CANADIANRAVERS X HOANG INTERVIEW - ILLUMINASIAN @ the WATERFRONT NIGHT MARKET HOSTED BY ELECTRIC ESCAPE

Photo taken by Zirus Media Photos

On Saturday August 12th 2023, Illuminasian stage presented by ProjectXIX debuted Canada’s only all-asian Canadian DJ lineup at The Stanley Barracks during the Toronto Waterfront Night Market, with DJs like Somna & Sabai in the line up along with support from DeeCee b2b Quim, Celestial, Intothemiks, Ninekai  & Trekk. All hosted by Electric Escape.  During which, I had the opportunity of interviewing Hoang from 88rising at Hotel X.

For those of you that don’t know. Mike aka Hoang is a Vietnamese-Canadian DJ and producer based from Vancouver, Canada. Hoang started his musical journey early on as a kid and to date, he debuted his first single back in 2018 “Don’t Say” with Nevve.   His popular single “Million Days” in collaboration with Sabai was released in 2020.  Currently, Hoang & Sabai are on tour for their Million Days tour and in between their tour, they had the opportunity to play here in Toronto for us.

Two nights before, I had a chat with Hoang on Instagram in regards to his story giving us a preview of his set for Toronto. With “Come Running 2022 - DS VIP” by Darren Styles playing, a song that I love along with it being a Happy Hardcore song, it got my attention right away. Considering that night was Hoang’s debut here in Toronto! I was excited to hear what he had in store for us. When it comes to melodic dubstep and the fact that the duo Sabai X Hoang were here together, this night was indeed a night for the bassheads, sadbois and sadgurls to come out.

Before Hoang’s set that night, I had a chance to sit down at Hotel X with him to chat. So, I hope you all enjoy this interview.

THE INTERVIEW

K: Can you tell us about yourself, your journey, and where the name Hoang came from?

Hoang: That's a loaded question. My name is Mike, and my last name is Hoang, and I'm a Vietnamese-born Canadian from Vancouver, British Columbia. I've been making music since I was about 11 years old, in the sixth grade, but my parents put me into piano lessons early on in the second grade or so. And I wouldn't say I liked the piano. Like, I hated learning it. I hated the classical books and all that stuff and all the theory. But over time, I learned to love it. I discovered electronic music through piano because I listened to many video game music around the sixth grade. And I stumbled upon this artist named Basshunter. He's like a DJ who does like happy hardcore stuff. His music would be pretty evident across, like the maple story montages and things like that. I was like, Oh my God, how do I? I love this music. How do I learn how to make it? And then, I typed on Google how to make dance music. One of the first results was FL Studio, like an audio software. And from there, I just started learning for years and years and years. And I'm 27 now. So I've been at this for a long time.

 

K: Are you a big gamer?

Hoang: Yeah, I play a lot of Valorant. I’ve played a lot of League, too, like a lot. Like the entirety of high school. I’ve played too much League. And I played Dota, too. Dota 1 and 2.

 

K: Just curious, how did you connect with Ophelia Records for your recent single “People Change” With RUNN that got highlighted on Ophelia Advent Volume 4?

Hoang: Shout out, Ben. If you see this, Ben. Ben is one of our good friends here with Julien and I, and he's one of the label managers there. Julien and he helped to co-manage an artist, a perfect friend of ours named Senza. And I had this demo with RUNN called People Change for the longest time, and we didn't know where to release it, so Julien shipped it over to Ben. Ben is one of the label owners at Ophelia, and he picked it up, he enjoyed the song, and he saw how special it was to us as well, and he took us in. Shout out to Ben. As for RUNN & I, we put a lot into that song. Into the writing specifically. RUNN, an incredible friend, an incredible voice.

 

K: What's your process when creating a new track? Do you go around different melodies and demos?

