Andrew Rayel — musical prodigy, modern day Mozart, the future of trance, whatever you’d like to call him — is truly a master of his craft and continues to make waves in the world of trance music. With two successful albums under his belt on the esteemed Armada label, Rayel continues to push out breathtaking productions, but now on his own successful imprint, inHarmony Music.
From his time in the studio, Find My Harmony radioshow, his relatively new label, and nonstop tour and festival appearances, Andrew Rayel is continuously on the go. Despite his ultra busy schedule, Rayel made some time to chat with us before his epic A State of Trance performance at Tomorrowland festival. We discussed the astonishing festival itself, his label inHarmony Music, trance vocalists, the true meaning behind finding your harmony, and more.
RR – How has your time at Tomorrowland been so far?
AR – Absolutely incredible! This is the second weekend I’m actually playing. Last weekend, I did a beautiful set at Tomorrowland Main Stage. The Main Stage feels like nothing else, it was totally special with all of the flags in the crowd. The way it looks from the DJ booth is just incredible. I don’t think you can see that anywhere else. All those people, the flags, it looks huge! I already played a set in The Brewery today. It was a very small pop-up thing for the fans. In a few hours, A State of Trance. I’m really looking forward to premiering a lot of new music over there. I kept all the fresh things for ASOT.
RR – You’ve played festivals worldwide for many years now, is there a certain factor that you believe makes Tomorrowland stand out in comparison to other dance music festivals?
AR – It’s crazy, I tell this constantly to people… at Tomorrowland, you see flags from countries that are actual real world enemies. There’s obviously countries that are fighting, which is not good at all, but then you come to Tomorrowland and you see those countries’ flags next to each other, they’re dancing, jumping, and hugging each other. They don’t care about any of that. I think politicians should come to Tomorrowland and take a look at this, how people unite. They don’t care about what political reason they’re fighting about, just be happy and live in peace together.
RR – That’s beautiful! Music truly unites all. Now, let’s talk about your label. You launched inHarmony Music last year under Armada, how’s it been being a label boss?
AR – Oh, it’s great being a label boss, I actually bought a suit (laughs). No, its actually the same thing I was doing before, just trying to find new talent, but now I get to choose when I can release those tracks and make a plan for myself for the entire year. It’s obviously not just me. We have an entire crew that is working on the label. And now I’m searching for new talent all over the world. I find a lot of talented guys and help them mix and master their tracks. I finish them, pretty much, because sometimes new producers have great ideas, but they don’t always know how to finish them, so I take the time to finish those tracks and move them forward for release. I don’t want to just put random stuff on my label.
RR – That’s amazing! Any exciting news you’d like to share with us regarding your label or any details on new music you’re currently working on?
AR – Well, the most exciting thing is actually the single we’re gonna be releasing on August 3 (available on all platforms here.) It’s something completely different from what I’ve done before. I would say it’s a pop song, pretty much. There’s going to be a club mix, which I’m actually premiering today, the club mix of A State of Trance, but the original mix is going to be out August 3. It’s a collaboration with a great producer, Fernando Garibay, and great vocalist, Jake Torrey. The track is called “Last Summer” and it’s a slow, very summer vibe type of song that you listen to in the car and remember those amazing memories from the last summer or this summer. It’s beautiful.
RR – What is the best part, as well as the most challenging aspect of running your own label?
AR – Well it’s challenging to constantly have quality releases and keep up with a busy schedule because I still have a lot of shows to perform. I still have to create my own music. I still have to do the radioshow. Now on top of all of that, I have to find new talent and help them finish their tracks. There’s just a lot of extra work and all of this. This whole rhythm of life is very challenging because sometimes I get really tired and want to quit, but then I take a nap and wake up, and ehh no I don’t.
RR – Your Moments album and many singles thereafter have featured a plethora of talented vocalists including Jonathan Mendelsohn, Lola Blanc, Emma Hewitt, HALIENE and more. Any vocalists that you have yet to work with that you’re eager to get in the studio with?
AR – Um… that’s a hard question. I always wanted to do a track with Emma Hewitt. Up until last year, that was my dream trance collaboration and then we did “My Reflection.” I mean obviously I’d love to do a track with Beyonce, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, but on a more realistic scale, I don’t know. HALIENE was also one of my dream collaborations after she did “Saving Light” with Gareth. We did a track together called “In The Dark.” There’s also a really good vocalist, her name is KARRA. She was also working with HALIENE. I’d love to do a track with her.
RR – Since your debut album and radioshow are called, Find Your Harmony, and your label is inHarmony Music, what does “finding your harmony” mean to you?
AR – A lot of people think that the Find Your Harmony brand is specifically and exclusively related only to music, when in reality, to me, finding my harmony would be finding that place in the world where I feel happy, that person in the world that would make me feel happy, that job or that action, which I already found – making music and everything. So it’s a bunch of elements in life and when I find all of those elements and collect them all, then I’ll be able to tell everyone that I found my harmony and my life is perfect now. But usually that happens towards the end of our lives.
RR – It seems as though you have a special relationship with the Rayel family. Is there anything you’d like to share with your fans?
AR – Rayel family has been the best. It was my birthday last Friday and they recorded a video. Individual members of Rayel family put together a montage of birthday wishes. I almost cried. I’m not a very sensitive, actually I can be pretty sensitive. Anyways, it was very emotional. I would like to thank them for that beautiful gift they gave me. I promise that I’m going to do my best to make them new music, meet with them, take pictures, anything they want.
We would like to thank Andrew Rayel for taking the time to chat with us and delivering an unforgettable performance at Tomorrowland!
Connect with Andrew Rayel:
https://www.facebook.com/Andrew.Rayel
https://twitter.com/Andrew_Rayel
https://www.instagram.com/andrew_rayel
http://www.andrewrayel.com
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