S.U.N. Project Interview & Reviews

Updated 2 years ago

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Nyanim 1
meets S.U.N. Project

playing for Tsunami 2003
by Ari Davidov
See Bottom for Review!

Introduction

S U.N. Project are no strangers to New York  trance parties, having made numerous appearances here over the past few years.  They are back in town, fresh on the heels of the release of their newest album “Sexperimental”, which came out in May of this year.  Most widely recognized for their explosive live acts, they are some of the leading producers and showmen in the world of trance today. 
Matthias, McCoy and Marco all hail from Hamburg, Germany.  There, for a decade now and counting, they have been converting scores of rockers into trancers, helping wear out plenty of dancing shoes, pleasing the ears of even the most seasoned psytrance fans with pioneering and genre-bending music and inspiring a very dynamic open-air party scene.  
We caught up with them as they were leaving for a show in London,  and so were pressed for time; as a result, some of the questions here are from previous interviews conducted over the years.

interview sunproject image003


Interview

So when and how did it all begin for you, and where does your signature sound come from?
All of us have been playing in different Heavy Metal, Grunge and Rock bands before, and it seems it’s good to make music together with people that have got the same roots. McCoy was always a drummer (like now), Marco was playing bass guitar (now it’s just a synth bass) and Matthias was the guitarist (like in our concerts, now). In winter 1992/1993 we went to Goa/India just to make holydays because a friend of us had a house down there. At that time we didn’t know `bout Trance parties. But one evening somebody invited us to come to a party at Bamboo Forest, and when we arrived we couldn’t believe what we saw and heard. Normally we hated electronic music but after one hour we found ourselves dancing in the middle of the crowd. All these positive vibes made us feel like we found our home. From then on we went to every Trance Party but we continued to make Heavy Metal music until 1995. That year we finally bought our first Atari-computer and a few synths. We started to copy the tracks which we heard on the Goa-parties, but they sounded different because we kept our rock influences. Antaro from Spirit Zone liked our tracks, so we released our first 12″ on his label in 1996. For a first release it was very successful and so Antaro released our first album “Drosophila” in February 1997. And here we are years later, still at it…

How does each of you contribute creatively when working on new tracks and where do you draw your inspiration?
To build a track means a lot of trying out new sequences, new samples, new rhythms and weird sounds. Sometimes you don’t have any ideas until you hear a special noise and this noise inspires you to something which you didn’t think about, before. Marco and Mc Coy are working in the S.U.N.- Studio I and Matthias is working in the S.U.N.- Studio II.. Each of us have their own ideas of our future projects which we discuss in a join meeting (The most important job is to decide which parts are good enough for the song and which not). Basically Marco is responsible for the technical part (Mixing etc.); Mc Coy and Matthias are both computer freaks and responsible for the arrangements and creation of new sounds. At least we are doing the mastering together in S.U.N. – Studio I.

S.U.N. – what does that stand for? You must get this question a lot, or maybe that is the point?
It means S.tupid U.nrespectable N.oise… just kidding, it’s just a nice and positive name… who doesn’t like the sun?

For the studio buffs, what kind of equipment do you use?
Each one of us has got his own studio where he can work independently if he wants. We’re using PC and Apple computers, Logic Audio and Steinberg Cubase programs. We still use more Midi than Audio. Each one of us got EMU Samplers and synths like Waldorf Microwave 1, Nord lead, Acess Virus, Roland MKS80, Oberheim Matrix and some old analog synths. We have Tascam mixing desks and many effect machines but it would be too much to name them all. Since 1995 we have invested a hell of a money in our equipment.

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When you are on the stage, tell us how the live elements of your act come into play?
With any kind of techno-music it is difficult – you can’t play everything live, even if you are only three guys. So, what we do is to play to the sequencer, and make live-overdubbings with electric-guitar, electronic-drums, digital- and analog-synthesizer.

Why do you wear alien masks during your live shows?  Do you believe in alien forms of life or some such extra-terrestrial power?
The universe is so unbelievable big that it would be stupid to say “there’s only live on planet earth”. For sure there will be more life forms out there- It’s only a shame that they are too far away. So we try to be our own aliens!  We wear the alien-masks because they look much better than our real faces. Unfortunately its so hot underneath that we have to put them off after the first track of our live show.