Hoang: Yeah, a lot of people ask me this. There's no concrete answer, but I would say 70% of the time it just starts with a melody. For me, every element of a song stems from the melody, so I hop on my piano at three in the morning, feeling inspired, and I start writing pieces based on how I think or the experiences that I've gone through. I know it sounds like super hippie to say, but those are the reasons why certain melodies sound a certain way: because of the emotion that you're trying to convey from your own experiences. From the piano and then into your DAW, and then you build your song around that. And then the writing comes next with a vocalist you usually are friends with.

 

K: Okay, I know you got a back-to-back with MVSE coming up at Escape Halloween. Are there any artists that inspire you and you hope to work with one day?

Hoang: There's a lot of artists that I look up to in many different genres, whether it be EDM or K-pop, but Dabin, if you're watching this, I look up to you man. And in the K-pop world, I'm a big fan of IU. I don't know if you IU. She’s a big K-pop star. I’ve been listening to her stuff. As for Dabin, maybe one day. He's killing it, by the way. I've seen many tour shows, and he's an absolute rock star.

 

K: So, what projects might you be working on that you can tell your followers about?

Hoang: Yeah, so as many of you guys know, we're already running the Million Days Tour with my good brother, Sabai. He's here at the hotel, too. And we have 16 stops left on the tour. There is a lot of work left to do, but on top of that, I have many new singles coming out. And I have one coming up in the next few months with my brother, Yetep. He's crushing it in this world, and we all look up to him as an older brother. So I'm excited to release that record with him. And it comes out, I believe, this October with Linney. A talented vocalist friend, as well. She's dope. They’re both dope. I'm super excited for the song. I'm playing it tonight, too. That song I'm playing tonight.

 

K: What's your favourite memory of being a DJ or producer?

Hoang: Damn. That's a pretty crazy question. Okay, there's a lot. But recently, with my brother MVSE when we were at EDC, playing EDC was already crazy enough as it was. Still, on day two, right before our set, right before my set precisely, we were walking around the middle area of EDC, near Rainbow Road to meet up with a few friends and team members. And we heard our song, Moments, a collab between Martin and me, playing really loudly. And then we were like, is somebody trolling us? We have a lot of friends who like to put on Bluetooth speakers on the iPhone. And they play the song near you and go like, hey it’s your song. But no one was doing that. And I was like, what's happening? And then I look over at Julian, and Julian's like, they're playing your song. We look up, and it's like the fireworks are being synced to our song. And then we stumbled upon Martin at that very moment. And I was like, holy shit, they're playing our music. They're syncing the fireworks ceremony to our song. And then we're like, we just almost cried. And then that was pretty nice. Because we've been going to EDC for many, many years, so that was, that was unreal. I thank Aaron from Lost in Dreams for making that happen. I didn't, I had no idea that was going to happen. I was freaking out. Like there's no way this is happening.

 

K: So, at what moment did you believe you made a mark in the industry?

Hoang: There's a lot of times. I don't keep saying that because there's a lot of stuff that we've done over the last couple of years. But as a mark, I don't like to say I've left a mark because I feel like. That signifies the end of what you might be. Yeah, but a big moment where a huge realization just hit me in the face was when my song “Don't Say” first came out, and I've been making music. Like I told you earlier, for many, many years, like over a decade, without any recognition or traction from anyone in the public. And I was more so making music for myself. But I felt like I made a mark at that moment because I just took a chance on that song. “Don't Say” was a song with my friend Nevve, and it was an instrumental I had on my PC for about six months. And it was very different from what I was making for it because I was making a lot of big bro music, happy hardcore dance, and hardstyle stuff. Keep in mind, this is like 2016, 2017. And then I released “Don't Say” “ my first poppy melodic anthem-type song in 2018. And then when that came out, I took a chance on myself, and that was my first official playing release. And then it blew up. And then that's when I first started to realize, oh, maybe I can do this as a living. Perhaps I can chase this crazy dream for all of these years. And I just kept doing it since.

 

K: Yeah. That song came out before “Million Days”, right? Because I remember seeing it.

