PAUL ANTHONEE

Introduction 140

"Check out my exclusive guest mix including some of my favourite released and unreleased tracks! "

DIT KLINGT JUT · Introduction 140 | Paul Anthonee

Congratulations on the successful launch of your imprint Astral Records - we love the sound! Can you tell us a little about the idea behind the label?

"Hello guys and thank you for this introduction and your kind words about Astral.
This is something we (my partner Tash and I) wanted for quite some time. When Cov19 invaded our lives, we needed something new that could keep us doing what we love the most, so we decided that even if it wasn't the ideal time to do something like that, it was actually the right time to do it. Astral is like our new born child, that is growing fast and we are very proud of it's achievements. The main idea was, and still is, to release music that I would personally love to have produced myself or really want to include them in my sets. No matter the name, the followers, the hype, we our focusing on the music!"

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

"I know you get that a lot but I truly get inspired by almost everything! A smile, a car horn, a movie, a morning kiss are just my latest additions in a very long list 😂 All these small things are triggering my creativity everyday on the several projects I'm working on."

What do you love most about being an artist?

"Being an artist is like a continuous pursuit of inner satisfaction through creativity, disappointment, success, insecurity, happiness, like a scale that is never balanced. But it is never boring, never normal and I love that. I love being on the stage equally as I love being in my humble studio."

How do you stay focussed in a world of constant distraction?

"It is not easy and sometimes I'm not really focused. But even if I'm lost for a while, I always come back to this, always with the same passion and enthusiasm! And then I get distracted again by a TV Show, a yelling child or a new synth 🤣"

Do you have a morning routine?

"Mornings are currently what my nights used to be! I wake up early, drop my wife and daughter to work and school, while I check my day work (I am actually a lawyer 😂) tasks and then I'm heading over my studio! There I produce, checking demos & promos, organising my personal and label's stuff."

What, for you, is the purpose of art?

"The purpose of art... Well, I think that through art, we are feeling alive and that's exactly its purpose. We escape from our daily troubles, we dance, we feel free for a while! Take for example the period of lockdown. No music events, no art exhibitions, no cinemas, no restaurants etc. We were feeling lost and not so alive, right? If there is a purpose of art, this must be it!"

What do you want to express with your music?

"Sometimes we are up, sometimes we are down, sometimes we are melancholic, nostalgic, even a little bit crazy! I love expressing all these feelings through my music. That's why I do not follow a straight, repetitive line on my productions! I express myself!"

What is your opinion on success?

"Success is achieving your goals... Am I successful? This is a question that most of the artists asked themselves at least 100 times. If you made even one person happy with your music, then you are successful. This might sounds a little bit romantic but in the end this is our goal and the reason of doing what we do!"

What would your 16 year old you think about what you’re doing today?

"This is a very good question! When I was at that age I was dreaming of becoming a good DJ, well known in the local scene of Cyprus! I worked hard to be at least a good DJ and then a producer! I must say that the 16 yr old me, would probably be proud enough of what the old (haha) him had become. I never dreamt that I will be traveling the world, seeing so many wonderful places, meeting people from every corner of the earth, playing in festivals, played by my heroes, all because of my music."

What makes you laugh?

"One person... My almost 4yr old daughter always makes me laugh so hard 😂"

In which ways could the scene improve in the future?

"I think we should find our originality again! We somehow lost it in the hype of electronic music scene. We try to be someone else, we copy others that copied others and in the end we make music that has an expiration date. Would love to see different line-ups, giving opportunities to other artists too! Also it would be nice to somehow find a vaccine for the pandemic of ghost producing 🤣"

Favorite release at the moment & of all times?

"I really love 'Barnt - This Is For Decor Only' because it gives me that trancy mood of my younger years.
Favourite release of all time I could say a hundred but if it was to choose one, I would say 'A Break In The Clouds' by James Holden.
I also love everything from Rival Consoles and Moby."

What can we expect from you in the near future?

"You can expect to listen a lot of new music in the next couple of months! Still haven't release any tracks in 2022 and I hope that a lot of my remixes and original works will see the light of day soon. Some really cool collaborations on labels I really like are also on the way and I'm also in the making of my first personal album. Really excited about it 🙂"