In a scene where many sounds have come and gone, Eddie Bitar has pushed through his sound of cutting edge music which has become recognisable in its own right throughout the world. With stunning releases on Paul Van Dyk’s VANDIT arm of powerhouse Armada Music and Indecent Noise’s in-form Mental Asylum Records, Eddie’s catalogue of tracks have found their way into speakers in each boarder of the globe. Voted number 108 in 2012’s Trance Addict poll and number 84 in 2013's Trance Podium poll, success has continued to snowball for this Canadian-Lebanese producer and DJ. Controlling crowds for huge brands such as ‘The Gallery’ at the world famous Ministry of Sound in London, ‘Tranceport’ tours in Argentina, a residency for ‘The Energy Box’ in London, American breakthrough at ‘L.M.D’ in L.A U.S.A and shows across Australia, Eddie has been ticking continent after continent off the world map at the highest stage . Known for hard hitting, dance floor driven music played well into the depths of the early hours, his explosive sounds are continuing to cause palpitations all the way through the scene.
With a portfolio of productions bursting at the brim, support from the most established artists has continued to quickly follow. Tracks such as ‘Beruit’ found itself hand-picked as the ‘Best of 2011’ on Vandit’s yearly compilation album, ‘Drift’ being featured on ‘Armada’s ‘Exclusive Tracks and Remixes Volume 2’ album and ‘Rollercoaster’ (Mental Asylum Records) chosen by BBC Radio 1's Jordan Suckley’s for his ‘The Weekend Has Landed’ C.D. Not only that, but Rollercoaster was dropped in front of 10,000 clubbers by Aly & Fila at ‘A State of Trance’ Kuala Lumpur, Juggernaut (Mental Asylum Records) played by Armin Van Buuren on the most listened to Trance show ‘A State of Trance’ radio and his remix of Paul Van Dyk’s – The Ocean (Vandit) played out at sold out shows in his gig calendar during 2012 and 2013.
Not content on working alone, Eddie’s has found himself in the studio writing tracks with the likes of Bryan Kearney, Paul Webster, Indecent Noise & many more!!
Expect to hear dark and twisted sounds, ranging from big uplifting Trance melodies, thunderous tech drops and glitch infused Psy, blending a mixture of his own productions and other underground tracks, all pounding from wall-to-wall in to the early clubbing hours.
Eddie Bitar is getting ready to rock in his first ever debut at UK's finest trance event Digital Society at the magnificent 02 Academy in Leeds which is the most vibrant and colourful city up north packed with inventive clever students and big number of trance fanatics. Friday 22nd of May Eddie along with the trance legend Simon Patterson, Astrix, Sean Tyas, John Askew, Alex Di Stefano, Christopher Lawrence and the Belgium legend Airwave will bring the ultimate trance show to make you lose your mind, forget the world and forget the people.
So we are excited to announce that Eddie, despite his busy days and nights, agreed to offer us an interview and explain what he has in store for us, all the Digital Society faithfulls that will gather to dance together for peace, love and unity.
Interview was written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Music journalist and radio dj at 1 mix radio, www.1mix.co.uk
Dimitri: First of all it would be great if you can let us know when, how and why you decided to get involved in the trance scene?
Eddie: Exactly 10 years ago when I was 17, some friends took me to a festival in Beirut city where I got introduced to Paul Van Dyk. His set that night was so inspiring. I still remember it vividly now… Since then I really got into trance, started listening to it all the time and got my first decks at the age of 18. I started DJing around pubs, house parties etc in Beirut. And then when I started making music and getting into production it kind of took off them there and went international.
Dimitri:When was your first dj gig in front of an audience and in which club or festival you have played in front of the largest audience ever? Do you feel bigger buzz and excitement when you perform to very large audience or do you enjoy the small intimate events as well?
Eddie:Well my first DJ gig was at Passion at The Emporium club in Coalville UK.
Largest Audience I’ve played for was in Buenos Aires Argentina, at RPC festival on the BAT stage to maybe 5000 people. Such an amazing night that I will remember forever.
Dimitri:You had releases on the world’s biggest trance labels and support from the most important names in the scene. Which track was your first ever release on a big label and how did you felt when you finally saw your name on the release and people discussing about it in the social media?
Eddie: My first ever release was an EP with 2 tracks “Beirut/Red Room” on Vandit. It was actually a dream come true for me releasing music on the label owned by the DJ that first inspired me.
Dimitri: From the releases and remixes you have so far please choose your absolute TOP 5 and give us some backstage information or story that you may have behind of each one of those releases.
Eddie: Captain Charlie (This is a tribute to Roberto Menghi, a promoter and friend from Argentina who is partner with Javier Bussola on the coolest shows in the region. Roberto is a living legend.)