Hoang: “Million Days” was like the kicker of it all. Yeah. Nevve and I and Claire worked hard on that one. Super grateful for that song and what it has done for both of our lives, and our careers. Especially our lives.

 

K: What is one goal for yourself for 2023 and 2024?

Hoang: We have to survive this tour, the remainder of it, like mentally, but I'm super excited for it. But as for goals, I hope to put out some body of work, cohesive bodywork, next year, whether it be an EP or an album. I'm currently already working towards that because we have a lot of new music in the cooker and on top of more shows. You know, more of a personal goal, I just want to make sure that I take it easy.

 

K: Is there anything that you want to say to your readers or, I mean, readers and viewers?

Hoang: If you are reading this, watching, or listening, I hope you guys have a great day and thank you for supporting us in everything we do. Shout out to Keith. Thank you today, and I'm excited for the show tonight in Toronto. So thank you for having us.

 

K: So now we are going to go to the fun questions. All right. What are your go-tos when it comes to food and drinks?

Hoang: All things Asian food, but I know I'm not just saying this because I'm being me and biased, but I love Vietnamese food. So there’s pho or anything Vietnamese because it's generally considered like light food. So that's my go-to every day.

 

LIGHTNING ROUND!!!

What's your favourite fast food? McDonald's.

What's your favourite drink to order? Mango margarita.

What's your first rave as an attendee? It was 2014, you know, it was an event called Insomnia, run by Stanley. So he runs many of the events here in Toronto with you guys and in Vancouver, and he booked Dash Berlin to play, and I was just a little kid then. I was 17 years old, just going out to that stadium rave, and I was like, one day, I want to be a part of this. All right. That's crazy that Stanley is, for many of you guys that don't know, Stanley is a lot of. He runs many big events here in Toronto and Vancouver and also partners with these guys.

What's your favourite rave or music festival? I've been to a lot. EDC is number one in my heart, but number two. I'm just standing on this, but I love going to the Gorge. That place is beautiful. I went there recently to see Illenium’s tour show.

What's your favourite season of the year? Summer.

What's your favourite colour? Blue

So these are a little different. Starbucks or Tim Hortons? Starbucks.

What about house or trance? Trance.

Dubstep or drum and bass? Dubstep.

Tech or Psytrance? Psytrance.

Day or night? Night.

Cold or hot? Cold.

And then this is a fun one. Who's taller? Sabai or Hoang? Hoang. I don't know why everyone keeps saying that. I’m the tallest man in our entire group.

K: I don't know. I just kept seeing the stories, and it's like a joke.

Hoang: I'm just kidding. Yeah, I'm the tallest guy in our entire group. No, I'm kidding.I'm like 5'9". I'm 5'6".

K: Yeah, yesterday at Ray Ray, I was like, who is taller? I can't tell right now. They're both sitting.

Hoang: No, I am taller. And if you guys are watching this, I'm taller than Sabai. I'm calling right now.

K: All right. Keep that in mind, guys. Make sure you watch the next interview.

Hoang: No, don't trust Sabai. Anything that likes comes out of his mouth. I'm taller.

 

Following the interview, I shared my peas with Mike and his manager, Julian. I’m not lying when I say these peas are that good. We chilled for a bit before Sabai got to where we were to do his interview, too. Once we were done with everything, we all had time to chill and grab some food at the night market before they went on, considering we needed some fuel to last the night.

 

With Hoang’s debut set, I was not disappointed one bit. The music was great, a lot of the fans knew the lyrics to his songs, and I myself finally got to hear his songs live as well. As for the energy, Hoang brought this energetic grandpa from Happy Twist Potatoes, who was jamming at his stall from the night market, to come party with us as Hoang spun some happy hardcore. Boy, did that hype up the crowd even more.

 

For anyone who missed out that weekend, don’t worry; now that Hoang had a taste of Toronto, I’m sure he’ll be back again soon! Especially since we’re all Canadians too. For now, Sabai and Hoang are on tour for their Million Days tour, so if they’re coming to your city, make sure you go because you don’t want to miss out on the Sabai X Hoang set!