Recently you have been involved in solo projects or collaborations with other artists: C.O.N. Sequencer, Slap, Ouija, and Marco Menichelli.  You still plan on staying together, right? 
Sure we stay together! S.U.N. Project is our most precious child even if sometimes there comes a new album from one of our side projects.


They had more time before the show in New York, here it is.

1. How has your new album been received world-wide and what makes it different for you from the previous albums?
It has been received very positive, mostly. Especially in Japan the people love it and there we sold more pieces than in any other country. There are 3 tracks on the album with guitar inside. In Germany there are a few people who say that they are tired of guitars in trance-tracks but we don’t give a shit about that because we love guitars, it’s our special style, we are rockers originally and anyway most trancers love it like us !  The first track on Sexperimental is a very dark slow-tempo track which we have not made before. It’s not a easy listening track at all. I think the other tracks are typical S.U.N. Project but produced fresher and more modern than the older albums.

2. What has your tour schedule been like? Any memorable events you have played at recently?
Last weekend we have played directly at the beach of the dead sea in Israel in front of 7.000 people..that was a great view !  In the summer we have played at also beautyful sites like on an old castle in the middle of the switzerland mountains. A few weeks ago we performed in a big arena for bullfights in center of Mexico city. We play so many concerts, itґs hard to say which have been the best ones..

3. What producers/bands do you consider your influences and what is the source of your inspiration in the studio?
Our influences are from Rock and heavy metal mainly (Jimi Hendrix, old Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, old Metallica and so on. In our private life we don’t listen very much to trance music.

4. Where have you played in the States before, and will you be playing more dates here in the future?
Since 1998 have played a few times in NYcity, San Francisco and LA. Of course we want to play more concerts there but somebody has to book us 🙂 so we are waiting…

5. What was the idea behind the “The Remixes” project?
We just wanted some of our track been remixed by other trance artists because with expected it to be very interesting for us and for the listeners how the new versions will sound like. In the end the half of the tracks from that album we liked and the other half we didn’t like so much but the listeners have to build their own opinion.

6. As producers of very eclectic music, what would you classify your sound as?
Rocky psychedelic trance.

7. You have played at rock-style shows and at dance parties through the years.  What vibe do you like better and why?
We like both but anyway we try to play every show very “rock style”.

8. Do you play unreleased material during your live sets?
Yeah, 3 or 4 tracks.

9. Do you think on-line music file sharing is helping or hurting your success?
For countries where you cannot buy our cd’s anyway maybe it’s helping us that the people still can listen to our tracks and so they know us better. But normally it makes it hard to live by making music so many artists are forced to do other jobs and don’t have enough time and money to produce good trance tracks. Anyway the most of the trance labels went down because of this.

10. You have been featured on several chill-out compilations.  Is this a whole other side of S.U.N.?
On how many chill-out albums we have been featured? I thought it’s not many but maybe I lost control? We at least produce 1 or 2 chill out tracks for every of our albums since 1997 but we just are not famous for this kind of trance but still we hope the listeners think that we don’t make this job too bad…? We like chill out music very much! Only it’s not easy to fall asleep during production  😉

11. Do you think your style of guitar-fuelled trance and the type of live show that you make has converted many metal and punk fans into trancers?
We hope so and we think so!  Many times people on parties told us that they didn’t like trance until they listened to our guitar trance tracks just by accident!

For more information about S.U.N. Project, including their discography and photos, log on to their web site www.sun-project.de.

SUN Project Review

By nan@hipchix.net and Jehan

WOW! That S.U.N Project party last nite at Arc was pretty damn skippy (as Paul would say). Huge kudos to Tsanami for one of the best big parties I’ve been to in a long time. And it was definitely needed.

