Artem Stolyarov or Arty, who is our February Artist of the Month, is from Engels, Russia. Arty began producing when he was 19 and he’s been busy ever since. Arty brings together progressive trance and house in a seamless manner through his tracks and remixes. You can read extensively about his endeavors in our piece about him and how he has managed to get himself in the Top 30 DJs two years in a row at his age. However, this post is about the few words we were able to exchange with him and the jam packed set he played at The Estate in Boston.
The young DJ/Producer arrived in Boston on the evening of February 6th. This event was setup to make up for the one that had been cancelled earlier in November 2012 due to the weather. Lucky for us he performed three days before the worst blizzard seen in Boston since 1978. The Bangin Beats team met up with Arty at his hotel in downtown Boston. After a small chat we walked over to his venue with him, his manager and the venues resident DJ Costa. The Estate is one of Boston’s largest and best night clubs known for bringing the most elite artists in dance music to the New England Area. Personally, my first show there was back in 2007 with David Guetta behind the decks.
In a conference room tucked away on a different level, we sat with Arty to ask him about his music, how he makes it and where his passion for it comes from.
First off thank you for taking the time to speak with us. We here at TBB are huge fans and can’t wait to hear your set tonight.
TBB: You started producing back in 2009 when you were all of 19 years old, what has changed for you in terms of production?
Arty: I have started making my tracks much much more longer. Like right now for me it takes longer. Before, I could make a track in 5 hours or I could make a track in 2 days. Right now it will take for me at least one or two weeks because lot of things in my mind change like how it should work in a track, what kind of elements you should use properly and what is the best way to get that kind of quality. So, there is no quality in one day, I mean at least for me maybe some other producers can do a decent job in a couple of days, I can’t, I’m the sort of guy who will get a good idea and polish it over and over again before it sounds like okay for you.
TBB: Yeah, you want the quality to be perfect and up to your standards..
Arty: Yes exactly!
TBB: Is it difficult to do that on the road, while you’re flying around?
Arty: Yes it’s pretty difficult, because you do not have decent speakers in your room in a hotel. The environment every time is different in different hotels, different places. You do not know what time you wake up, what time you are going to bed, what time you’re going to the club. And, its just so spread out so its hard to focus on something so its really hard to produce music on the road but you know you can make some ideas and polish them and open it on your laptop in the flight or hotel or in the car and look at what you have there. Maybe work little bit, but for me I really prefer the time I am in my studio in my hometown. I can get some free time and hang out with my friends, family as well and with my girlfriend and making new music when everything is so inspiring. Not like when you sit in hotel and do nothing for three days. Yeah I think I’m still kind of the guy who likes doing music in the studio and not in the hotel. But I am trying to get used to it.
TBB: Can you tell us a little bit about how it started for you? Can you remember the moment when you were absolutely sure that production and DJing is what you wanted to do?
Arty: Not really, I mean with some time it became the whole idea for me in my life that I wanted to do exactly this thing. First music was cool, then after when I started in university and studied for a couple of years I understood that what I’m studying was totally not my thing. I mean I can understand it but I can’t love it. You know you could say that was the boiling point for me, so after that I just started to make tracks again and again and spending all my time for it. I mean that’s the reason we are here now right?
TBB: Yes it is! Was there one specific event, where maybe the crowd was really into it, that made you realize you were one of the best?
Arty: Uhhh, its hard to say I mean probably the first greatest experience and still one of the most exciting shows i have played was in 2011 in Ukraine in Kiev at the Global Gathering Festival was like damn that was something you know that was the festival that turned everything around. It was so great, crowd was just amazing and reaction was just amazing so I really want to go back to Kiev and maybe this year I will do it.
*Arty dropping Heart is King by Axwell at Global Gathering 2011
TBB: You have been very successful with merging two fairly different genres (Progressive and Trance), what does it take to produce such a like-able sound that is appreciated by both sets of fans?
Arty: Well I don’t separate my fans to progressive and to trance, it was the fans who liked my music like back in the day and then there are fans who like what I’m doing right now and the fans who stuck with me since then and until right now who are my true people, these are the people who I am making my music for right now because they are loyal to different experiments, they are loyal to a little bit slower BPM music or a little bit faster BPM music and it makes sense to experiment and yeah I wouldn’t separate them. I’m just making what I do like for the moment and I mean I never try to stick to like one style. It was always experimenting in different fields for me.
