How did you discover music? What was your first record?
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I have been listening to music all my life (as long as I can remember). I remember the first record that I bought myself was Michael Jackson's "Thriller".
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When did you first encounter electronic music?
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My older brother was also a music junkie and I guess he was the first to expose me to electronic music. It was with him that I listened to the likes of Pink Floyd, Yazoo, Depech Mode, Movie Soundtracks and a lot more... As far as I can remember, the first electronic tunes in my consciousness are: Herbie Hancock's Rocket and Kraftwerk's We Are The Robots (80's music rules!!!).
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How did you discover trance? Do you remember your first party?
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During my army service I met someone who became a really good friend of mine. His name is Meir and he was the first to tell me about trance music and parties (today he is my partner in HOMmega). He also took me to my first trance party. It was in the forest of angels (south Israel). The DJ was Guy Sebbag and although I was not into drugs or alcohol, I still felt an enormous experience and I fell in love with the music.
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Did you DJ before that and made the move to trance, or did trance made you DJ?
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I was a dance DJ since the age of 16. I stopped when I joined the army where I discovered trance music. I started as a serious collector of trance and later on moved back into DJing.
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What made you decide to open a label? How was Hommega born?
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After the army I worked in the first trance shop in Israel by the name- Silence. From there I moved to musical management of the Israeli label - Melodia. I guess time did it's natural thing by making me feel that I have learned enough working for others and I should try and build my own dream by opening my own label and starting to promote the music that I believed in. I teamed up with Meir and Moshe (Xerox) and a dream came true!
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Do you remember the feeling when the first CD was there in front of you?
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  | The first HOMmega CD was FULL ON. I remember being very proud and also feeling a more concrete sense of being a part of the global trance scene. Israeli trance was at it's best at the time and most of it's highlights were concentrated on our first compilation. It was a respectable start as any label could wish for. |
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How does it feel now, after 15 CDs?
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Well, some of the magic is really gone. You might say we "lost our innocence". A lot of things happened in the last 3 years. Free music was mixed with business. Aside from Israeli psy-trance, we released electronic music on a wide scale of various styles, but we only released music that we believe in. Each in its own genre. Our love, passion and even personal involvement in each and every project is still here.
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How are things organized between you all, who has the say on what, who does what?
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Meir is the sponsor of the label. He takes care of the banks and accounting. Moshe is in charge of musical productions, whether they are his own or producing others. All other duties are laid on me (and that's quite a lot). Once a week we have a business meeting where we update each other on all matters and everybody gets his say on every subject. Also, we are just about to expand our little family by adding a secretary who will also be my assistant and a PR person to take on all the media.
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What was the vision for Hommega, is it still the same?
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HOMmega was established to give stage to all who have potential and will to succeed. The change was that at the beginning we were only after trance talents and now we are looking for gifted artists on a wide range of musical influences. HOMmega now days is more a record company then a trance label but we will always push and believe in the power of Israeli trance.
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What do you like more, DJing or producing CDs?
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I like DJing very much (it's been almost 10 years now), but I find it harder and harder to work all week on musical projects of the company and to lose every weekend on partying because then I don't get my rest and my work is hurt. I will never stop DJing (as long as I have a say on it) but I try to cut down my bookings to only a few high quality parties as I can. I don't want to lose my stamina and energy.
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It seems that the trance scene is changing, going more technoey and minimalistic, also it seems as if some people are trying to form two different scenes- psychedelic and melodic- what are your thoughts about that?
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The world is changing, and as expected, musical trends are also changing. But as I can accept the moving of music to a "next phase", others should understand that some people prefer not to change and keep with a distinctive line of music that they relate to. As for the psychedelic/melodic trance "conspiracy", I learned that people in different places, at different ages, who come from different musical backgrounds and influences like different kinds of music (trance included). There is never a "who is right and who is wrong" solution to that.
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Where does Hommega stand with all that?
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The scene is not strong enough to support only one style of trance. Its true power is in being accessible to as many people as possible with different "stimulation standards". It was when we understood this that HOMmega started to explore all kinds of trance (Full On, Psychedelic, Progressive, Melodic, Club, Ambient...) in order to reach as many "different people" as possible.
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You've been here (in trance) for a long time, can you give us a little "now and then" comparison? Were the old times really better, or is this just old people talk ;-) ?
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The old times were really better. Everything was new and innocent. The music sounded like pure magic. The parties were like taken from the movies and the people were really "'aving it" with the music. Today it's more "synthetic". A new generation has taken over and the rules changed. But the music has always been there for us as the "soundtrack of our life" and this will never change!
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To something that seems unrelated to music, but probably is not so, how did all that happened and still happens all around us here in Israel lately, effected you and Hommega?
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Of course it did. The moral and mood in Israel nowadays are very low. This affects all of us. The artists are denied peace of mind and thus lose musical inspirations, The sales drop and so the system itself is working on a lower level of "energy output". But we are strong and we are working hard on expanding our worldwide distribution in order to compensate on the problems in Israel. We still have a long way to go and places to reach! |  |
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What music do you listen to?
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First of all - Trance! My favorites are Juno Reactor, Eat Static, Hallucinogen, All Dado projects, Spectral, Slide...and Israeli trance. I listen to all sorts of electronic music: Ambient (especially Dub) & chill out, Break Beats & psychedelic electronica. My favorites are Pink Floyd (the gods), Chemical Brothers, Shpongle, La-Roca, Deep Dive Corp., Mental Orange.
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What do you plan for us in the year 2001 coming upon us?
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We just released Izik levy's (aka Sandman) new project album: Green House Effect - Global Warming. Influenced and open to the current streams and genres of all contemporary Club Music Deep, Progressive, Techno & Club Trance. After that we have the debut album of Maskalin (Xerox & Cosmic Navigators)- Way Of Life (Progressive & Funky). Then it's the turn of PsySex's (aka Children of the Doc) 2nd album (Psychedelic & Progressive). Later on we are planning to release the debut album of Psy Craft (Funky & Psychedelic), the debut album of Illumination (aka the "now mature" Luminus) and a new album from Israel's rising star- Yahel. Our "Main event" for 2001 will be the long awaited new (2nd) album from Xerox & Freeman. As for compilations, we have ISRAliens 3 (Israeli European trance), Clubber vol.2- Conflict (Deep & Club trance), and Another Life (is...)- a journey into Israeli Electronica & Ambience.
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What is your future vision for Hommega and Israeli trance?
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In one word for both subjects - EVER LASTING !!!
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