| Beneath the Headphones with Trypsinogen |
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| Thursday, 16 July 2009 22:08 |
 By Adam VilesIf you’re someone who understands what it means to be able to feel music in your blood then you will understand this next DJ. Trypsinogen is an example of someone who lives to feed his passion for music. Having progressed from the early days of Carl Cox to mixing behind the decks at the top psytrance events in Johannesburg, Trypsinogen is making his mark. The Imaginarium is the psytrance crew he rolls with and if you want an idea of what his vibe is just think dark and energetic. Read what he had to say to Mr Spencer.com… How did you get to your DJ name of Trypsinogen? It’s very random actually. My girlfriend and I were having a chat about me starting to play Psy Trance one night and she told me about a substance that your pancreas makes called Trypsinogen. Quite honestly I just really liked the way it sounded and it stuck with me ever since. Now that you are a part of the Imaginarium crew how are you using this opportunity to better yourself and what plans have you got for the future? Well ever since I was signed to the Imaginarium crew I've had the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the guys who have made this scene what it is today. Then through meeting these new people and exchanging demo's I seem to be getting a lot more gigs than I used to which is really awesome. My plan for the future is simple: produce my first album combined with an awesome live show, hopefully get it signed to a label and then from that I'd like to tour with that album to other countries across the world :) What exactly is it about Psytrance that grabbed you above all other music genres? What grabbed me about psy trance is the energy behind the music, I've always been into high energy forms of electronic music like techno and drum & bass, but there was just something else about psy trance. It has more freedom, in my opinion it doesn't follow the conventional patterns that other styles of music follow and so the music always takes you by surprise which keeps the dance floor interested. Also I find the crowds to be a lot more open minded and their energy on the dance floor is infectious. The crowds feed off the musical energy from the DJ and visa versa for the DJ. Do The Imaginarium crew produce music? So far I am the only member of the Imaginarium crew that produces music. I used to only produce ambient breaks kinda stuff but I have recently completed my first psy trance track entitled "I'll take my chances". If anybody is interested in hearing my productions they can just go to www.myspace.com/mornev as well as getting the latest news straight from my studio by following me on twitter: www.twitter.com/MorneV What or who have been your biggest musical influences? My brother played a big role in the beginning of my dance music adventure as he introduced me to electronic music in the first place by giving me my first tape which had a Carl Cox set on it, he also took me to my first club and rave back in the day. Lately, all my influence comes from everyday life and the relationships I have with people. My girlfriend plays the biggest roll in what influences my music as almost all my inspiration comes from her. Her support for what I do is overwhelming which keeps me going even in times when I want to give up. In terms of psy trance I get influenced by the DJ's and producers that I respect like Ganji, Killer B, Parralax, Psysymetrix, Flip-Flop, Principles of Flight to name a few. There awesome skills in psytrance push me to push my boundaries! During a Psytrance set, do you also play psytrance “anthems” to get the crowd going? In my opinion there aren't really any psy trance "anthems" as such coz I've never heard the same song played twice at any party. The crowds at psy trance events are very open minded and I've noticed that they like to hear stuff they've never heard before. I've also found that in psy-trance each one of the DJ's have their own unique set that they play. I do however have a few tracks that I play that always go down very well like Galactic Monkey - Bits from the bong. Whenever I play it people go mad. While you aren’t DJing and emersing yourself in Psytrance, what do you do from Monday to Friday? I manage the music search facility at a tv, film and radio post production company called the Refinery. I'm the guy that searches the music libraries for the music needed in commercials or shows. I also do some final mix stuff for people on my off-line studio here. It’s a fantastic job, cause it gives me free time in between for producing my own material which suits me just fine. If someone didn’t know what Psytrance was, how would you describe it to them? It’s a very energetic form of dance music that is full of surprises, twists and turns. It will take you on a journey and make you think, while at the same time making you jump around like mad. It uses a lot of trippy synths and sounds to create its soundscapes and the basslines are always driving and energetic. What countries produce the best Psytrance and does South Africa have them own home grown style of Psytrance? Firstly I'd like to say that South Africa has a lot more Internationally acclaimed Psy Trance DJ's and Producers than any other style of EDM in this country. If you go look on the forums overseas or the flyers you'll see that the guys and girls from South Africa are very popular all across the globe. South African Psytrance producers have got a unique sound to them in my opinion, that’s why they are so popular outside of their home country. That said, I will always have a soft spot for music produced in Israel although the music lately is pouring in from all across the world. I've heard some really incredible music from places like France, Mexico and the Ukraine which just shows that Psytrance is very universal. If you had the power, how would you change the South African dance scene? I would try and change the attitude of today's clubbers. It feels like we've become too divided in stead of partying as one like we used to back in the day. I would also like to see that promoters and organisers work together to build a better scene. That said, I think SA is definitely one of the best places in the world to party in because of our diverse culture, the people here are definitely interesting :) You recently played Psytrance at a wedding. How did that go down? Yeah, I recently played at friends of mine's wedding that they had at the Cathedral Peak Hotel in the Drakensburg. There was a DJ that played the usual music you would hear at weddings and I was scheduled to play towards the end. When I came on I thought to myself that I'll most probably clear the dancefloor. I pushed play on my first track and got my next track ready and when I looked up again I had a packed dance floor in front of me including the bride stomping it out in her wedding dress (classic) and the groom's 60 year old mom (even more classic). The bride's mom was telling me at breakfast the next morning that apparently people couldn't stop talking about it that morning. I felt a bit like a rock star to be honest, it was definitely the most fun I'd ever had at a wedding reception. Have you guys got any events coming up? The Imaginarium parties will probably only continue again with events once season starts again in the spring time. I'll be making my first appearance at the Fu-Cha Gatherings event in the spring time so watch my fan page for details. Love, Light and Laughter Morné V aka Trypsinogen Check out his tracks: http://www.mediafire.com/?uzftzzxm5fd http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trypsinogen/37170793957 |