 

PS: Even after Somna’s interview, I was still nervous about conducting these video interviews. But after connecting with Mike, I can say, “Tell me the hard part’s over”! Haha! xD

 Thanks for reading!!! -Keith Au, aka Keyfu and make sure you check out the full interview below

Hoang Socials

CANADIANRAVERS X SOMNA INTERVIEW - ILLUMINASIAN @ THE WATERFRONT NIGHT MARKET HOSTED BY ELECTRIC ESCAPE

Photo taken by Zirus Media Photos

On Saturday, August 12th, 2023, Illuminasian stage presented by ProjectXIX debuted Canada’s only all-Asian Canadian DJ lineup at The Stanley Barracks during the Toronto Waterfront Night Market, with DJs like Hoang & Sabai in the lineup along with support from DeeCee b2b Quim, Celestial, Intothemiks, Ninekai  & Trekk. All are hosted by Electric Escape.  During which, I had the opportunity to interview Somna from AVA Recordings at Hotel X.

For those of you that don’t know. Ben aka Somna is a Chinese-Canadian DJ, producer and Co-owner of AVA Recordings, which was founded by Andy Moor. Both specialize in producing trance music. Somna started his DJing career in 2003 and throughout the past two decades, he’s been known for remixing songs and producing his own singles, along with two albums “Beside You” and “Satellites”. Aside from producing, he has been performing all around the globe at many different festivals and events, such as Creamsfields and Dreamstate.

Photo taken by Zirus Media Photos

That day at the Toronto Waterfront Night Market was such a vibe. Getting to try all the foods from the different vendors was definitely a treat. But having DJs play one after another was the cherry on top. The stage started filling up with more people arriving at the night market and filling their bellies with food. Following up on the DeeCee b2b Quim set, we had Somna spinning that evening. This time, he was back in Toronto with new music for all of us to hear live, considering his new album “Satellites” was released in May. So that night, I got my trance fix in! Before the night market, Somna played here in Toronto for the previous two U4RIA Trance festivals in the previous years.

As some of you may know, I have been with Electric Escape since the beginning of the year, and from my first interview with Gem & Tauri earlier in May. I was presented with the opportunity to conduct more interviews with DJs who come to Toronto to play. So I would like to thank Jolo from Electric Escape, Haider from Canadian Ravers, Somna, Hoang, Sabai and everyone else from all teams involved for helping me continue this journey. Prior to their sets, I had a chance to sit down at Hotel X and chat with each of them, and man was I nervous, these were all video interviews. My first video interview ever! Nonetheless, we did the interviews and in the end, I’m glad I did it because just had the opportunity to chat and make these connections with them. I’m forever grateful.

THE INTERVIEW

K: Can you tell us about yourself, your journey, and where did the name Somna come from?

Somna: Well, I'll start by telling you what my name is about. So Somna, when I was trying to figure out a name for my artist alias, I used to play a lot of Call of Duty zombie mode. And this friend of mine was like “yo, Somna's a kind of zombie.” And I was like, all right, yeah, sold. I'm done. And it turns out Somna actually means to fall asleep in Swedish. So then I was like, okay, I make trance music, falling asleep. Like I don't want people to fall asleep, obviously. It's very fitting, right? So I was like, yeah, that's kind of how the name came about. And I've been DJing for like a really long time. I started in 2003. So this is actually September. It'll be like 20 years of DJing. I had a different name before Somna. Somna started in like 2011, but I used to do like hard dance stuff. Under a different name under Rodi Style.

 

K: You just released an album Satellites this year. Can you tell me more about the thought process when you were making it? Because I noticed that it's a completely different style than what you usually do. But I like it. And I also noticed that Satellites is also one of the track names, along with the album as well.

