After a year of hit releases under his ALPHA 9 moniker (including ‘The Night Is Ours‘ and ‘Skin‘), Arty showcased the trance vibes he is known for at Dreamstate SoCal 2017. From the sidelines of the ‘Dream' stage, I was able to get a glimpse of the many emotions that fans expressed during his set—fans that sang along to his tracks, fans that erupted in dance whenever a beat would drop and fans that stared out into the face of the Russian producer in sheer joy.
While he is no stranger to the EDM world, Arty focused on other genres over the past few years and finally brought back his signature trance sounds when he toured as ALPHA 9 earlier this year. His return has been so successful that he's been featured on the A State of Trance 2017 year mix compilation album.
The project made its way to the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino last week and I was lucky enough to chat with Arty immediately after his set.
Arty performing as ALPHA 9 at Dreamstate SoCal. Photo: Insomniac.
You just finished a killer set here at Dreamstate, how are you feeling?
Arty: I'm feeling really good. I'm really happy with the set I just played.
What made you decide to showcase your ALPHA 9 project at Dreamstate?
Arty: The reason I put out the ALPHA 9 project is to get back to my roots; I've been experimenting with different sounds– I've done Pop music, Indie music and I felt like I was about to burn out. Then I took a step back and looked at the entire picture of my career and realized how much I missed making trance music.
What kind of Trance sounds are you showcasing with ALPHA 9?
Arty: A lot of people will say it's not a Trance set because it's a little slow—it ranges between 128 and 132 bpm—but for me, the music that I'm playing for ALPHA 9 is trance music. I like to have the big breakdowns and just have people listen to it and enjoy the different transitions.
How important is an event like Dreamstate for a trance artist like yourself?
Arty: Dreamstate has grown up so fast—two years ago it was just a franchise that was trying to get trance back to where it was years ago. But they found so many fans that never left. They realized people want to hear our music.
I was introduced to your ALPHA 9 alias over the summer in San Francisco where you played at AudioSF alongside Spencer Brown. How was the tour?
Arty: That was the best show of the ALPHA 9 tour. The tour was a great way to showcase to my fans what I can do. Since then I've worked on new music and what you just heard now—my sound changed since then.
You've released a few tracks since then, are you working on anything at the moment?
Arty: Right now the year is done; whats out is out and were focusing on 2018. I'll be taking a nice break in December so I can actually focus on production and set up the next year. There's a bunch of ideas in my heads for collaborations and a bunch of ideas for singles.
You keep yourself very busy, how do you keep yourself grounded?
Arty: Love to my family and my friends; that's the only thing that keeps me grounded. Without them everything would go to shit. I'm from a small province in Russia where things were rough for a lot of years. I've learned to appreciate everything more because of the struggle.
Arty and myself after his set at Dreamstate SoCal.
Follow Arty on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with the latest from his ALPHA 9 project.