Juggernaut (Named after the game “Call of Duty”, where u get a Juggernaut and boost your powers etc… )
Rollercoaster (I did this track when I was living in London. The journey to becoming a DJ and producer I think most of my peers will agree is a Rollercoaster. That’s where the name came from.
Centipede (Jordan & me came up with this name, after using a vocal sample that says “Mother, oh God mother”, as if there was a centipede or some kind of creature coming for you from the dark corner of the room)
Poltergeist - Aleks – Indecent Noise - & me came up with this name – it just seemed an appropriate title for the vibe of the record. A poltergeist often manifests itself in moving things around and I like to think that this track makes people move…
Dimitri: Your latest release is a top collaboration with Fady & Mina exclusively for Simon’s Patterson Trance Nation compilation at Ministry of Sound. How this collaboration came about and it was an easy or difficult process to produce the track?
Eddie:One of the easiest collaborations I have been involved in.Its a really great record that gives off an authentic representation of the vibe of our combined regional backgrounds. It has Middle Eastern influences coupled with touch techy beats. If you like this you should check out my next single on Mental Asylum called “Drive”.
Dimitri: Of course we are eager to know the track you may have produced and are scheduled for release in the next few months!
Eddie: My next single is “Drive” scheduled for May 25th on Mental Asylum records, already had massive supports on this one from John Askew, Indecent noise, Jordan Suckley & more! After this I have stuff coming up on Vandit, HomMega and Perfecto Fluoro so this year you will see a solid and steady flow of new material coming on the labels I love the most.
Dimitri: From which part of the track you start first your productions and can you tell us the main steps you follow during the production of any of your tracks?
Eddie: I start with finding the right kick and then building a bass line around it. It’s important for me to find the right groove first and then I start to build layers of percussion, the melodies and riffs and then finally I will work on FX and transitions, build-ups and fills.
Dimitri: Is it possible to tell us the setup of your studio, your favourite hardware/software and plugins you like to use and why?
Eddie: Genelec 1038b (Great sound)
Logic pro x (I have tried other set ups like Cubase but for me Logic is laid out in a logical way – ironically – and I have to say I think the sound quality on tracks made in logic just have a little more edge and punch)
Komplete Kontrol S-series (Very advanced and fresh)
Komplete 10 (Almost all plugins in that pack are insane)
Dimitri: You are going to appear Friday 22nd at the Digital Society in Leeds along with legends like Simon Patterson and Astrix. What do you know and what is your general perception about Digital Society and do you look forward to rock the decks in Leeds?
Eddie: I’ve heard a lot of good things about Digital Society. You only have to look at the OU line up to see that this is the most forward thinking promoter in the UK for underground trance and tech. I am totally excited about this show because the sound I like to play is completely compatible to all the other DJs on that line up and the UK crowds are always so receptive and energetic. This show is going to f***** rock man.
Dimitri: Are you going to prepare any exclusives for your Digital Society debut and are there any plans or promises of what people are going to hear in your set?
Eddie: Absolutely. My set is going to be filled with a ton of unheard, fresh, up front EB material. I want to showcase the sounds I’m going to be releasing over the next six months. Twisted, Dark. Powerful. Emotional.
Dimitri: Do you have any personal ritual or superstition before going into the stage or dj booth that maybe you want to share with us?
Eddie: Not really. I like to get to the venue an hour before I play so I can get into the vibe of the party and have a few beers with the guys but other than that I will just be keen to get on and play.
Dimitri: You announce in your facebook page about your new radio show, would you like to tell us a bit more about it and how important is for you to prepare this radio show for your fans?
Eddie: So a few months back I signed up with new management – Stadium Artists – who look after Patterson, Oakenfold, Tyas, Askew, Blazer etc and we have together been working hard on rebranding and I can tell you now – as a bit of a world exclusive that my new brand – which will be launching later this month – is called Dinamode. I can’t give you any more info than that right now but a full announcement will be coming soon and if you go to http://eddiebitar.com you’ll get an idea of the new vibe and look.
Dimitri: Which is the best ever comment you have received through social media and you remember for ever?
Eddie: I get some very kind feedback and comments from people who follow me but it’s not something I’m really comfortable talking about. I just do what I do and if people dig it – then great.
Dimitri: After Digital Society in which other clubs or festivals are you going to perform?
Eddie: Playing my debut gig in Belfast on May 30th at The Quest house and there are some support shows being discussed with PVD. I also have a date in London at the Gallery over the summer, a Perfecto Fluoro show at ADE and I will be making my Ibiza debut as well. Everything is about to be announced soon as part of my whole rebrand / relaunch so keep watching facebook.com/eddiebitar
Be there at Digital Society Leeds, Friday 22nd of May, buy your tickets click here
Thanks to Eddie for finding time to reply in this interview that we are sure that you will love to read!
Thanks to Olivia Jade Riches at Digital Society offices for her support to organise this interview.
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