Somna: Yeah. So stylistically, I definitely branched out a bit. But I wouldn't say it's too far out from my usual style. There's a bit of everything on there. The more like progressive trance that I'm known for, some harder stuff, a little bit of bass music on there. I love that kind of stuff, even though I don't, I'm not like a dubstep DJ or anything. I love all kinds of music. The album Satellites, I wrote that during the pandemic and during that time, like when, when all touring stopped and like we were locked at home, I was like, oh, crap, like what am I going to do? So I started streaming on Twitch. During that time, I connected with a lot of different people, had a lot of people come to my stream and basically made all these great connections. And so the name Satellites is kind of like my love letter to the fans that I met during that time when we were locked in. It kind of represents me beaming my music to them and then also like their love and support coming back. So like we're connecting by like Satellites. That is sort of like the ethos behind the album title. I wrote it during that time and it's my second album. So I'm just excited that it's finally out.

 

K: You've been producing music for a while. How and when did you start getting into dance music?

Somna: So I went to my first rave in like 2001 and it was in Calgary. So I grew up in Calgary and it was a New Year's rave and my dad drove me to it. Not knowing it was like a rave. He dropped me off and I'm like, yeah, I'm staying. I'm having a sleepover at my friend's place after. Then I left the event at like 6am. I didn't know where I was because in the middle of nowhere, I started walking and then I finally found the train station. And then I went straight home because I wasn't staying over right and having a sleepover at a friend's place. I fell asleep, got home and then my parents were like, why are you home so early? And I was like, I don't remember what I said, but I came up with some great excuse. But yeah, so that's kind of when I actually, that's not when I discovered dance music, but that's my first like event that I went to. I think maybe a year or two before that, my friend was playing some track called “I Can't Stop Raving” by Dune. It's like a really old-school track in his Ford Taurus, and I'm like, I like this!

 

K: Just curious at what moment did you believe that you made a mark in the industry?

Somna: See, that's a tough one because I feel like I'm very fortunate and blessed to be able to share my music with people. Um, I think, I don't want to be like, yeah, I've made my mark. I'm still trying to find my place in the world and share what I'm passionate about. Um, but I think, there definitely have been a lot of instances where I can look back at achievements that I'm very proud of. I did a guest mix and interview on A State of Trance recently. So that was a big milestone for me. Before Somna, I actually, as Rodi Style alias, I also did a guest mix and interview on BBC radio when I used to live in the UK, which is a whole different story. But that was also like a big landmark thing for me as well. But I'm just trying to do the best that I can, make good music. Hope people like it. And just feel very happy that I get to share it with people.

 

K: How is it being a label manager for AVA recordings, a DJ and a producer at the same time?

Somna: Uh, it's a lot of work, but I think it's, it's such a blessing to be able to sign music from other talented artists and release it and help them grow their careers as well. As well as shape like a record label and the sound and stuff. So, it's very time-consuming, but we have some amazing people that work in the label. My wife, also DJs under Memory Loss and produces and handles all our social media. We have Ishuka, he's from India. He also helps with social media. Yang, he's another Canadian Asian DJ. He does our A&R. So he listens to the demos and stuff. And then we also have LTN, it's named Louis. He's from Indonesia and he runs our deeper labels. So like the deeper sounds. and then we had A.R.D.I. from Poland who runs our uplifting sub label. And obviously Andy Moor, who is my partner and then Dylan over there as well too. He's one of our partners as well at Ava. So Andy Moor is like the founder of it and it's actually Ava. (A-Va) Named after Andy's oldest daughter. So It's busy. Um, juggling that and producing my own music and DJing is tough, but I don't know, it's just, just do what you can when music is encompassed into your life.



K: Aside from that, being a producer and DJ aside from trance, what other genres do you usually listen to? And I've noticed that you've mixed “Hollow” by Dabin and Kai Wachi in a set before. Also, Amidy remixed your song “Pretty Lies” before too. I was listening to that on the way down. It was so good.

