krunch show, do you prefer to play live, or to play a DJ set? Why is this?
I love both the same I guess. I like to play live because I know every beat and sound of the tracks because it was very hard work making them so it's nice to play your own music you have been spending so much time making and see people enjoy. DJ sets I love as well because it's a wide range where you combine your own stuff and your favourite artists tracks. I really like the technical side of mixing as well.
Krunch tracks are hugely popular appearing on many prestigious compilation CDs alongside lots of other big names in the scene, do you have any plans for future collaborations and who would you most like to work with given the opportunity?
Do I have any plans? Mmmm.Well it comes by itself there are some interesting offers at the moment, but let's wait and see how it goes.
The krunch sound is very powerful, where do you draw your influences for your music from and what inspires you to write a new track?
Inspiration comes from everyday life while walking out and listening to a song from a radio or passing car and say to yourself: "wow... i wonder how this will sound in a new track" and I also keep in mind people want to dance but be inspired from new sound at the same time. I work hard to get that unique Krunchy sound.
Every artist has a different work flow in the studio with some taking anything from one day to a year to write a new track, how long does it take to produce a new Krunch track and do you have a set procedure you follow when making music in the studio?
It all really depends what is involved. If recording live sections is involved, it can take up to a week, otherwise I try to work long sessions and finish it in around 3-4 days maximum. When you write a track you need to have the hit the peak level on the first day and then build up the other layers.
What do you think about other people making music these days? All this new software and music making applications, anyone can make music, anywhere! While this may be a great thing in theory, how do you feel about it? Is the world becoming too overcrowded with amateur music? Do you prefer quality over quantity?
First of all it's a blessing! Back in late 90's it was a long process using a sampler and synths you had to buy all those. The process was longer not like nowadays but...it gave other flavour of sound! I believe even when you have all this software the hard work is to choose the right stuff. Sometimes too much can also cause problems.I prefer quality of course but every person will use any synth or sound in a different way and that's the beauty.
How do you feel about piracy? How does it affect you as an artist? What about people using cracked software to produce music?
Well I guess we are in a different time. I can't force the world to change, I can change myself first.This is the digital time where kids 11-15 yrs old are much smarter when we were in our age.downloading movies, music and app's to their phone.and it's going to happen more and more...If it's good or bad? I guess in few years we will see the result. The only sad thing is that all media is made for short term nowadays that's all.
The Psytrance scene has come a long way since the early Goa days of the eighties and nineties and since the millennium has turned into a global phenomenon with huge gatherings taking place all year round all over the world, but where do you see the future of psychedelic trance heading?
Hmmmm...hard question! I believe it will always exist but it will take an influence from the other genres of electronic music which are very big these last few years. Such as techno, electro, minimal and combine those into the psytrance.
Having spent time living in the UK and indeed playing at illumiNaughtys first ever event! You must be excited to be back visiting again, is there anything particularly English your looking forward to experiencing again? Fish and chips? The rain!??
Well I am really excited. I even come three times a year to the UK, and I love it as much as I did the first time.I'm looking forward to have the nice vibe of a real party, people with no issues, just pure madness. Food wise. I have been to the curry mile area in Manchester last time, real good stuff there!I can even remember the restaurant name: Kebabish.....so this one could be a good choice
Excellant! thank you very much! we look forward to you rocking illumiNaughty at The Masked Ball!!
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