For myself last nite was the culmination of one long week from hell. I worked a nine day stretch because I worked an extra day, as requested. Retail, remember? >;-) Plus, on top of the nine days the last 3 were about opening a new store up on 59th St. By Bloomingdales.
Alot of manual labor, breathing noxious paint fumes and the general contractor’s cigarette smoke. And you all know how I feel about those! >:-P

And on top of that, last nite was the third party in a row, on top of a nine day work week, that I attended. The build up from Thursday night at Karma then to Tagine then to Arc was quite a ride. I had to make sure to pace myself and reserve energy not only for work but for last nite knowing it was the 3rd of the 3.

Only when I was cosmic surfing last nite did I realize that this party was pretty damn special and it was no mistake the rough road getting to it. And I ain’t talkin potholes in the city streets.

I got there around 1:30 with Jehan, his female companion (sorry memory shorts from lack of sleep keeps me from remembering her name, among at least 5-6 lately. Ouch. My apologies.) and Mr. Michel.

Not much of a line outside which was good. Bouncers a little gruff but that’s to be expected. Ha! And when asked for my I.D. a second time I questioned the dude inside as to why he needed it again and he said to make sure they were real. I had been watching him collect others and put them into a computer. That was the one thing that didn’t sit well with me and when I asked him why and he told me he waived my I.D. and Jehan’s girl friend’s as well.

The reduced list worked! Wow! I was actually on it…hahahha. And, for lower than what I was expecting to pay which was $25. Mike got me in for $20 so that was a score. Thanks, Mike!

The space was nicely lit, cool, not smokey save for the smoke machines and crowded just enough.
Even as the night wore on it never got to the point where it was total madness. Everyone was chill and respectful of each other. Decent crowd of people. Not the usual psytrance heads or any one faction say Israeli out numbering any one else. Though there were a few rather in-my-face guys that I had to jockey around. Not bad tho, not bad.

I ran into a couple friends who told me they weren’t into the vibe of the party and thought they would leave. I told them to come back as it would probably pick up later. Most psytrance parties have to warm up, at least to some degree before the main act gets on. This was no exception. In fact, it was probably more noticable than usual given how the party turned out vs the energy in the invisible landscape vs the visible landscape vs NYC vs the World, etc. Even I was skeptical at one point but didn’t linger
on it. I just bounced on the sidelines until it felt right to do otherwise. Which I eventually did.

I wanted a drink so when back to the bar and found them only to be serving juices, water and like that.
I got an orange juice and moved back to the dancefloor. Ohyeah, before that I noticed an Asian dude about to light up a smoke and you all know how I feel about those, right? Anyway, I bit my tongue because I wanted to go up and let him know that there was no smoking in the club. But, I didn’t have to because one of the security dudes was on him in a minute and you should have seen the look on this Asian dude’s face when security showed up! So…I got what I wanted and didn’t have to do a thing. Hehehheh. Nice
when things work out like that, right? >;-)

I was so impressed with the lack of alcohol and cigarettes. It’s really amazing (or is it?) how much alcohol fucks things up. It befuddles the mind. And not having any alcohol being served last nite was a stroke of genius in my opinion. When there’s a party of that caliber going on the last thing they want is to have the people braindead on alcohol. It’s incredible how dangerous that shit is. Especially when you’re not
paying attention. Guess they wanted everyone’s attention last nite and they got it.

Whoever played (MOD?) before S.U.N Project did a good job of energy shifting. I could feel it. I could see it and I think everyone else could, too. The lighting effects were hot and it’s interesting to note, more so than usual, that when it gets dark the mood changes vs when it’s lighter.

And the lighting effects were some of the best I’ve experienced in a long time. There were shifts going on last nite. I like to call it shifts in consciousness because I think that was what was happening. It was a really powerful experience.

I could swear at one point that the floor of the club was shifting under my feet and a thought came into my mind that this party was about shifting consciousness. I think that happened last nite. I think that’s why quite a few people were not too sure about the vibe and were waiting for whatever to happen.

Meaning some people explained they were waiting to be impressed and I remember mentioning to them don’t expect anything and you won’t have a problem. Just go with the flow and let it take you there. It doesn’t just happen at once. It’s a gradual thing and if you trust it it will come.

