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Ralph Kyau talks!

<a href=http://www.euphonic.de>Euphonic Records</a> are one of the most established, enduring and innovative trance labels in the history of the genre.

Now celebrating their tenth anniversary, Euphonic have consistently released forward looking tracks by musical megaliths like Armin Van Buuren and been championed by DJs like Paul Van Dyk. With their 10th Anniversary CD out now, mixed by Kyau & Albert and Ronski Speed, DJMag caught up with label head Ralph Kyau to talk trance...

How does it feel to be celebrating 10 years of Euphonic?

"It's cool because when we started this we were quite young, in our early twenties. We didn't expect that it would last so long. In the beginning we started off as a hobby, and we didn't think we could be so successful that we could live from the music."

What have been your favourite releases in the 10 year history of the label?

"That's a hard question! Mirco de Govia's 'Voller Sterne', and Young Parisians' 'Jump The Next Train' remix. Also, Sun Decade 'I'm Alone' and Sonorous 'Protonic' were really significant records. The first big record for Euphonic was Sonorous 'Glass Garden' in 2000. Seven years ago, Euphonic was three years old, and it was the first step to becoming internationally well known and respected."

How do you think trance music has changed?

"In a way what we've produced ourselves and released recently on Euphonic, it's no longer the fast synth lines, it's getting more groovy. I personally really like it. When music doesn't have the potential to develop, grow or change, it gets boring, and it's like the death of a music, it becomes too niche. So we're trying to bring in the new Euphonic sound, since the really significant release of Marc Marberg's 'Guarana' two years ago, which was a combination of a slightly more progressive sound, it was a bit harder. We had a discussion with our distributor, and they said: 'Hey guys, don't you think it's too risky for your fans?', and we said that it really works in our set, we love it, it's fresh. In the end, it was a really big vinyl seller, it's really interesting to try things out, you know?"

What do you think of the psy trance scene which has blown up so hugely?

"I have a couple of friends who are big fans of the sound. But it's a little too fast and hectic for what Euphonic is doing."

Which artists are exciting you at the moment?

"We've just signed a guy from Poland called Sebastian Sand, he's very talented. Outside of the Euphonic stable I like what Gareth Emery, is doing, I believe that Gareth is a nice guy as a person, he is a very good producer, and style-wise he's going in a direction that I personally like to produce at the moment myself. He brings more from different influences, more grooves, which normally don't belong in trance, but it works really well. The good thing about trance that I see this year in Germany is compared with the minimal and electro house scene, as it gets very boring when you go into a club and there's no melody. This is what I like about trance, there is always melody."

Tell us about the Euphonic 10 Year Anniversary CD...

"It's a double CD and the first CD is mixed by Ronski Speed, a long term Euphonic artist and a really nice guy. He was one of the first guys in our team, we signed him in the first year along with Sonorous, his friend. The other CD is mixed by me and Steven, Kyan and Albert, and it features all the big releases on Euphonic. The nice thing is that we don't really play old stuff when we DJ, but going into the compiling and mixing of the CD, sometimes you try things out, and we listened back and felt it was nice to hear it again. At the moment we are doing a Euphonic world tour, which started last Friday in Helsinki, and tomorrow we are doing the anniversary party in Germany, in Berlin. And we are going to be on Paul Van Dyk's radio show, to talk about the last ten years."

What can we expect from Euphonic next?

"In the pipeline is the Stoneface & Terminal album. They as artists are really interesting, and Ronski Speed is working on a new album. We are keeping it all Euphonic - we never really believed in doing a sub label, we believed in one strong brand, with a particular sound for an artist. The label is the one umbrella that will support the various styles that the artists want to explore."