EDM is a progressive genre because it’s constantly changing and evolving. The rules are dictated by delicately bound strings that are often being pulled in every direction. Boldly challenging electronic music’s most vigorous boundaries is underground Parisian DJ trio, Apollonia. Independently, they are Dan Ghenacia, Dyed Soundorom and Shonky, all established DJs with their own unique style. Together their energies form Apollonia, an entity that has been captivating the industry with their incredible B2B2B sets.
During Electric Zoo, WhiteRaverRafting’s spirits were lifted by Apollonia’s transcendental performance. Sunday School Grove fell into a deep trance that weekend with their liquid beats and 90’s techno vibes. Even the trio’s vocal samples and kicks tickled feelings of nostalgia deep within us, though nuanced with a modern twist as intriguing as their name.
Dan Ghenacia: The inspiration was coming from Prince, and Apollonia was the girlfriend of Prince in the movie Purple Rain. Because the style, modern music, is the concept he had behind what he called Minneapolis Sound, which was a mixture of black music and white soul. In electronic terms, this is what is inside our music.
The music venue, First Avenue, proved to be more than just clever word play in the film Purple Rain. Not only is it Prince’s intimate rehearsal space, but it’s the core of his character; an outlet where he really developed himself as an artist. A pinnacle point in every musician’s life is establishing a foundation, making us wonder how the First Avenues in Apollonia’s careers helped them advance to where they are today.
Dan Ghenacia: My first DJ set ever, in a club, was in San Diego in ’96. I was there just to learn English for a few months, and I came back a DJ. My mentor in music was Mark E Quark from San Diego, and he had the night every Monday, you know, gay club.
Music aficionados know that gay clubs are hubs for amazing underground dance music.
Dan Ghenacia: Yeah, and I played there for the first time.
Shonky: We were going a lot when Dan was playing at Batofar. I mean I’ve done some clubs before, but which one I really kept in my mind, that changed my perspective, my way of thinking was that club.
Dan Ghenacia: I was resident to this club called Batofar which was a boat, an after party. And actually it’s where we started to play this style of music, and really trying to – at the time it was not very common. Most DJs were playing house or techno, it was really strict. We were mixing it all together, so I’m used to doing it.
Steadily dominating the airwaves and tour circuits, Apollonia also effortlessly graced the cover of Mixmag in August. Though they’ve all enjoyed their separate successes as individual artists, they’re thriving as a team, something that must be as thrilling as it is fulfilling.
Dan Ghenacia: It was surreal being on the cover of Mixmag. It was really cool.
Shonky: In Ibiza, it was in Ibiza.
Dan Ghenacia: We actually did the shoot at a friend’s house. She has a beautiful house, and she let us do the shooting there. It was a really beautiful day that day.
Hailing from France, working on the album in Berlin, and spinning major parties in Ibiza strengthens their credibility as globally diverse artists. Subsequently, the very concept of their sound is derived from eclectic inspirations all throughout the music spectrum. By trekking the globe so frequently, Apollonia has been able to gain multiple perspectives within the scene. We wondered if there were fundamental differences between the European and American techno scenes.
Dan Ghenacia: I’ve seen the network we are in America, and it’s pretty similar to Europe. Probably smaller at the moment, but in a way, very good development. It’s growing so quickly.
Shonky: It’s growing everywhere.
Few things are culturally iconic like Prince’s famed cloud guitar. It exists almost as a sentient being, an otherworldly instrument bestowed upon him by his girlfriend Apollonia. Symbolically, every artist dreams of obtaining their own cloud guitar one day. Apollonia shares theirs with us.
Shonky: I’m super happy to achieve what is happening for us at the moment. Traveling together, playing together – it’s a really nice achievement for us.
Dan Ghenacia: Yeah because I think the worst enemy of the DJ is the loneliness at some point. And traveling is the most difficult thing, I think. I always say, we get paid to travel not to play. When we travel together, it’s all about fun so it makes the party even better.