TBB: Who has been one person, if you had to name one that’s heavily influenced your career in this field? Is there somebody that mentored you?
Arty: Oh yeah! for a whole time it was Axwell, in terms of production, in terms of what kind of man he is, what kind of person he is, in terms of live shows and in terms of everything pretty much so yeah I would say its Axwell.
TBB: Do you see yourself doing that for someone else? Is there somebody that you are trying to bring up?
Arty: Umm, maybe I’m too young for it but maybe in next couple of years. We’ll see where I’m going to be in 2015 or 2016.
TBB: Last question, what advice or feedback can you as the artist and the creative side give to us, the support side of the industry, your fans and people who write about you, go to you shows etc? What can we do to help this industry where so much is happening?
Arty: That’s a good question, I mean as far as you’re supporting the artist, as long as you’re coming to the shows and are patient and show your love to the DJ, he will do the same if he is not a douchebag (laughs). You know that’s pretty much all you can do, follow the artists, go to the shows. You know like some of the people are crazy going from Miami to LA, and then from LA to NY to see one guy so what more can you ask. You know that’s totally enough for me, you showing me love I’m showing you love when I’m playing so this is like back and forth.
TBB: Well we appreciate you sitting with us and look forward to your show here tonight and in India.
Arty: Yeah man thanks, see you out there!!
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The Estate is a great location to experience any big name perform. Simply because there are multiple levels to this club providing various views to the main console. This gives you the opportunity to choose between being at a distance to watch the artist lay down his work, or raging right in the middle of it all shoulder to shoulder with fellow ragers. We were in the console when he went on but decided to venture around the club to experience it all.
Arty gave the crowd a progressive house heavy 2 hours with many of his own tracks as well as some successful tracks from Alesso, Zedd, Showtek, Hardwell, Porter Robinson and of course Mat-Zo.
The set that this talented performer delivered was nothing short of pure unadulterated awesome. Starting the set off right with Thing Called Love by Above & Beyond, Arty took us straight into one of our favourite collaborations. Mozart with Mat-Zo, which has been an absolute banger for over a year prepared the crowd exactly for what lay ahead.
*Watch in 720p for best quality
At this point, the drop from Mozart had left the crowd wanting more and Arty gave them exactly that with Trio, his collaboration with Matisse & Sadko. The uplifting piano riff is the perfect lead into a high tempo synth which is a great representation of Arty’s current sound. This track sparked a 30 minute mixing frenzy from Arty which included back to back big room sounds from 2012. Among these his very own and highly anticipated Together We Are featuring Chris James, the same voice behind the Veldt by Deadmau5.
He then transitioned in Cannonball by Showtek, completely utilizing the ideal electro drop that this track has to offer, as has been shown in festivals all throughout 2012. His remix of Spectrum by Zedd was next and may have been one of my favourite drops of the night. The buildup lurks and drops into darkness which is then filled by the vocals of Matthew Koma.
Already immensely pleased with the drop I had just witnessed, Arty brought it up a notch by dropping his mashup of Rapture by Nadia Love with his own Around the World. This brought back some memories with a classic and sensational track like Rapture which changed the entire vibe. Soon after this we were graced with another big 2012 EDM anthem. Language brought the crowd together while they were chanting the song and Arty was seen loving every moment of it. His focus while mixing is on his decks, but every two or three tracks he gets into it and shows his fans how much he enjoys doing this.
*Watch in 1080p for best quality
The sheer energy that Arty brought to this club that night was amazing to watch. The set was packed with big room sounds that made a mostly full club rage on a Wednesday night. It is amazing to watch an artist do as well as Arty has at his age. The set may have featured many chart topping anthems, but his own creations and remixes were not left out by any means.
Given how mainstream EDM has become, especially the genres Arty specializes in, this crowd was an educated and informed one. They chanted and sang along with most of Artys tracks and of course the rest of the set. Based on this display, we can confidently say that Arty is a great performer and we look forward to the next time we can experience his music. His production skills can only be expected to get better with his knowledge of the art.
We would like to congratulate The Estate for putting together a well organized and well hosted event and would of course like to thank Arty and his team for putting together a great show. As his loving fans say, ‘No party without Arty!”
Interviewed By Kabir Uppal and Akshay Bhardwaj
Edited and written by Kabir Uppal
[…] ARTY […]