Astrix
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Astrix ('Avi Shmailov - אסטריקס) is a Psychedelic Trance DJ and producer specialising in the sub-genre of Full On Psychedelic Trance.

He was born in Georgian SSR in Caucasus on 05/12/1981 and grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel 1992 as a Mountain Jew. He began recording music under the name Astrix in 1997, sometimes misconceived to be taken from the "Asterix" comic books. An interview on UK clubbing website Harderfaster.net revealed the name was chosen for simply sounding good, and not directly influenced by anything in particular.

In 2006 Astrix reached #41 (+34 raise) in DJMag's "Top 100 DJs" yearly rank along with raise of several other Israeli musicians (the highest being Infected Mushroom ranked #12)¹ marking significant worldwide popularisation of Israeli electronic music scene.

In 2007 Astrix reached #18 on the list.

Early career

Astrix started as a DJ in 1995 playing alternative and 1980s music. It was during this time that he learned about electronic music. In 1997 he began his first in-house studio recordings using a personal computer. He discovered trance in 1997 after being invited to a Trance party. "At first it was a very new and strange experience for me and I couldn't find myself, but I was impressed by the energy and the impact that the music had made on the people at the party."² At the beginning of his career in the late 1990s he produced tracks in the "nitzhonot" style of trance, an uplifting, anthemic off-shoot of Goa trance. His first tracks were "In Peace" and "Eakhis World," which both appeared on the well-known nitzhonot compilation "Ptzatzot 3."

During the late 1990s and into the early 2000s he continued in this style and collaborated with several major Israeli trance artists such as Yahel, Eyal Barkan and Oren Barkan. In 2001 he collaborated with Alien Project on the album "Midnight Sun," which marked his switch from nitzhonot to full-on psytrance.

In a 2003 interview Astrix said that in fact he worked on 3 albums by Alien Project, but its maintainer Ari Linker didn't give him a credit.³

Musical style

Astrix's music is known for his solid, driving basslines and ascending melodies. It is very uplifting and, as far as psychedelic trance goes, fairly "hard" and is also usually played during sunrise and the morning at outdoor trance parties. Many would consider his style to be a crossover between "full-on" and the "clubbier" end of Trance, exemplfied by his Psychedelic Academy Mix.

Influences

Astrix is musically influenced by Infected Mushroom. "I look up to them for inspiration and for some kind of spiritual fuel as it were." Other influences include Linkin Park and Tiësto. "I also have a love for mainstream bands like Linkin Park, and for ‘club personality’ I like Tiësto, he inspires me very much to see how well you can mix business with music and how big you can become from something that was so small in the beginning."⁴

Astrix has worked with:

• Obikxs
• kerneL.
• Infected Mushroom
• Alien Project
• Astral Projection (group)
• Atomic Pulse
• G.M.S.

and other musicians.

Discography

• Eye to Eye (HOM-Mega Productions) (2002)
• Artcore (HOM-Mega Productions) (2004)
• Coolio (HOM-Mega Productions) (2004)
• Closer to Heaven (Tokyo Dance) (2007)
• Psychedelic Academy (compilation) (Hit Mania UK) (2005)
• Red means distortion (upcoming)
• Future Music (2007)

External links

• Official Astrix Website (redirects to MySpace page)
• Discogs: Astrix

References

1. ^ DJmag.com: Top 100 DJs - Results & History
2. ^ Chaishop: Astrix — interview and biographical info
3. ^ Interview with Astrix at IsraTrance.com, 01/2003
4. ^ 4Clubbers: Interview with Astrix written by Caroline Banx