Paradoks: a new chapter of creative freedom without boundaries
Today we are pleased to welcome another guest, Paradoks!
Globally renowned for his delicate, yet powerful melodic creations, Swiss - Belgian producer Paradoks opens the next chapter in his career with New Beginning – the inaugural release on his newly formed musical home , Antinome.
Chartering releases on imprints such as Stil Vor Talent, Purified Records and Parquet Recordings, and with solid support from the likes of Pete Tong, Tale of Us, Nora En Pure, Tiësto (VER:WEST) and many more, Paradoks has been on a steady rise over the past five years.
Setting his sights on his biggest release to - date, Antinome encompasses his love for club music, as well as melodic and classical sounds, allowing for endless possibilities and f ree rein to delve into every fibre of his sonic identity.
We sat with the man himself to find out more.
Globally renowned for his delicate, yet powerful melodic creations, Swiss - Belgian producer Paradoks opens the next chapter in his career with New Beginning – the inaugural release on his newly formed musical home , Antinome.
Chartering releases on imprints such as Stil Vor Talent, Purified Records and Parquet Recordings, and with solid support from the likes of Pete Tong, Tale of Us, Nora En Pure, Tiësto (VER:WEST) and many more, Paradoks has been on a steady rise over the past five years.
Setting his sights on his biggest release to - date, Antinome encompasses his love for club music, as well as melodic and classical sounds, allowing for endless possibilities and f ree rein to delve into every fibre of his sonic identity.
We sat with the man himself to find out more.
— Hello Paradoks! How are you and where are you based at the moment?
— Hey ! I'm good, thanks. Currently I am based in Zurich, Switzerland, but am writing to you from Argentina, as I am currently on tour.
— What have been some of the biggest moments of 2022?
— 2022 has been such a crazy year for me. I played in so many different cities over the world in the United States, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Czech Republic, Lebanon, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Argentina, Colombia and Cyprus.
One highlight for me has been to play the famous Brooklyn Mirage in New York, for the Purified event. It was my biggest show so far, and it was so special to do it with the Purified family. But 2022 marked so many moments: from my parents attending one of my parties for the first time in Wapelbeats Open Air, to playing in Los Angeles with the Cloud and in Sound Club, my first India tour, the Rebellion der Traumer festival in Germany, a packed B018 show in Beirut and so many more. It has been the year where I have seen the most growth in my music career since the beginning.
One highlight for me has been to play the famous Brooklyn Mirage in New York, for the Purified event. It was my biggest show so far, and it was so special to do it with the Purified family. But 2022 marked so many moments: from my parents attending one of my parties for the first time in Wapelbeats Open Air, to playing in Los Angeles with the Cloud and in Sound Club, my first India tour, the Rebellion der Traumer festival in Germany, a packed B018 show in Beirut and so many more. It has been the year where I have seen the most growth in my music career since the beginning.
— Your first self-release "New Beginning" will be out on "Antinome" at the end of the month. Can you tell us more about the release and how it came about?
— "New Beginning" marks the first release on my own imprint Antinome.
It pictures the story of someone's initial struggle of belonging. As the song progresses, the feeling evolves into acceptance, switching the darkness for the light as they discover a more profound sense of purpose. It's a song that is particularly special to me since it reflects a part of my life and some difficult moments I have been going through, both in the music industry and my personal life. I had some inner artistic conflicts and faced many paradoxes. But I feel now that I'm embracing what is truly me, both as a person and as an artist. This has given me a new sense of confidence in what I love and what moves me, and a more profound trust in what is yet to happen. I hope this track can give hope to the listener and accompany them through any
moment they might need.
I decided to create Antinome to allow me full creative freedom and expression: If I make music that transcends boundaries, out of the scope of what most electronic music labels would normally release, I know that music will still see the light and touch people regardless of genres. So many dots connected over the last years that were pointing me in the direction of starting my own imprint, and "New Beginning" represents exactly that: a new chapter of creative freedom without boundaries.
It pictures the story of someone's initial struggle of belonging. As the song progresses, the feeling evolves into acceptance, switching the darkness for the light as they discover a more profound sense of purpose. It's a song that is particularly special to me since it reflects a part of my life and some difficult moments I have been going through, both in the music industry and my personal life. I had some inner artistic conflicts and faced many paradoxes. But I feel now that I'm embracing what is truly me, both as a person and as an artist. This has given me a new sense of confidence in what I love and what moves me, and a more profound trust in what is yet to happen. I hope this track can give hope to the listener and accompany them through any
moment they might need.
I decided to create Antinome to allow me full creative freedom and expression: If I make music that transcends boundaries, out of the scope of what most electronic music labels would normally release, I know that music will still see the light and touch people regardless of genres. So many dots connected over the last years that were pointing me in the direction of starting my own imprint, and "New Beginning" represents exactly that: a new chapter of creative freedom without boundaries.
— What kind of emotion did you look to invoke with the record?
