Best of 2013 Interview: Hazem Beltagui. Born on the 6th of August 1988 in Alexandria, Egypt, Hazem has always been fascinated by music ever since he was a child, but its wasn't until late 2008 that he got introduced to Electronic Dance Music in general, and Trance in particular, with the works of the likes of Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Andy Moor, Signalrunners and Solarstone just to name a few.
By the Beginning of 2009, he had already made his mind and decided he would learn music production and hopefully he could make a career in this industry that he has always been extremely infatuated with. His first releases were mainly progressive house but still very melodic, and by the beginning of 2012, he was already being supported by some of the biggest djs in the world and has made a name for himself in the prog house scene.
On January 28th, 2013, Hazem released his massive tune “We Are” on his brand new label Red Soho following unprecedented support across the board from Armin Van Buuren including it in the official A State of Trance 2013. And that was the turning point for Hazem, where he realised that this should be the sound he releases after a long hard work of beautiful progressive tunes, so he decided to make the jump to his first love, which is Trance music and he came up with the name “Melotrance” to describe his unique sound, which is characterised by the emphasis on the melodies and more importantly, the emotional impact on the listeners.
The 25-year old Egyptian Sensation continues relentlessly moving forward setting the bar for what constitutes a rookie year in every possible area of his career.
Interview was written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Music Journalist, Radio & DJ
Name: Hazem Beltagui
Location: Egypt
Dimitri: Can you tell us about your achievements in your music career in 2013 as DJ &/or producer?
Hazem Beltagui: 2013 has definitely been the best year for my musical career so far, with constant ASOT support, establishing my own label “Red Soho” under Soho Music, doing two bootlegs for Gaia - Aisha and Simon Patterson - Brush Strokes and both ended up being signed and will be released in 2014, also doing a remix for Aly & Fila, playing at FSOE 300 in Egypt, joining the FSOE agency and label, and for sure getting booked for ASOT 650 in Utrecht.
Dimitri: If you look back on 2013, are there any events in your music career that you wished you had done differently in order to get a better outcome?
Hazem Beltagui: The only thing I wish I had done earlier is the jump from prog house to trance, but I believe everything happens for a reason in life so I don’t really have any regrets.
1) Best Track:
Hazem Beltagui: Giuseppe Ottaviani ft. Amba Shepherd - Lost For Words (On Air Mix)
2) Best Artist (DJ & producer):
Hazem Beltagui: I’d have to say Armin Van Buuren.
3) Best Remix:
Hazem Beltagui: Driftmoon - Howl To The Moon ( Solarstone Retouch)
4) Best Remixer:
Hazem Beltagui: Solarstone
5) Best EDM Album:
Hazem Beltagui: Giuseppe Ottaviani - Magenta.
6) Best EDM Compilation:
Hazem Beltagui: I really enjoyed ASOT 2013 this year.
7) Best artwork/cover of an album or compilation:
Hazem Beltagui: Universal Religion Chapter 7
8) Best lyrics in an EDM track:
Hazem Beltagui: Armin Van Buuren ft. Richard Bedford - Love Never Came, very sad and blue just the way I love music.
9) Best Vocalist/Singer featured on an EDM track:
Hazem Beltagui: Male would definitely be Richard Bedford and female would be Susana.
10) Best EDM Label:
Hazem Beltagui: Really love the work the guys at Soho did last year, really honoured to be part of this label.
11) Best Music Video:
Hazem Beltagui: Giuseppe Ottaviani ft. Amba Shepherd - Lost For Words, the video is really touching and emotional, really goes well with the song
12) Best amusing video from Youtube related to Dance Music:
Hazem Beltagui: Harlem Shake videos.
13) Best Online Social media network:
Hazem Beltagui: Definitely Facebook.
14) Best music composition software:
Hazem Beltagui: For me Ableton Live without a doubt.
15) Best personal DJ Gig:
Hazem Beltagui: The Earth 2 Heaven night At El Pacha Club in Hamamet in Tunisia last August, really had so much fun that night and the crowd was simply amazing.
16) Best country in which you have performed:
Hazem Beltagui: Tunisia for sure.
17) Best Radio show:
Hazem Beltagui: ASOT, love the diversity in the sounds played on it lately.
18) Best Radio station:
Hazem Beltagui: Di.fm
19) Best Online Record shop where you usually purchase your music:
Hazem Beltagui: Beatport
20) Best Website that you visit regularly:
Hazem Beltagui: Mostly Facebook and twitter
21) Best smart phone/mobile/App:
Hazem Beltagui: The facebook pages manager, made my life a lot easier.
22) Best DJ/Producer product (software or hardware):
Hazem Beltagui: Really love my setup these days, which consists of my laptop running Ableton Live, an Allen & Heath Xone K2 controller and a launch pad so these three are my favs
23) Best new sound or sample which has been used in EDM this year, preferably introduced by you?
Hazem Beltagui: I would say my bassline sound, lots of people seem to ask about this one.
24) Best Twitter or Facebook message you received from a fan or friend or you have read from someone else:
Hazem Beltagui: I’m quite lucky to have received a lot of great messages from my fans this year, my favs would definitely be messages from Egyptian people telling me they’re proud of what I’m doing, really these messages mean a lot to me.
25) Best personal achievement related to Electronic Dance Music:
26) Best holiday destination or best hobby or activity that you spent some time in during 2013
Hazem Beltagui: One of my biggest hobbies is Snooker, also like to hit the gym regularly.
27) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career:
Hazem Beltagui: When my girlfriend convinced me to make the jump to trance.
28) The Best Book this year, preferably related to EDM:
Hazem Beltagui: I didn’t have that much time to read a book this year to be honest.
29) Best Movie of the year preferably related to EDM or inspired you to compose a track.
Hazem Beltagui: Oblivion was very inspiring to me, the visuals are just amazing, also the music was very nice on this one.
30) Best tip that you learnt this year relating to DJ’ing or music composition
Hazem Beltagui: Accidents can be very rewarding and also no need to be perfectionist, some flaws can add a lot of life and emotion to your work.
Dimitri: 2014 is ahead of us; would you like to tell us your plans for future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations or DJ gigs.
Hazem Beltagui: Like I said, I m really looking forward to ASOT 650 Utrecht, will have a couple of singles next year for sure but I’m mainly focusing on my artist album which I wanna release around August or September 2014, also just finished a collab with the amazing Susana, will most probably premiere this during my set in Utrecht, and we’ll see what 2014 brings.
Dimitri: Thanks very much for taking the time to reply to this interview
You can book Hazem Beltagui on the email
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