After the release of his debut album in 2006, the Rasta Blasta aka Vectro Electro revisits the psytrance dominion with a bang in September 2008. His new album is one that illustrates his technical and creative prowess and more importantly, it’s a breath of fresh air. Divyan Salotra recently had the chance to get up close and personal with the man himself...

Divyan: Hey Vectro! Two years ago you took the trance world by surprise, with the release of your first album, ‘Rasta Blasta’. Your much-awaited second album was released just last month. Can you tell our readers about the conceptualization & Style of “Beat Em Up?”

Vectro Electro: The style of my new album can be termed as intense dance floor psytrance with hints of dark, groovy and at times, Full on elements. It's named after the Beat Em Up style of video games which are full of non-stop action and can be played over and over again without the slightest bit of monotony. The concept behind the album is to break the boundaries that stand tall between the many subgenres of psytrance. At the same time it has a secondary connotation that encourages people to break the everyday system that doesn’t let us, “the tribe of free-thinking people", enjoy life as we want. To epitomize, this album was created with a two pronged view – first and foremost, it aims at  creating a responsive environment across the dance floors around the world, and secondly for home listening (in which case careful listeners who go deep into the music will find many treasures).

Divyan: You decided to release the new album on the India based record label - Samsara Recordings. Also, you played in Goa last year. What effect did “Gods Own Country” have on your music and lifestyle?

Vectro Electro: I’ve abided by the unwritten rules of psytrance culture since the early 90's, been breathing the early electronic beats and experiencing its every aspect from the very beginning. I grew up in that psychedelic vortex. At the time, it was all about Goa trance and India. People who visited the subcontinent always came back wearing Om and Ganesha on their t-shirts.

Before the India tour I had blocked myself from mainstream trance because I had started to get bored of it. It seemed to me as though every artist was copying another. However, the Full on I heard in Goa softened my mind and gave me a new perspective of a hybrid trance style which speaks to all kinds of psyfreaks all at once. This is what I have implemented in my new album.

I decided to release the album on Samsara Recordings because I trust in the vision and professionalism of the people who work to realize a dream. Nowadays there are many unserious and untrustworthy labels worldwide and good music that gets improper promotion and bad marketing which does not fulfill the primary purpose of the artist which is a real shame. Not to speak of artists being ripped off by labels.
 
Divyan: Can you give us a brief history of the “project of your life”?

Vectro Electro: I started dj'ing at parties in 2000 and got abrogated from the army because of the many parties I had commitments to play at. A few years later, I started creating my own music and in 2004 I had my first release. Today, I’m proud to have come a long way with two albums and numerous releases on compilations worldwide.
Vectro Electro has grown in varied ways and I have worked hard to ensure my project is well-known in the Israeli Psy-circuit. Albums help me gain recognition worldwide, which gives me the opportunity to perform abroad and spread my philosophy to a diverse group of people.

In the future I plan to release more Vectro Electro music. Some interesting collaborations with other artists are on the way. Besides that I am working on side projects of electronic genres like chill out and IDM (High-M and Shanti Alien project). I also record and produce some non-electronic music for other projects.
 
Divyan: In the trance industry “Israel talent” is a commonly heard adage. What is the current musical direction of Israel? Do you think it’s slowly but surely swaying toward progressive trance?

Vectro Electro: Israel has many famous progressive talents as well, such as Perfect stranger, Ace Ventura, Quantize and many more. But it's not the main or only musical direction. There are talented artists of all trance genres. As a community we enjoy all kinds of trance, be it aggressive or progressive.

Some people like to party hard while others prefer gentle beats and sounds. Events have become more genre specific to satisfy the diverse musical tastes. Personally I like faster & harder beats but if to speak of slower music, I prefer Minimal Techno to Progressive. It's more complex and innovating even though it is not at a high tempo.

Divyan: Thanks Vectro! For taking the time out to share your perspective with the fans! Last words for our readers?

Vectro Electro: Think Free, Be Free, Be True, and Love for Real!

http://www.myspace.com/vectroelectro