And come it did and in a blaze of guitars and drums and synthesizers. Yummy! Now, I’ve never been a big fan of what I call guitar trance but this was an exception. I remember reading one of Jeff’s emails about his party at Tagine and he described how much he was looking forward to hearing S.U.N Project because of the hard guitar energy in it. And I gotta say, I was impressed. I think alot of us or some of us or two of us, maybe three? >;-) really liked heavy metal at one point. Good heavy metal, right? Not that cheesy stuff.

Anyway, before I came up through drum and bass to psytrance I had my metal moment and it was goooood.
Still have Case Logic loads of CDs that hold a collection of metal by Cold Chamber, KMFDM, Orange 9mm, Rage Against the Machine, White Zombie, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Prodigy, Sevendust, to name a few.

So here comes S.U.N Project who, by the way, is listed at least once in my file of fave psytrance songs. I checked that out to make sure they were on it somewhere. Only fair, right? Heheh. So they were there and that was good. And they were spectacular last nite. I think NYC needed a good dose of rock and roll and we got it. I’ve never heard such a good combination of metal and psytrance combined. These guys were the ones
who really pulled it off. Guess it helps with the respective backgrounds of Matthius, McCoy and Marco. Their roots in grunge, heavy metal and rcombined with the electronics of psytrance made for a wicked good time!

I think the edge that metal brings to psytrance, at least in the way SP does is refreshing. Especially for a genre that gets a little predictable from time to time. They have a signature that stands out and makes a great impression in psytrance. At first I was a little aprehensive about how much guitar would be involved but after last nite all aprehension was gone.

It was great seeing the crowd respond to S.U.N Project and SP returning the energy. You can tell when the crowd is in sync with the acts and last nite was no different. If anything, it was exceptional given the current state of affairs in the world. I think that last nite was a great boost of energy to the whole body. Spiritually as well as physcially. The whole place was vibrating so it makes sense that the floor seemed to shift. (Oh, speaking of moving…go to the Sonic Vision experience up at the Planetarium. Tho the room vibrates I could have sworn at one point it was actually spinning.

Found out afterwards that it didn’t spin which means that the experience is so incredible that if you let yourself be completely immersed in it you will feel weightless on top of feeling like the room is spinning. Wheeee!)

So, this was the second time within a month that I could swear things were moving. Big things. And I can only attribute this to a combination of thoughts and realizations that last nite was, indeed, a shift in consciousness. Literally, at least, in my mind. And what a cool feeling. It got down deep into the body and into the soul and it felt gooood. Really good.

The one thing that I don’t remember seeing were their masks. LOL
Anyway, thanks to Tsunami and everyone else involved in putting this party together. Special thanks to Mr. Yac who doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. Heheh. >;-) Nice job, man! And keep Valerie awake.

And before I forget, thanks to Yoni for playing an awesome set after SP that took the crowd the rest of the way til they turned on the lights at 9 or so in the morning. Really nice stuff, man.

And of course, thanks to S.U.N Project for a kick ass good time! Rock on, boys!

😉
n

Another Perspective
from jehan7777@hotmail.com

I often judge a party by what happens to me after the party… am I
in a slump and tired, drained, and off to bed? or does the good energy from the party spin me off into more adventure, meeting more people, and meeting other sides of myself. So considering I just got home, I would say the music, people and general flow of the party definitely propelled me pretty damn far.

As Nancy mentioned security was not too bad, U kind of have to expect security to be a bit heavy when big clubs like Arc have to deal with constant police pressure… as long as we can have the party, I don’t really give a damn about security, once I get in the door, they dont exist. I couldnt help but notice, however, the electronic card-swipe-machine-elf that kept track of everyone in
the club. None of us can run for president now, specially Nancy.

Got there around 1:30 am and was pleasantly surprised that the party was in full-swing already… sometimes it takes till 3 or even 4. But no, it was full-on. and Nice decoration Tsunami!
Very good, the space felt warmer, nice and psychadelic, and of course Arc has pretty good lighting.