Traveling together isn’t just healing for the soul, it’s also a technical aspect to Apollonia’s performances. Known for their infamous B2B2B sets and extended plays, there is a special goal they hope to illustrate with their music.
Dan Ghenacia: And that’s what we’re looking for, at some point, is the state of trance. When you play very many hours, there’s one point you don’t feel the time. It’s almost like meditation.
Through that statement, Dan finally expressed in tangible words the emotions that beat inside the hearts of musicians everywhere. Equipped with such ardent passion, we were dying to know what we could expect from the new album.
Shonky: A lot of success (laughs). We were working together in Berlin for six months. The album, we put a lot of energy. It was really nice to work together. We have a really cool synergy. I think we are super happy with the result of the project, and I guess we’ll see how other people will receive it, but we’re happy. We’re really happy.
Dan Ghenacia: I have a lot of pleasure to listen to it, because all the tracks are playable, but we mixed it in a really big studio in Paris with Philippe Zdar from Cassius. It’s not mixing electronic music, it’s mixing rock, like rock bands. He did the famous Beastie Boys album, and he wants to try to mix some of our tracks off our album for people to listen at home, not only for the club. He gave a certain dimension to the music with his mixing, and I have to say that this is what I really like about this album – that you can listen to it from the beginning to the end as if it were just one track, like a mix – and it works. We did some interludes and intro, outro-
Shonky: It can be home, but it stays in the club feeling. We’ve been building the story on the album, like a mix we could do. We start deep, we go more clubby – it’s only one hour and we usually play longer than that.
So how can you revel in the full Apollonia experience? By attending a show on their new world tour. The title, Tour à Tour, captures the essence of their album and tour perfectly. (Find out below how you can win two free tickets to any show on their tour, along with their brand new debut album!)
Dan Ghenacia: It’s an expression to alternate, and it’s because of the B2B2B.
Shonky: When we play together, we always play B2B.
Dan Ghenacia: One record each.
Shonky: That’s the purpose of it.
WhiteRaverRafting wondered if there was a particular reason for performing B2B.
Dan Ghenacia: It’s just to keep the groove, and have the same lap of time between each record more or less. And like that, you don’t lose your concentration.
Shonky: And we fit with each other. We try to be more than one artist, like if Dan was playing three tracks, it would be completely different. We get into the same synergy, and the same groove.
Dan Ghenacia: The goal is to sound like Apollonia. B2B is, I would say, like a competition between two DJ’s, and when we are three, we really try to be just one.
Lastly, we wanted to know how it felt spinning in the heart of NYC at Electric Zoo.
Dan Ghenacia: I was really happy to play, it’s been many years that I’ve wanted to play for Sunday School. We did it!
Ending on a highly positive note, there was one thing we could all agree on.
Dan Ghenacia: Yeah, it’s all about the groove.
Enter below to win an exclusive Apollonia Prize Package including two tickets to any show on their North American tour, as well as a copy of their debut album. Contest ends October 10th, 2014 at 5:00PM so enter quickly! And don’t forget to pick up a copy of Tour à Tour October 20th, 2014.
Tour à Tour North America
October 10 Brooklyn, NY @ Output
October 11 Montreal, Canada @ Stereo
October 12 Las Vegas, NV @ SLS – Underground Sundays
October 15 Boston, MA @ Bijou
October 17 Washington DC @ U Street Music Hall
October 18 Miami, FL @ Club Space
October 24 San Francisco, CA @ Sunset Boat Cruise
October 25 Los Angeles @ Exchange
October 31 Chicago, IL @ Lacuna Lofts
November 01 San Bernardino, CA @ Escape From Wonderland – ENTER.
Connect with Apollonia
https://www.facebook.com/ApolloniaMusic
https://twitter.com/ApolloniaMusic
https://soundcloud.com/apolloniamusic
Connect with Electric Zoo
www.electriczoofestival.com
www.facebook.com/ElectricZoo
www.twitter.com/ElectricZooNY
www.instagram.com/electriczoony
www.electriczoony.tumblr.com
Photo Credits: Mixmag
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