Somna: Oh nice. Yeah, I love bass music, melodic bass and sad boy music. It speaks to me cause I kind of feel like it's like, it's like trance, but with a different rhythm and different beat, cause it's all like emotions and feels. Yeah. So, um, I actually listen to that stuff a lot, even though I don't make it aside from like my track, “Satellites” and stuff. But I listen to all kinds of music when I'm driving around and stuff, but I just, I like stuff with singing.



K: What advice and tips would you give DJs and producers trying to make it out in the industry?

Somna: I think staying true to yourself and your sound is important. One of the things that is easy to do and want to do is to chase a trend. You see and hear what's popular and you're like, that's the sound they need to do, even if it's not really the sound that you like. And I think the scene goes in cycles. So what is popular at the moment might not be popular later. And then you're always compromising on your own sound as well. So I think it's important to write the music that you're passionate about. Because if you don't, you will hate yourself in the future because you're going to look back on songs that you just, they're not you. They're just a reflection of what you think people want to hear and what's popular. And like I've done that before like I've written songs where I'm like, I need to get this signed to this record label. It has to be the sort of sound. I wrote it. They sign it. I'm like, yes. But then I look back at it now, and I'm like because the sound has also changed. It's not popular anymore. Um, and I look back, and I'm like, I was just chasing this trend at the time. And like it's not something that I would play now. And I wish I just spent that time writing something that I'm happy with for the rest of my life.



K: Having played at so many events and festivals, what were your top three favourites?

Somna: Okay. So that's not too hard. Um, two of the best crowds I've ever played to would be Tokyo and Mexico City. They go absolutely like ham, and like Mexico, they go ham. And in Tokyo in Japan itself, they also go ham as well too. Um, just amazing crowds out there. And then, Dreamstate as well, too, the first time I played. At Dreamstate on the main stage was an experience. It was like a massive stage, and Haliene came on singing live during my set because we did a song together at that time. So yeah, that was a really cool experience. And, like, I'm excited to be back at Dreamstate again this year. But I think those are kind of like my top three for kind of different reasons aside from like Mexico and Mexico is really interesting. Cause it was, you know, that venue was really not up to code. It was so funny. There were like stairs leading up onto the stage, and then the sound guy's like going up, and he just went through it. The board just broke. He wasn't hurt or anything. And then they just brought another board to replace it. Nailed it on, and it was like equally as thin. And we’re just like yooo, this does not look like it's very safe. So we just like, the rest of the time we had to pull ourselves up onto the stage on the side to like, cause we're like, we're not taking those stairs. So that was like the experience. It's like an amazing crowd. But then, like the fire marshals, they showed up, and they’re like, there’s a pothole over there, random things.

K: What is next for Somna, aside from Dreamstate?

Somna: I have many exciting shows coming up, like I'm playing in Seattle next week. And then I also have some stuff like I'm returning to Tokyo. I've got Amsterdam and the UK as well, too. And, um, yeah, just working on new music. There's a bunch of remixes coming out of songs from my album. The Sean Tyas remix comes out next month. And then there are a couple of other remixes. But I guess now it's just, you know, start to write new music. I don't think I'll do another album, maybe for a long time. So it's just maybe just singles and stuff. Yeah, I'm just carrying on trying to write things that I enjoy and hopefully everyone else wants.

K: One quick question. Which year for Dreamstate did you play?

Somna: 2019. Right before the pandemic. The fifth Dreamstate.

K: Nice. Is there anything you would like to say to the readers and viewers?

Somna: I guess like a huge thank you to Electric Escape and Waterfront Night Market for having me. Cause like I just, I'm, I was saying this earlier to like Jolo, but I'm just so happy to be able to share our heritage as Asian and be a part of this lineup and show my music and stuff. And also like, you know, night market food is so good. So I had  Takoyaki. Right before I came here it was like, it was fire. Bubble waffle times like 10!

K: Are you a big bubble tea fan? What's your favourite bubble tea?

Somna: Yeah. Like, like you wouldn't believe. My favourite is the roasted milk tea with pearls, like 30% sugar from Chatime.

