Gaspard (Peak Records, Swizterland)

Hey mate, what's doing?

Hey Jesse! All good up here, it’s the summer!!!
Hocus Peakus was released on the 4th July and so far
the response has been very encouraging! From comments
we have seen on various forums and e-mails direct to us,
it seems to be making people happy all over the place!



So tell me a little bit about Peak Records. Where are
you based? who are involved? Could you tell me a
little about the labels direction and vision?

Peak is based in the French area of Switzerland, in
Lausanne. It saw the light in 2003. I d always wanted
to be a part of a label. We spoke about it for some
time before deciding to do it! Ajja, Master Margherita, Tanina
and myself are the co-managers of Peak.
One of our original aims with Peak was to promote Swiss psy trance acts as well as known artists from the international scene – which we’ve achieved and will continue to go for!
The label’s direction… mmmmmmh! As night time music
seems to be getting harder and faster all the time, it
seems as though the style we do could nearly be
considered as hard morning psy trance. This could well
be Peak’s direction in the years to come.


So you are Switzerland’s first dedicated full on label
eh? Is it hard starting a full on label in a scene
that is maybe a bit more progressive than in other
places?

As well as being Switzerland s first dedicated psy
trance label, I think we are the only ones releasing
this style of music here. There are many progressive
labels, mainly located in the Swiss German area. But
the world being what it is today, it doesn’t matter
that much that we’re in this position. Thanks to the
internet and a very good distributor the whole world
knows about us! The scene here is not only
progressive, there are other styles around too. But
not that much darker stuff, more melodic
Israeli-influenced styles.
In the Swiss French area where we live people tend to
be more into the night time psy trance style than
progressive, whereas in the Swiss German part it is
more prog and/or Israeli style psy trance. This could
explain why we don’t play there so often.


“Hocus Peakus” was just released worldwide… Tell us a
bit about this release? Which artists feature and
which is your personal favourite track?

Hocus Peakus is Peak’s fifth release. It follows the
same pattern as the other three psy releases, ie:
chill intro and outro and overlapping tracks making it
into a one track, one story!
It s a night time compilation although some tracks can
be played in day time too.
The artists featured on it are: Seroxat, Naked
Tourist, Blisargon Demogorgon, Yab-Yum, Mystic
Instinct, Electrypnose, Atriohm, Sector D, Drumatik
and with intro and outro by the Peaking Goddess
Collective and Dymons.
My personal favourite would have to be “Three Lines In
A Row” by Naked Tourist ( one of my favourite acts of
the moment!). I am also very proud of the Yab-Yum
track too (being half of the project!!). I think it is
our best track so far.
But I love all the others too! I like to make a
compilation which can be listened from beginning to
end like a story. It has to have a flow to it, hence
the fact that there are no gaps in between the tracks.
It is a story reflecting Peak’s and my actual position
in the universe. A mirror of where we are now in terms
of music.


I notice a lot of newer, fresh artists on the new
compilation. How are the audiences around the world
reacting to the fresh, different sound of Peak?

I think that the response has been good. There are
many artists who deserve to be known and heard by as
many people as possible. Artists such as Electrypnose,
Drumatik, Yab-Yum (to mention only the Swiss ones) are
exactly what we were looking for, in terms of style
and freshness.



Artists from countries like Israel, Macedonia, Brazil
and of course Switzerland… That’s a pretty global
sound… what do you look for when choosing new
tracks/artists for Peak releases?

Obviously I look for music that makes my hair rise on
end and my toes tap. The choice has nothing to do
whatsoever with nationalities, religion, sex, race or
creed. Another major aspect is the contact I have
with the artists. Its very important to me to work
with like-minded people. (Would you like to work with
people who you don’t get along with?). The personality
of the artists plays an important part in my
selection. It seems to me as though, generally, the
people I like as people also seem to make music I
appreciate! I have a hard time dealing with stressed
out, arrogant, big headed people in general… why would
should I work with them with the label? I think the
personalities of the artists is totally reflected in
their music, so the contact I have with people
generally helps me make my mind up.


Are there any other new artists for Peak who we
haven’t heard yet that we will soon? Anyone else who
has impressed you lately?

On the next compilation I’m hoping to work with some
new Swiss artists. Firstly, Dymons who is a member of
the Peaking Goddess Collective and has done some of
the intros and outros on past compilations. His new
psy trance work is rapidly becoming very Peakable!
Also a Swiss-German artist called Digitalist (dj
Invasion) seems to be making significant progress.
Having just seen him play in the small version of the
Cosmic Wedding, last week-end, I can definitely say
that I m impressed by his sound! Very original! This
will be the first Swiss German we’ll be working with
and hopefully not the last. All to be confirmed soon.



How is the full on scene in Switzerland? Is it very
big? Are there many outdoor parties? What’s a major
full on event happening this year?

The scene is pretty big here. There are in between 5
and 10 parties every week end ranging from small
private doos to huge festivals lasting 2-3 days. As
nature is very beautiful here there quite a few
outdoor events. Obviously in winter time it is more
of an indoor scene! This summer was to see several
nice festivals, such as Merkaba, Tonatiuh and the
Cosmic Wedding, all of which were unfortunately
cancelled for various reasons… these cancellations
were quite a hard hit for the night psy-trance lovers
here as they all offered amazing and unusual line ups
for Switzerland. Hopefully 2006 will see some more
interesting parties.



How are your bookings as a label DJ at the moment? Are
you touring much? Got any major gigs on the way? Where
have you travelled as a DJ so far?

At the moment I seem to be getting more gigs live as
Yab-Yum although we often combine the dj set with the
live act. During the dj set, Ajja (the other half of
Yab-Yum) usually plays live sounds over the top which
makes for a truly original set. we seem to be playing
practically every week end in parties around
Switzerland. the next big one is the Nandan Prod 5th
Birthday party on the 27th August.
As a dj I have travelled to Australia, Thailand,
Germany, Austria, France, Canada, the U.K., and Brazil
(so far).
I m going to play at Universo Paralello this year in
Brazil, and im very happy about that.


What’s the highlight of your career so far? Any other
memorable moments that you’d like to mention?

Although I really enjoy most gigs I play, the Outback
eclipse festival in 2002 was by far one of the
greatest moments! I do appreciate small parties of
about 200-300 people where there is an intimacy and
exchange that is lacking in bigger parties. Having
said that I really enjoy going to festivals such as
the Boom, just because you end up seeing everybody you
haven’t seen in a while, and you get to “appreciate”
the big picture of the trance community!



What do you get up to when you aren’t working in the
trance industry? What’s your life like outside of
trance?

Life outside of trance??? How , when??? Only kidding
(but not really)! I tend to see trance as a way of
life so there is no question of life “out “ of trance!
Having just moved up to a small village up in the
mountains, I do go walking or cycling in the forest.
The rest of my time is split between my girlfriend,
studio time with Ajja, label work, parties and sleep.


Any thank-yous, people you want to mention of famous
last words?

I would like to thank Tanina, Ajja and Master
Margherita for being such great team members. My love
Ingrid for being utterly patient and loving sharing
her life with a person who has such a long term
relationship with his computer!! I also would like to
thanks all my new-found friends from the realms of msn
and the net in general, and all the people I meet in
parties from all over the world!!!
I would like to send out big thank yous to all the
people who still see psy trance as more than just
music and parties. For those who still believe in
strong life values!
Would like to thanks everyone who stands up for what
they think is right in this world! Keep doing it!!


Cool bro, thanks very much. Good luck with Peak and
have a good summer!!!

Interview Jesse Kuch