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LoginInterview: Orkidea talks Pure Progressive
Written by Remco on 12 September 2020 in Interviews
Orkidea's recently pole positioned the release of Pure Progressive’s first mix-compilation volume. For that reason TrancePodium's Michelle Christiansen sat down and had an in depth interview with him.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today! Congratulations on the release of your new album, "Pure Progressive Vol. 1”.
This album has been years in the making. Can you tell us a little bit about what has gone into the creation of this masterpiece?
Pure Progressive Vol 1 is a combination of an artist album and a mix compilation and that makes it quite special. It was originally meant to be “just” a dj mix but with Corona hitting us all, I had more time in my hands and decided to finish the artists album I thought I didn’t have time to make.
Also this being the very first Pure Progressive compilation felt special and a beginning of something bigger - just like the first Pure Trance compilation which I created with Solarstone back in early 2010s..
The first disc is your "Artist Mix," and features a lot of your new material. Do you have a favorite track or tracks from that disc that mean the most to you and why?
The Pure Progressive remix of Deepsky’s ‘Cosmic Dancer’ is one my personal favorites and a very special record to me as the original was a massive underground trance track in 1999. Also remixing Paul Oakenfold song was special as he is one of my alltime musical heroes.
Your new track, "That Feeling," has already found its way to the Beatport trance charts! What are your thoughts on that?
The album hit #1 in iTunes and Bestport charts which was really nice. I don’t make music for charts but success there means that people have found the music and that matters a lot.
You have been in the business for quite some time now. How would you say your sound has progressed over the years and how is that reflected in this album?
I come from the first generation of trance djs and I think that is reflected in the music. Trance was more underground, more hypnotic and less formulaic, commercial and cheesy back then and I try to keep that ethos this very day. Progressive trance is actually very close to how trance sounded in the early days. The 138 sound came later on. Also all of my songs draw inspiration from all the music I have played so it’s all part of a longer and bigger story.
The second disc features some great tracks by some amazing artists. How did you decide on the songs you wanted to include on this disc?
Rich Solarstone was big help in curating the second disc with all the amazing music he is sent for the label and I’m very thankful for all the amazing music we got through that. I also had a list of certain producers (like Forerunners, Yotto, Paul Thomas and Grum) who are current favorites and I definitely wanted somewhere on the record. And then there are Finnish goodies which I wanted to include as there is so much great music coming from Finland - like Milla Lehto and Allende.
What has been your favorite part of making this album?
The whole rode haha! Creating the originals, finding inspiring music, mixing it, premiering album live at ASOT and planning the whole concept - it’s been all very very exciting.
How has the pandemic had an effect on your work and on the release of Pure Progressive Vol. 1?
Yes very much so. I had more time in early 2020 when all my gigs and events were cancelled so I had the opportunity to finish the artist album.
What else do you have in store for us in the near future?
The near future includes mainly releasing all the originals and remixes from the album, which should take rest of the year hehe. Then there are some very special plans for our Classical Trancelations concept (which combines electronic music classics with symphonic orchestra) but more about that later on...
Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us. Is there anything else I may have missed or that you'd like to say to your fans at this time?
Thank you million times for everyone who listens, plays and diggs the music! I am eternally grateful for each and everyone one of you and feel privileged to be part of life’s soundtrack <3
This album has been years in the making. Can you tell us a little bit about what has gone into the creation of this masterpiece?
Pure Progressive Vol 1 is a combination of an artist album and a mix compilation and that makes it quite special. It was originally meant to be “just” a dj mix but with Corona hitting us all, I had more time in my hands and decided to finish the artists album I thought I didn’t have time to make.
Also this being the very first Pure Progressive compilation felt special and a beginning of something bigger - just like the first Pure Trance compilation which I created with Solarstone back in early 2010s..
The first disc is your "Artist Mix," and features a lot of your new material. Do you have a favorite track or tracks from that disc that mean the most to you and why?
The Pure Progressive remix of Deepsky’s ‘Cosmic Dancer’ is one my personal favorites and a very special record to me as the original was a massive underground trance track in 1999. Also remixing Paul Oakenfold song was special as he is one of my alltime musical heroes.
Your new track, "That Feeling," has already found its way to the Beatport trance charts! What are your thoughts on that?
The album hit #1 in iTunes and Bestport charts which was really nice. I don’t make music for charts but success there means that people have found the music and that matters a lot.
You have been in the business for quite some time now. How would you say your sound has progressed over the years and how is that reflected in this album?
I come from the first generation of trance djs and I think that is reflected in the music. Trance was more underground, more hypnotic and less formulaic, commercial and cheesy back then and I try to keep that ethos this very day. Progressive trance is actually very close to how trance sounded in the early days. The 138 sound came later on. Also all of my songs draw inspiration from all the music I have played so it’s all part of a longer and bigger story.
The second disc features some great tracks by some amazing artists. How did you decide on the songs you wanted to include on this disc?
Rich Solarstone was big help in curating the second disc with all the amazing music he is sent for the label and I’m very thankful for all the amazing music we got through that. I also had a list of certain producers (like Forerunners, Yotto, Paul Thomas and Grum) who are current favorites and I definitely wanted somewhere on the record. And then there are Finnish goodies which I wanted to include as there is so much great music coming from Finland - like Milla Lehto and Allende.
What has been your favorite part of making this album?
The whole rode haha! Creating the originals, finding inspiring music, mixing it, premiering album live at ASOT and planning the whole concept - it’s been all very very exciting.
How has the pandemic had an effect on your work and on the release of Pure Progressive Vol. 1?
Yes very much so. I had more time in early 2020 when all my gigs and events were cancelled so I had the opportunity to finish the artist album.
What else do you have in store for us in the near future?
The near future includes mainly releasing all the originals and remixes from the album, which should take rest of the year hehe. Then there are some very special plans for our Classical Trancelations concept (which combines electronic music classics with symphonic orchestra) but more about that later on...
Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us. Is there anything else I may have missed or that you'd like to say to your fans at this time?
Thank you million times for everyone who listens, plays and diggs the music! I am eternally grateful for each and everyone one of you and feel privileged to be part of life’s soundtrack <3
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