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 i:Vibes had a chat with Arnej Secerkadic aka 8 Wonders who produces trance out of Toronto, Canada and has had hits on the big labels such as Black Hole, Armind, Anjunabeats and Somatic Sense...
Arnej - Trance From Canada
Arnej Secerkadic aka Arnej hails from Toronto Canada and has been dazzling the trance community with innovative sounds the last years. He is also well known under his other guise, 8 Wonders, where he landed onto the scene in 2004 with ‘The Morning After’, which was released on Somatic Sense. He followed that with ‘8th Wonders’ in 2005 and the very beautiful and melodic ‘Sex On The Beach’, which was gobbled up and released on Anjunabeats in 2007.
His father got him interested in music at a young age, where he was interested in many genres of music. At the age of 14, he got interested in dance music and stumbled across psy and goa trance in the mid 90s. His early musical inspirations were Man With No Name and Astral Projection. Since 2007, he has concentrated on his new guise Arnej, releasing five stunning tracks. 2008 has been very busy as tracks have been and will be released on well known labels like Black Hole, Armind and Intuition Recordings. Tracks like ‘The Ones Get Away’ and ‘The Beauty That Lies Behind Those Green Eyes’ have proved that he is a very talented producer, who still has a big future ahead of him. The new 8 Wonders, ‘People Don’t Change’ will be released soon. i:Vibes had the chance to have a chat with the Toronto based producer…
i:Vibes: Hi Arnej, thanks for taking some time to talk to i:Vibes. How is your summer going? You seem to be busy in the studio!
Arnej: Hey hey! The summer has been a scorcher so far in Toronto, but as they say, if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen! :-) I've been quite busy, but when you're writing music you go through phases where sometimes you can produce an immense amount of work in a relatively short time and other times where nothing seems to want to come out! Luckily, for me the former is the case.
i:Vibes: You’re from Toronto, Canada. What was your childhood like? How accessible was electronica to you as a youngster?
Arnej: I was actually born in a small town outside of Sarajevo, Bosnia. I moved to Canada some 16 years ago, before the war started. There was not much exposure to electronic music back then. It's something I eventually got into during my early teen years.
i:Vibes: In the 90s, you were introduced to psy and goa trance. What made this style of music so interesting for you and how did it inspire you?
Arnej: What made it so interesting was just the array of different soundscapes and harmonies. I don't know if I'd say that it inspired me but it definitely intrigued me, until one day I discovered more melodic trance.
i:Vibes: One of your early musical inspirations was Astral Projection. How did this project inspire you?
Arnej: I wouldn't say they were/are an inspiration but definitely a stepping stone in exposing me to electronic music.
i:Vibes: What kind of education did you have? Did you go to college, just in case you wanted something to fall back on later in life?
Arnej: I went to College for an arts degree, although these days what I do is not really related to what I studied. I work in the video game industry, so that is my job and my fallback, the music thing is mostly a hobby that I hope to make something bigger out of.
i:Vibes: How is the Trance scene in Toronto? Everyone knows the famous club Guvernment, but how did you get into the trance scene in Toronto? Was it difficult and who helped you?
Arnej: That's a good question! As you may or may not know, tranceaddict.com, which is an extensive online trance forum, is actually run by a guy from Toronto, so that helped expose me to the scene in Toronto because there was always a large and very active online trance community that was local to me.
i:Vibes: What was the deciding moment, where you knew that you wanted to produce music? Did you have some kind of unforgettable experience in your life that gave you the deciding kick to make music?
Arnej: I don't think there was one defining moment that made me say “Hey, let's make music!”. I think it was more just my curiosity to actually try it and see what happens. Needless to say, the first few attempts were not that great, but as with anything, practice makes perfect.
i:Vibes: In 2004, you got your break releasing ‘The Morning After’ on Somatic Sense. Is it fair to say that DJ Precision, the label owner, not only gave you your break but even discovered you in Europe? How important was Pascal for your start?
Arnej: Pascal played a very big part in me starting up. Actually, I would say that if there was one thing that had the biggest impact on me starting up, it was Armin's radio show chatroom. That's where I met Jezper (aka Airbase) and he helped me spread the track around and eventually it fell into Pascal's hands.
i:Vibes: From 2004-2007, you didn’t produce as much, but now 2007-2008 you have done a lot as Arnej and Arney. Why were those first few years not as active for you as a producer?
