Interview with DJ Ananda

[delusional]

Hi there,

 

Here goes a small preview of an interview we did with DJ Ananda, Red Cells label owner. They've recently released a compilation called Hunters that is seriously blasting off some dancefloors, so why not know more about them? You can read the rest of the interview at Psylosophy.com.

 

It was in a time where the psytrance scene was full of boring music that DJ Ananda had a vision. He saw the chance to get in the market and do something for the music, a chance to get it back on its feet. He surrounded himself of top-notch music makers like Triskell, Phatmatix and Digital Talk and founded Red Cells Records, a french label with some seriously innovative ideas. They've released their debut album, a compilation called Hunters, some time ago and we've decided to go talk to the man behind the label and see what they have in store for us in the future. Check it out!

 

I listen to a lot of black music, from Soul to Hip Hop. As a former Hip Hop DJ back in 1993, I still love the culture.

Psylosophy: What is Red Cells, who's the man behind it and how did it come about?

Ananda: My name’s is Simon and I am 31 years old. Born in 1974 in Cambodia and living in Paris (France). Red Cells Records is like a dream come true. It’s the psytrance label I’ve launched one and a half years ago alongside my mates Triskell, Phatmatix, Digital Talk and DJ Sayko Yan. You may find interesting news on us via www.redcellsrecords.com .

 

 

Psylosophy: What leads someone to one day get up and think «Hey, I'm gonna start a label...»?

Ananda: Well, as far as I am concerned, I’ve been working with two labels (Turbo trance and Mechanik Sound) from 1999 to 2004. My musical tastes have changed so I decided start the "Red Cells Adventure" in order to promote the music I like.

 

 

Psylosophy: Your first release just came out: a compilation called Hunters - must I say it's one hell of an album -, featuring some really top-notch artists, mostly from France. How would you describe this release?

Ananda: OBRIGADO! I am touched by your words which are pushing me more. This release, which is our first one and hopefully not the last, is a CD that describes a journey through psychedelic trance. I have compiled nine tracks from different artists in order to create a nice "voyage". It was hard because I did listen to a lot of very interesting and good artists before picking the ones I really enjoyed.

 

 

Psylosophy: What are your plans for future releases: are you gonna keep trying to spread french music worldwide, or will you also be betting on international acts a bit more?

Ananda: You are right, Red Cells Records is at the moment composed of French artists only. However, our compilations will always feature foreign atists too. We are a new born label so let’s wait and see what the furure will say...

 

 

Psylosophy: The album closes with a really neat chillout track by Blue Planet Corporation. I was kind of hoping your interest for downtempo music could result in a dub/chillout album sometime. Is this something we can be expecting in the future from Red Cells?

Ananda: I like down tempo music a lot. The idea of producing a chill album has grown in my head. It will hopefully be planned but I don’t know when yet.

 

 

Psylosophy: Are you interested in discovering new acts and giving them a push? If so, what kind of music are you looking for and how can people send it to you?

Ananda: Of course we are doing the best we can to promote music we enjoy most. Therefore discovering new acts outside of France is an aim for us. I do love a lot of psytrance stuff, no matter the styles, as long as it's good music for the body and brain. If your music represents a wonderful and powerful journey, please get in touch with me at ananda@redcellsrecords.com or send your material to:

 

Red Cells Records

31 Rue Ramus

75020 Paris

France

 

 

Psylosophy: How do you feel about the french psytrance scene these days?

Ananda: I'd say a lot of new structures (Promoters, labels...) have been created in France during the past three years. Some are really trying to push the music and its culture up and others are doin'g it just for fun. In all cases, France has great musicians and artists, a lot of potential, but we have a lot of difficulties to get authorisations to promote our music.

 

 

Psylosophy: Fred (Neuromotor) told us, in our last interview, that Paris is the worst place he ever played at. He said, quote: "The crowd is too strange [...] I don't like the way the promoters treat them and the way the people come to the party and act". From your personal experience, would you agree?

Ananda: This is his point of view, and I do not agree with him totally. Like everywhere in the world I guess, there are good and bad promoters as well as good and bad party people. Paris is far from being the best place to party but it's deffinitely not a bad one either. If you ask any foreign artists that has played in Paris, most of them will tell you they had a lot of fun. In my case, I’ve been performing in many big and small parties since 1998 and I was satisfied at 90% of my gigs. Maybe in Paris people don’t react as well as he wishes, in regards to his music. It’s true that in Paris most of the parties feature full-on DJs.

 

 

Psylosophy: What's the best country to party, by the way?

Ananda: Well I love Portugal and the friends I have there, the UK , India, Germany has great vibes but I really loved and enjoy performing in Russia and Brazil. Also, Switzerland has some awesome sceneries for outdoor parties and the vibes on the German side are great!

 

 

Psylosophy: There currently seems to be a label flood, where albums keep coming out just so label DJs and artists can get some gigs. What makes Red Cells different than all these other labels?

Ananda: That's an hard question. Hmm, we are trying to produce different stuff than other labels are producing nowadays. But we only promote the music we really enjoy. You should ask this question to the people that have purchased the CD and support us

 

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Entire interview @ Psylosophy.com