Sonic Species – New album & Interview

A new album “The Awakening” just released on Shamanic Tales – tell us a bit about it.

Well, I’ve been writing this album for the last 2 years here in Ibiza, and boy, what a journey it’s been! It’s no exaggeration to say this has consumed every minute of my waking life since September 2021. It’s 10 tracks long featuring Astrix, Ace Ventura, Liquid Soul & Divination – all artists that I respect massively and am honoured to share my story with.

A long time has passed since you released your first album “Unleash The Beat”, and in general in the last few years we haven’t heard that much from you. What took you so long? Is that why it is called “The Awakening”?

Listen & purchase: 
https://shamanictales.fanlink.to/SonicSpecies

In May 2020 during global lockdown I started a new business which took me out of the studio and over to Bali for an extended period. I returned to the stage in August 2021 and resumed studio work in September 2021 – the quiet period was when I was actually writing the album. I chose the name “The Awakening” simply because I myself have undergone an awakening process throughout the writing of this album, and my life today is 100% transformed!

The album is very diverse, you touch many directions within the Psy world, super psychedelic with Helm’s Dope, Melodic full power with “The Way”, almost mainstream with the addictive “Bad Boys”. Was that a choice or it just happened?

I love many different styles of music and my taste within Psytrance is just as diverse. The stylistic variation you hear on the album manifested naturally during the writing process, but indeed I definitely wanted to produce a multi-dimensional album that touches people from all walks of life and that can be enjoyed on the dance floor or at home.

Hard questions, we know, but What’s your favourite on the album? 

Ooo that’s a tough question! I’m gonna have to say Helms Dope purely because it really felt like this track was channelled from Middle Earth. I am a huge Lord Of The Rings fan and this tune just came out sounding like a battle cry to march against the Orcs. I love all things epic and cinematic and that’s why Helms Dope is my favourite track on the album.

How did you become a Psytrance musician? 

Me and my friends started attending Psytrance forest parties around the year 2000 in the UK and we were all so impressed with the music & vibe that me and my friends eventually began making our own forest parties and DJing. Pretty quickly someone introduced me to an older friend who had just started producing Psytrance, he gave me Cubase, we started to produce together and the rest is history.

Do you remember your first party, as a dancer and as DJ/artist? 

Oh yes! It was the summer of 2000 and the party was one of the most legendary parties in the UK called Liquid Connective. This was an illegal forest party attended by a fully international crowd of psychedelic nutters dancing to the best music I’d heard in my life. When I hit the dance floor and felt the music running through my veins I was hooked. For life.

You released this album on Astrix’s label Shamanic Tales Records, how did that happen and how is it to work with Astrix? 

Astrix has been an artist I have been inspired by since day 1 of my journey into Psytrance – a real legend of our scene – so coming into contact with Shamanic Tales and deciding to release the album with them felt like destiny calling. Aside from really enjoying their current releases I honestly just followed & trusted my intuition to guide me on the right path with my music and career and I’m very happy this is where its landed me.

What’s your ultimate Psytrance track? 

Astrix & JOOF – 3rd Time Lucky

Future plans?