Arnej: Well, just a general lack of inspiration and my trying to create music with certain genre clichés in mind. Once I got rid of that whole notion of 'you have to make it sound like track x', things progressed and rapidly so. This is mainly the reason why I've done more records in 2008 than all the previous years combined. It's important just to let yourself free of those boundaries and just make whatever it is you want!
i:Vibes: Is there a distinct difference between the 8 Wonders sound and Arnej sound or would you just classify it as beautiful trance?
Arnej: I'd say that the 8 Wonders sound is a bit more traditional trance, where as I have no genre restrictions under Arnej, I just make whatever comes to mind, but both encompass a certain melodic style that is I guess what defines me as me.
i:Vibes: In 2007, you released the melodic ‘Sex On The Beach’. Was this a difficult track to produce or did you bang it out quickly? What was the most difficult part to get right so the sound was just perfect for you?
Arnej: That was one of those ‘conform to the clinches of the genre’ tracks and it actually took me quite a long time to complete, as I could not fit the formula as well as I wanted. I also did 3 additional mixes that just added on top of the long production cycle.
i:Vibes: Soon you will release the new 8 Wonders, ‘People Don’t Change”. What can we expect from this track and who would you like to have as remixers?
Arnej: Actually, I just recently completed a 3 track EP which this track is also a part of, so that will be the package itself.
i:Vibes: 2008 has been very busy. You have releases out on Black Hole and Armind, the top trance labels. Have you realised your success as a producer or do you still need some one to pinch and tell you it’s all not a dream?
Arnej: I don't think what I do is that special that I need a 'reality check'. I just make what I like and hopefully someone else likes it too! Of course it is a great feeling to be on such big labels, but there are lots of talented folks out there with amazing music!
i:Vibes: ‘The Beauty That Lies Behind Those Green Eyes’ is a very very beautiful track released on Black Hole recordings. Oh how I love green eyes! What was the inspiration behind this track? I can imagine a wonderful lady??
Arnej: And you'd be correct! :-)
i:Vibes: I absolutely love your remix of ‘Sunlit Clouds’ for Mike Saint James. It is my favourite track at the moment - the best ambient track that I have heard since ‘Life Cycle’ from the Forerunners. What was the inspiration in making the remix the way you did?
Arnej: Thank you! The atmosphere for that track was not something I had in mind, in fact Flashover wanted a more clubby remix, but I just went with the flow and that was the end result.
i:Vibes: How difficult was making the remix for ‘Sunlit Clouds’? Was this a track that was difficult to make or did you bang it out quickly? What was the most difficult thing you had to get right, so the sound was perfect for you?
Arnej: As with most of my work these days, that was done in roughly a day. When Mike sent me the track, it took me only but a few minutes to find an 'Arnej melody' and from there, everything else was smooth sailing. I'd say the most difficult element in that track was the bassline. I'd probably say I'm still not that happy with it! :-)
i:Vibes: The atmosphere in ‘Sunlit Clouds’ is really breathtaking. Is this something you just create or do you actually have to be in some place mentally to get transformed in making the atmosphere the way it is?
Arnej: It was essentially one idea leading into another. You create one element and an idea for another comes to mind. For example, the whole “Flying through the air” during the breakdown was essentially inspired by the title itself. I thought “Wouldn't it be cool if it felt like you were flying through air?”. That's probably one of my favourite bits in the track.
i:Vibes: ‘The Ones That Get Away’ will be released on August 11th on Armin van Buuren’s label Armind. This is another stunning melodic trancer which could become the summer hit of 2008. What do you mean in the track name ‘The Ones That Get Away’? Who gets away? Was there a special inspiration in naming the track like this?
Arnej: As with most of my track titles, the title itself reflects upon something in my life. I don't want to go into too many details as to who/why/when, but I'll say that in life, you'll meet certain individuals who will take a big part of your life, and sometimes you lose them, for whatever reason! I think it's a title that everyone can relate to at some point in time.
i:Vibes: What surprises can we await from you in the latter half of 2008. Are there any collaborations planned?