K:  So I noticed that you're a gamer and you said you played COD earlier. I also noticed on your Instagram that you played Pokemon Go. Do you still play Pokemon Go?

Somna: I don't. I haven't in a while. I used to and I remember like getting in the car and just like the maps was like, hunting for Pokemon. But I still have it. I usually like bust it out if I'm traveling in a different city cause I don't know what I can get, but I think nowadays the game that I mostly play is like Starcraft.

K: Fun question. What are your go-tos when it comes to food and drinks?

Somna: Well, we established bubble tea. And then food. I love sushi. And I like pizza. Pineapple on pizza.

 

LIGHTNING ROUND!!!

What's your favourite fast food? Arby's. The meats.

What's your favourite drink to order? Well, it's roasted milk tea.

First rave as an attendee, which would be the one in Calgary. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was probably 2001. It was a New Year’s Eve event for that.

Favourite rave music festival. I guess it was like Tokyo, Mexico. And Dreamstate.

Favourite season of the year? Oooh, that's a good question. I don't know. Probably like, I guess, Summer. Because I'm thinking like Spring is like when all the allergies show up. Not down with that. And then the Fall is like, it's just going to rain a lot and stuff. And then Winter, like I lived in Calgary and it's like the snow. And so I think Summer.

What's your favourite colour? Blue.

Starbucks or Tim Hortons? Tim Hortons, because they got that new quencher's drink. It's like this Blackberry Yuzu. I’m like this guy that has all these drinks. Blackberry Yuzu quencher.

House or trance? Oh, I got to go with trance. Yeah.

Dubstep or drum and bass? Oh, shit. That's a tough one because I love drum & bass. Okay. So I would say if it was like Dubstep, like the riddim, like the hardening stuff, then drum & bass. If it's like Sad Boy, like melodic bass, then I think it would be the melodic bass like the Seven Lions kind of thing.

Okay, what about tech or psytrance? Tech

Day or night? Night.

Okay, and the last one. Cold or hot? Ooh, cold.

 

Following the interview, Ben & I were being true snackers together. Little did I know, as much as he loved his bubble tea, drinks, sushi and pizza. Snacks would get him, too!  What kind of snacks, you may ask? Well, it's these green peas that I’ve been snacking on for the past year or so. Must I say, these peas have replaced my urge to eat chips? I’m sorry, Ruffles? But legit, I’ve been getting everyone addicted to these, especially at events, haha. But of all people to be so excited about my peas. Omg, this was a moment haha! I’m so glad I could share my love of these peas with Ben, both original taste and garlic flavoured as well. Ben even made a video of this and posted it on his Instagram as a reel. When I saw it, I started dying from laughter because this was the moment I realized I was Pushin Peas. LOL! xD

To anyone who hasn’t seen Somna spin yet! I hope you check him out whenever he comes to your city to play! Somna also scratches on top of his sets so that is also an interesting  fact about him being a trance DJ. And just in case you don’t get the chance to catch him live, he usually streams on Twitch on Sundays so you definitely can’t miss out!

Make sure to check out the full interview below

Somna Socials

Written by Keith Au

STADIUMX X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [ THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME, MUSICAL DIRECTION OF MUSIC, FAVOURITE VENUE]

Stadiumx is a progressive and future house DJ/producer duo based in Budapest who are almost a decade into their journey in the music industry already. The pair first gained notoriety after their 2014 platinum-accredited, worldwide smash hit 'Howl At The Moon' featuring Taylr Renee, released on Nick Romero's Protocol Recordings. Since then, the duo have mastered their craft and impressed with each release, working with some of the scenes best along the way - including acts such as David Guetta, Cash Cash, and many more.



THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Dave and Sully, Glad to have you on Canadianravers. How are you, and where are you chatting from?

SX: Thank you very much for having us, we are happy to talk to you! We are currently in Budapest, Hungary, this year we are doing most of the summer tours here or traveling from here.

CR: Can you tell us about yourselves, such as how you met and the inspiration behind your stage name "Stadiumx"?