The sound stage setup below the Dj booth set the silent tone for the first part of the party… it whispered through the booming trance, it kept saying…. “we know whats comming…” The undercurrent of the SUN project live to come pushed the party along very nicely. Mantis and Darkrad, Minds of the Demented were playing when we got there, after some time, of getting my barings on the people and space (and dodging the occasional raver swinging lights and tangling himself up in string…

It was quite a mixed crowd, trancers, ravers, explorers, and even a few of the “what the hell is going on here?” people – who all ended up with a “this is great” look on their face). So, tuning into Minds of the Demented, I would say there were doing a pretty pretty good job, infact I think it was perfect for that time of the party, and considering who was going to play after them. Nice clean full-on with a dark but positive twist… forward driving sounds, with nice push. And they were having fun with the dancefloor too. Nice one guys, small town Pennsylvania seems too have the trance too huh?

At some point I wandered into the chill-out room, and actually was slightly dissapointed, it seemed a bit neglected (no decor whatsoever) too bright (club regulations perhaps?) basically it felt like I walked into a waiting room in an a wierd dreamlike airport where everyone would look for the shadows to sit in and catch the next flight to the dancefloor.
No big deal though, the party was more about the main space…. maybe its good not to have too much of a chill-out room, so that the party stays in one piece.

So back on the flight-path, and we are now cruising high with the SUN Dj set… I loved how casual Marco seemed to be while crashing the dancefloor with some good stomach shifting bass tracks, crispy psychadelic mids and nice riffs. It seemed like there were all up there, making drinks behind a small bar, walking around, chatting… but basically mixing super trance with the back of their hand. Storing energy for the live set.

Thats when the real release came. At one point I was dancing right up near their sound stage during the middle of the Live set and looked up… the whole stage, all the equipment on stands, everything was shaking, the guitar was riffing, the drummer full on, all of them kind of glancing at eath other and then at the dancefloor, heads pulsing in synch. They had this intoxicated-yes look on their face, like a ‘yea..’ they were having
a good time and could see that we were too.
In terms of their sound, I thought that it was great, a good logical progression of SUN project as we know it…. the psychadelia had all the new edges to it, and their guitar style stayed basically the same, in sticking with their well-established style. I for one am not a huge guitar-in-trance fan, but am all for it when I see and hear it live. I know there are many people out there who complain about the SUN project type sound, and I
might too at times, but it is what it is, and thats there style, and they do it great. It would be boring if all trance was super psychadelic, or super progressive. Trance is like a language and we should use all the words and tell all the stories.

I have this one image in my head of this guy who looked like he just got off his shift in China town and ended up at the party. He was standing in the middle of the dancefloor, his jaw almost touching the ground. He was zapped! amazed, and whenever the guitar rifs started his head would shake in disbelief. He definitely also had his share of ‘fortune cookies’.

So SUN project kept rocking on, and amidst the mixed crowd the majority of the trance contingent traversed worlds in the middle and towards the sides, where the sound reverbrating through your body is best.

Welcome back Yoni! It was great to hear his new selection of music, but more importantly, like someone said to me on the dancefloor ‘he is such a good mixer’ and he loves the crowd (if he’s in a good mood) and having new music often puts one in a good mood, so the party kept rocking on. I spent a good 15 minutes up in the Dj booth while he was playing, observing from
the other perspective and could feel the rushes that he was as the dancefloor would occasionaly reach ‘that’ level. Soon I was dancing as full on up there as I was on the dancefloor, and quickly went running back, and read my 3rd fortune cookie.

It said “U shall not go home for 2 more days”

So the party had great push and super energy all the way till the end, with the lights on, people still dancing, and everyone with some form of smile on their face. (Have you people noticed one thing about Arc parties, that by the end the male – female balance is always off) Whats going on? are the women getting what they want and leaving, are the men not being men enough? Come on
people, sort it out.
Anyway, not to take away from the party though, it was great, refreshing, and I’m sure everyone is happy, Tsunami, SUN Project, Yoni, Minds of the Demented, and all of us on the dancefloor to return the energy and keep the flux going.

Good job to everyone involved…
keep it going.
Jehan

2005 3 25 Tsunami

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