01 Mar 2010 |
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Gabriel Descoutieras, also known as DJ Zen and Astral Waves, is the inspirational man behind not only his artist persona's, but the very successful new Chill label Altar Records, that has put itself on the map with the epic Elements various artists series. His innovation has only begun, and the potency of his and his labels releases is only getting stronger. With the release of the 4th edition “Earth” looming I had the chance to ask him about what he has in store for us. Gabriel thank you for taking your time out of your busy schedule with me here today, Could you tell us about your history, where you grew up and how music impacted your life.
Hello, I grew up in an artistic family in France. As far as I can remember, my love for music has always been there. The musical experience that was was the most significant to me and impacted my life was when I was 10 at my aunt's.
Altar Records has definitely made a big impact over the last year with your Various Elemental series. After ‘Earth’ next month, when can we look forward to the final installment ‘Ether’ and what else do you have in store for us from Altar Records?
Ether should be released some time between fall and winter. I have a pretty busy summer coming up with my next Astral Waves album. I am also preparing an exclusive Chronos & Alexander Taff collaboration album, as well as a Sacral Reason (Anton, the guy from Aquascape) meditative/yoga dreamy and melodic album and a special Chronos "Goes Vargan" EP with music and videos.
Are you currently looking for prospective artists for solo albums on Altar, if so what would you like to see from them and where would you like to be contacted?
Yes I do like to dig into new music! Ambient/Psychill MP3 demos should be sent via Sendspace to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Please do not send any Psy-Trance and Goa Trance! Thanks
Let us get into your history as an artist, give us a run down of your time spent as a DJ and your aliases.
The first time I attended such a party was in France, invited by a DJ who used to play in the beaches of Goa, I got into the place as VIP helping him hang his vinyl boxes. At that time –in the '90s– a lot of techno/industrial music was popular mix. The music wasn't very melodic; but when my friend played his records that night, I thought I was hearing some kind of calling coming out of the music, like if it was speaking to me in tongues! Later on, I discovered that the messages were coming out of the little 303 synth!
When I arrived in Canada in early 1996, my brother picked me up at the airport and the first thing I did in the car was to play the Hallucinogen "Twisted" album as loud as possible! Although a Metal-head, he fell in love with the music instantly and "The Tribal Trance Force Group" was born a week after! We bought our first CDJs and mixer in a music store, the dual Gemini's that I still have somewhere in my basement! We played together as DJ's until 2002 in a lot of different places in Canada. We organized the "Natura" Goa and ambient parties from 1999 until 2002. I also did a lot of decorative backdrop air brushing. Then I made music with several artists like Khetzal and had my own project Astral Waves a few years after. My brother has left the DJ world, but he still has an artistic business. My complete bio is found here: http://www.altar-records.com/bio.html
Who are your biggest musical influences and where do you draw your inspiration from when writing music?
The biggest musical influences come from the documentaries I watch every single evening. I'm starving for knowledge. All other influences are coming out of my own psychedelic experiences. I had the most magical and astonishing ones from Peyote and DMT a few years ago. I still think about them everyday. They have changed my life, for the best I believe!
Do you currently have anything in the works as Astral Waves, or any other info you would like to announce?
Yes! Astral Waves "Magique" album (following "Mystique" released in 2006) will be released some time this year. In 2009, I met Iz Marceau, a singer, collaborator, and life-partner. She is now helping me with the label, releases and music in general. She is one of the most knowledgeable and fine eared musicians I've ever encountered! Therefore Astral Waves and Altar Records are now the result of two people.
If there was one other artist you would like to do a collaborative album with, who would it be? There are many, but if there was only one artist I think it would be with Simon Posford from Hallucinogen. His music contains more magic than it should hold!
Gabriel Descoutieras DJ Zen ►Chillbase ►Homepage ►Last.fm ►Discogs Astral Waves ►Chillbase ►Myspace ►Last.fm ►Discogs Altar Records
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She put me alone in her simple but cozy salon, decorated with plenty of images of Indian Gods and played the vinyl of the "Four Seasons" from Vivaldi all the way through. I still remember the smell of the incense and the rays of the sun coming through the windows. It was a magical moment that I'll never forget.
That was in 1995. At that time, I knew I had to move to Canada so I decided to be exclusively a CD deejay. The reason why is because the vinyl would be too heavy and big to move with me, a perfect media to travel with. In 1995 CD players with pitch did not exist, so in all the parties I attended in France before moving, I was investigating with the DJ's from there how I could manage to pitch up and down the music to beat match.