SX: Many years ago, we met at a producer workshop in Budapest, where we started talking to each other after the event. This was followed working together in the studio basically. It was around 2009, we’ve worked together on other projects or wrote songs for others. After a few years, a common vision became more and more defined and in 2014 we decided to create the name Stadiumx and release our own songs.

CR: Let’s talk about your track ‘Heaven’, it is different from your other tracks, what was the inspiration behind this track, how did you connect with Azahriah and Sam Martin to create this track?

SX: We’ve already worked together on several songs with Sam and we got into a good relationship when we were able to work as co-producers on David Guetta's album. We think he's a fantastic singer and an amazing songwriter. At that time they did "Dangerous" and "Lovers On The Sun" with David, which we were able to remix later as well. After that, we wrote several songs together. The original version of "Heaven" supposed to be a song for David, but at the end it didn’t happen so we were able to work on it and finish it. When we were working on the song, Azi had a single called "Four Moods" that came out around that time  and we really liked the song. So we thought we definitely wanted to work with him and this song turned out to be a good choice to include him as a feature artist. Concerning the sound of the song, we primarily wanted to adapt to the original concept, which was a mid- tempo, laidback vibe.

Stream/download: STADIUMX, SAM MARTIN & AZAHRIAH ‘HEAVEN’

CR: Do you guys get into disagreements when creating a track or you encourage each other to take your sound to a different direction?

SX: It is very important for an artist to gain a certain style that people can identify. At the same time, it is also very important to feel what suits a song and not try to make it into something that doesn't work at all costs. This is a very essential balance. This is a pop song with guest artists. Pop music today covers an incredibly wide spectrum, especially when we talk about electronic sound.




CR: We remember you creating the killer track ‘Howl At The Moon’,it is still in our personal playlist, your sound now has evolved a lot from the 2013/2014 era, what made you decide that it was the right time to change your sound and go to a different musical direction?

SX: We don't think there is right or wrong way with sounds. There are successful songs and less successful ones. For us, the most important thing is to be satisfied with the end result and to show that we are good producers. People really got to know Stadiumx because of “Howl At The Moon”, but before that we were writing songs in other genres or for other people for a decade.

CR: You have played many different venues, which stands out the most for you in production and hospitality?

SX: I would definitely highlight Tomorrowland. We are very happy we had the opportunity to play several times at this fantastic festival. I think it's an amazing experience for visitors and performers as well.

CR: Aside from DJing and Producing music, what makes you happy?

SX: Dave has a 2-year-old daughter, and I got married last year. We like to spend more and more time with our family and this is very important to us!

CR: Who has been your biggest supporter since your guys started your producing career?

SX: Fortunately, we received a lot of support and attention from the industry since we do Stadiumx, but the ones I would definitely highlight are Nicky Romeo, Don Diablo and David Guetta. We are very grateful to them for supporting us from the very beginning!

CR: If you had the opportunity to collaborate with any artist from any era on a single project, who would you choose and why?

SX: We love working with singers and songwriters! That's why I would definitely say Ed Sheeran or Ryan Tedder.

CR: Are there any projects that you are working on that our followers can know about, and will they be on your label ‘Sub Religion Records’?

SX: There will be two collaborations in August. One with Bingo Players and the other with Morgan Page. We can definitely tell you about these two. This year there will be even more bigger projects and 2 originals will definitely be released on Sub Religion.

 

LIGHTING ROUND

1.      Favourite Fast Food? Good, old MCs.

2.      Go to meal when you’re sick? Soup!

3.      Favourite drink to order? G+T.

4.      First Rave as an attendee? Patex 1. / Hyperspace.

5.      First celebrity crush? None.

6.      Favourite comic book character? Batman.

7.      All-time favourite song? “Another Chance” by Roger Sanchez.

8.      Go to vacation spot? Ibiza.

9.      What is your guilty pleasure? Producer memes.

10.   What is your hidden talent? Baking, building

11.   Which social platform do you use a lot? IG mostly.

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