One of Anjunabeats‘ most recent findings, and already on his way to become the next big thing, Ilan Bluestone, is responsible for a number of hits, most notable of which are “Under My Skin“, his collaboration with Jerome Isma-Ae, “Sinai”, “Capetown” and most recently his remix of Ca3sar’s Lakota, which found its way on Armin Van Buuren’s prestigious Universal Relegion 7 compilation.
Despite garnering such acclaim, Ilan remains grounded and is a very humble human being who loves to connect with each and every one of his fans.
We caught up with the man himself for an interview after his first gig in India, at the Sunburn Campus at NM college, Mumbai. Hit past the break to read up on what Ilan had to tell us about
TBB: Hey Ilan, welcome to India. First up, we’d like to ask you, how did you like playing for a bunch of college students in India? What has your experience in the country been so far?
Ilan Bluestone: India is absolutely amazing, I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed it. I mean, it’s a whole new experience. It took me 16 hours to get here.
TBB: We’ve been following your twitter updates and noticed you got a little confused?
Ilan Bluestone: (Laughs) Yeah, I wrote by accident that I’m in Bangalore, cause I was so jet lagged I didn’t know what was going on. But it’s an honour. The crowd here, they know how to party, I must say. No alcohol, and they’ve been partying so hard.
TBB: Certainly. Had you heard about the crowds in India and their energy before coming here?
Ilan Bluestone: I’ve heard only good things about Indian crowd. I’ve heard only good stuff like ‘they know how to party.’ And you know you can see from YouTube videos, like just watching Above & Beyond, that it was insane!
TBB: With all the success which has been coming your way, we’re very intrigued to know, when you started did you ever imagine that you’d be touring the world and that you’d get where you are today?
Ilan Bluestone: Honestly, I never did. I mean I’ve always hoped I could get here. I really wanted to come to India at some point, whether it was a holiday, or to DJ. So, you know, the whole Sunburn experience has been fantastic. The whole team has been awesome! You guys have really smashed it. I mean, I was very impressed by the whole crowd and the organization was very professional. And the fact that you guys have sorted it out for free for the audience is absolutely insane so, well done! That’s really really good stuff and I really enjoyed it. The crowd was really awesome, and again, you guys really know how to party!
TBB: That’s great to hear, we enjoyed ourselves just as much! In fact, we’ve been huge fans since we’ve heard Sinai and Capetown and have also been following you on Above & Beyond’s ‘Group Therapy’ radio show. Speaking of ABGT, how does it feel to have signed on with a label as huge as Anjunabeats?
Ilan Bluestone: It’s a dream come true. It really has been. Ever since I was a kid, my dream was to be a part of Above & Beyond and anything related. And the whole Trance Around The World/ ABGT experience has just opened a lot of doors for me. I’m just doing what I love which is to produce music and now DJing and performing live for you guys and for the whole world has been insane. So to be a part of the Anjuna Family for me is absolutely insane.
TBB: That’s really awesome. You’ve also had a few collaborations with Maor Levi who’s also a part of the Anjuna family. How does it feel to have worked with him?
Ilan Bluestone: Maor Levi is actually one of my good friends. And he’s like my bro, really. “Brother from another mother” as some people would like to call it. In fact, he’s actually part Indian as well. His family roots are Indian. His grand mother is Indian, and his father is Moroccan. So he’s basically got a falafel of everything together. So yeah, working with Maor has been amazing. We’re both on the same kind of wavelength and we both love what we do. We have a passion for melodies and music and emotions, and to express that. On Our Own was a first proper project that we did together and there’s many more to come. In fact there’s a few in the works. I’d love to go back to back at Sunburn with Maor. I think that would be the next step. Getting Maor down here and a huge crowd for Sunburn, I think that’s the way forward.
TBB: Definitely, that would be a treat to watch. Speaking of production, We’ve heard your dubstep project on your Soundcloud page, and we have to ask, Any plans on producing dubstep in the future?
Ilan Bluestone: Umm. Well, On Our Own kind of has like a little bit of my dubstep twist. I think dubstep is awesome music, but I don’t know, I just love the Boom! Boom! Boom! bit of production for me. Like I love bass, so for me mixing between dubstep and house and trance, all in one big pita bread is great. That’s what I love. That’s what I’m going to carry on doing.
TBB: Sounds great! So Ilan, where do you see yourself, say 5-10 years down the line from here?
Ilan Bluestone: I see myself back in India for the 50th time and hopefully for an even bigger crowd. I mean, the crowd here was awesome and it’s amazing that there was no drugs, no alcohol and everyone just enjoyed pure music. The Indian people, even Indian people in England, have got a passion for music like no other. They’ve got a very strong emotion, and they love their emotions and I really haven’t seen that anywhere else lately.
TBB: Under My Skin has been a huge hit world wide, and it’s also one of our personal favourites. Could you give us a little insight into the creative process behind coming up with such a massive tune?
Ilan Bluestone: Well Jerome (Isma-Ae) and I wrote it. I had met him and we’d basically decided to team up together because he really liked Capetown & Sinai, but Capetown was his favourite. He had played it in every set and Jerome wanted to come to my house, so he came to my house and we had dinner together. And then we decided to basically produce Under My Skin, and we made it in about 5 hours. So after about 5 hours, we went straight to Ministry Of Sound, on that day, and we tested it out. We had like a really early version of it but it doesn’t sound anything like the version you’ve got now. It has the same melody, but a different overall sound. And the crowd loved it!
TBB: You dropped the vocal version in your set today. When do we expect that out?
Ilan Bluestone: Yes, I dropped the vocal version just to see how it goes. And well that’s the thing, we have to see if it gets approved. If it does, then it will come out. But for now, it was just a tester to see how the crowd would enjoy it and to see what the atmosphere would be like. I personally saw most of the crowd kind of join in to it.
TBB: Well, we loved it. The original had a fantastic melody and the vocals just added to the magic. It was insane. Now let’s talk about the dance music scene around the world. It’s really bursting. Do you think it’s going to continue to be this way or is it going to just pop, like how every genre of music has its era?
Ilan Bluestone: I think it’s opened the minds of a lot people and I think EDM is only going to get bigger. Right now it’s really huge in the States. But many countries have picked up on it and now there are festivals spreading all over. Hopefully Sunburn might take over other parts of the world.
TBB: We hope so as well. Could you tell us the most bangin’ tracks which are forming a part of your sets currently?
Ilan Bluestone: Well, the one I played today, the one with Arty & Armin Van Buuren, Nehalennia. What a tune! That is an epic track. That’s the song that I thing I’d play in every set. That for me is just epic.
Also Arty’s edit of Paul Van Dyk and Sue Mclaren, We Come Together. Even though it’s a bit of an oldie, I’d still play that at every set. Arty is one of my huge inspirations alongside Above & Beyond and Mat Zo. They’re all very talented. Mostly the Anjunabeats family. That’s my sound really and that’s what I’m going to carry on doing for the rest of my life.
TBB: That’s brilliant! Finally, Can you give us a message to give all your Indian fans?
Ilan Bluestone: India, you’re awesome! You know how to party and it’s been very surreal. Hopefully, ill be back for Sunburn again. Let me know, and I’d definitely come again!
TBB: Thank you so much for taking time out and speaking with us. It’s been an absolute pleasure!
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Special thanks the team at Sunburn and Shark & Ink!
Interview by: Shule Puri
Edited by: Aditya Seth
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