— For me this record encapsulates a wide variety of intricate emotions. From this feeling of being lost, transitioning to the feeling of hope, peace and trust in the universe. A blend of happiness and nostalgia, which evolves into confidence, into us finding our reason to keep fighting in this world: these are all the emotions I feel with this song.
— When you work in the studio, what is your set up? Do you have a process or just see how it flows?
— I generally already have a vibe, an idea, a direction in my head when I sit down. I'm of course always open to changing routes and discovering some new creative paths when composing what's in my head, but I mostly already have an idea of a melody or a chord progression. I realized that when I don't come to the studio inspired, sometimes I just come up with random stuff that sounds ok, but is rather generic and obviously uninspiring. I really need to set an intention beforehand, otherwise I know that there won't be any satisfying outcome. I also need to know that I have enough time to get lost at least for a bit. I can't sit down knowing that I have only 15 minutes to work on something: this will make me feel stressed and rush the process, skipping necessary steps that need and deserve full attention and love in order to make impactful music. I need to know that for at least the next two hours, I can comfortably drift off in my creative bubble. How I begin my track and its process varies a lot. With "New Beginning", the first thing I wrote down were the chords that we hear at the beginning of the track, which laid the foundation of the whole track. Many months have gone by then, between that first draft and the final version. I changed lyrics more than a few times and worked with various singers, changed up the melody and sounds of the main leads, the drums, the structure… But I'm happy as I know I really feel that the track is what it wanted to be, and reflects a part of me.
— What is the most challenging thing about the work you do?
— Currently I am still working mostly alone. This year I started working with APA agency in the US and I am also slowly starting to build a team around my project, but it's all still in its very early stages. I am therefore still working so many jobs at the same time: I compose and produce my music, I perform internationally, I deal with bookings, contracts, social media, relationships…
Now I also launched Antinome so I was involved in the whole process of the release of New Beginning, from the artwork to the animation, the campaigns… It's difficult to produce and to be creative when I'm constantly busy with so many things to take care of and always on the road, with a messed up sleep schedule. This year I scratched the "work life balance" concept out of my life completely and I know it's not necessarily sustainable in the long run. But on the other hand, I really love my job (my jobs!) and I know why I am doing it. It's a passion, and it's really rewarding to see the projects I'm working on come alive and to read so many messages of people reaching out to me saying how much my music means to them.
Now I also launched Antinome so I was involved in the whole process of the release of New Beginning, from the artwork to the animation, the campaigns… It's difficult to produce and to be creative when I'm constantly busy with so many things to take care of and always on the road, with a messed up sleep schedule. This year I scratched the "work life balance" concept out of my life completely and I know it's not necessarily sustainable in the long run. But on the other hand, I really love my job (my jobs!) and I know why I am doing it. It's a passion, and it's really rewarding to see the projects I'm working on come alive and to read so many messages of people reaching out to me saying how much my music means to them.
— Where can we see you DJ over the coming months?
— Right now I'm touring Argentina and Colombia. Then in December I'm playing in Factory Town, Miami with the Purified family, and maybe some other shows in Europe. Rest of next year is still to be defined: early 2023, there is a 50/50 chance that I'll be either extremely busy touring or completely off the grid to focus on my next tracks. To be honest I really wouldn't mind the latter either.
— Can you tell us the top three tracks you will be playing in your upcoming gigs?
— "Adam Sellouk - Mirage" is one of Purified's recent releases and is a complete banger. Congrats to Adam for making such a heater and to Nora for releasing it. This one never fails to set the dance floor on fire.
"Fideles & Agents of Time - Drain" is another incredible track that really combines energy and drive with emotion, so far it has created such beautiful moments every time I play it.
And of course my track "New Beginning", which will more often than not be my closing track in my upcoming gigs.
But I'm also playing many unreleased tracks of mine I'm very happy about in my sets, most of which will be released early in 2023 If I would redo this top 3 list once they are all released, they'd probably all have the spotlight ;)
"Fideles & Agents of Time - Drain" is another incredible track that really combines energy and drive with emotion, so far it has created such beautiful moments every time I play it.
And of course my track "New Beginning", which will more often than not be my closing track in my upcoming gigs.
But I'm also playing many unreleased tracks of mine I'm very happy about in my sets, most of which will be released early in 2023 If I would redo this top 3 list once they are all released, they'd probably all have the spotlight ;)
— Do you have any hobbies outside of music? Can you tell us about them?
— This year didn't really allow me much time for hobbies, but in general I love walking in nature (we are blessed in Switzerland), riding my motorbike, spending time with good friends, drinking coffee, eating great food, exercising and yoga.
— Finally, do you have any other projects coming up soon that you'd like to share with us?
— As mentioned above, I have many special tracks that will come out early 2023 Except for that, I have a lot of ideas of where I want to bring the Paradoks project, but I have nothing concrete to reveal yet. Exciting days ahead !
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