Arnej: I am working on my first vocal single with Jaren, so look out for that! I have a lot of new material that is yet to be heard or released, so keep an ear out for that! As for collaborations, I will be collaborating with Leon Bolier in the near future, and who knows, maybe Tiesto? :-p (April fools joke from a few months ago)
i:Vibes: When you’re in the studio, do you have a certain pattern you take when producing a track or do you just start playing with sounds and then go from there?
Arnej: 9/10 times, I create a melody and then work the track around that, but a track doesn't always necessarily develop even if I have a melody that I think works well. After I have a melody that I like, the next step forward is creating a drum/bassline groove. After that it's all the filler things like percussion work, effects, and complimentary sub melodies.
i:Vibes: Besides your PC, with what piece of studio equipment could you not live without?
Arnej: Hmm, I don't think I actually have anything that I just can't do without. Obviously composing on the computer, it's the biggest chunk of hardware I have! I had several hardware synths a few years back, but that was essentially the extent of my studio hardware. These days computers and digital instruments are so powerful that you really don't need anything but a PC!
i:Vibes: With what current trance artist would you like to be locked away in the studio with for a day and produce a track?
Arnej: I'd love to see how Sander van Doorn does his thing. He's just so incredibly talented and everything he touches is an absolute club stormer!
i:Vibes: Trance has really experienced many styles in the last months. Deadmau5 bringing electro elements into trance and now Mike Saint Jules bringing a sort of new refreshing funky sound, but you’re sticking to beautiful melodic sounds. Do you think you could ever drastically change your sound?
Arnej: If there is any one element of my music that I'd say is “mine”, it'd be the style of melodies that I develop, so changing that would mean me not being me. My music will always encompass around a beautiful melody, no matter what genre it is.
i:Vibes: What is your opinion of the German Trance scene? It is getting smaller and smaller. What artists do you like and respect?
Arnej: It's a bit interesting for you to say that, given that Germany was probably one of the countries that probably had the biggest impact on this 'techno' thing that some call it. It's a bit of a shame to hear, but this music is so ever-evolving, who knows what the future holds. I respect guys like Alex M.O.R.P.H. for sticking to doing what he likes without much change over the years. Often you'll see people complain when an artist changes their style or sometimes even when they don't, so it's nice to see someone who just “sticks to their guns”.
i:Vibes: Who do you think will be the big breakout trance artist in 2008?
Arnej: Can I say Mike Saint-Jules? :) (he's gonna love me for saying this!)
i:Vibes: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Arnej: On a sunny beach somewhere in the Caribbean, running my world empire! :-p Who knows really, in 5 years, anything could happen. Maybe there'll be another 5 letter name DJ to be #1 - lookout Armin! :-)
i:Vibes: After hearing your remix for ‘Sunlit Clouds’, I could imagine you making soundtracks for movies.
Arnej: Oh thank you, but you're giving me way too much credit, ahah! I am not that good of a composer, scoring movie soundtracks is a whole other beast and requires an enormous amount of talent!
i:Vibes: What are your five current favourite tracks?
Arnej: Leon Bolier Vs. Kamaya Painters – Endless Ocean Wave
Cressida – 6 AM (KvA Mix)
Lustral – When My Satellite Falls Down (Terry Bones Mix)
Blackwatch & Greed - Gentle Rain (Glenn Morrison & Arnej Mix)
Arnej – Strangers We've Become :-p
i:Vibes: What are your five all time favourite tracks?
Arnej: Orinoko – Island (The Thrillseekers Mix)
The Thrillseekers – Synaesthesia
Cygnus X – Superstring (Rank 1 Mix)
Coast 2 Coast – Home
Gouryella - Valhalla
i:Vibes: What are your hobbies?
Arnej: I like to work out, a lot. :-) But besides that, doing things that most things do, movies, going out with friends, being silly, throwing water balloons at people from building tops, that kind of stuff! :-)
i:Vibes: Arnej, thanks for the interview! And please keep cranking out incredible tracks!
Arnej: You're very much welcome! I update my MySpace frequently, so for all up to date info, make sure you give it a visit, and leave some feedback, I always write back! :-)
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