Lifeforms are Maor Tsemah and Charlie Holden, who, from different sides of the world, have created one of the most exciting new musical partnerships of the progressive psy trance world. Their evolution of the prog-psy sound that has been rising in popularity over the last decade pushes at the tougher end of the progressive spectrum with a full-on flair, igniting dancefloors with a bang!
As Astral Circus prepares to land once more at the Electrowerkz this Friday the 20th May with its well-earned reputation for the highest standards of musical and visual production, Andy Force caught up with one half of the project – Maor – to understand more about what drives this unique entity.
Describe the Lifeforms sound in 3 words.
Psychedelic, groovy & melodic.
Lifeforms appear to have stormed onto the scene – how long have you guys been making music?
I have been making music for over the last 7 years, I started when I was 16 years old.
Tell us a bit about your background; how did you discover psychedelic trance?
I discovered psychedelic trance when I was very young, I think it was in middle school. Psychedelic trance in Israel is really big and there’s no chance you can miss it it here, so I was really into psychedelic trance music and started to listen to psy trance artists.
What is your earliest musical memory?
If we are talking about psy trance, I think it was the B.P. Empire album by Infected Mushroom.
Did you play any instruments?
I had a few lessons on the piano but stopped in the middle. I will probably come back to study in the future, it is something that I always wanted to learn. So I can play a little bit on the piano, but I’m not Mozart haha!
Who are your influences, musical or otherwise?
My influences comes literally from everything! Movies, TV shows, even some random YouTube videos.
Most of my musical influences come from the old school vibe, there is almost no day in my life that I'm not listen to some old school track – like today I was listening to Infected Mushroom - The Missed Symphony.
Looking at your photo sets you’ve played gigs all over the world! What’s the most fun, epic or inspiring memory from your travels?
I have been playing in a lot of cool places and parties, and I really feel thankful for that. Weird as it sounds, I’m still looking for that epic moment! I can say that I’m always having fun touring around the world!
Do you have any sort of a musical philosophy that pushes you creatively?
I think that every person who deals with art, whether it’s a musician or even a painter, is trying to find a way to be the most creative, but in the end there is no such thing. You just need to be yourself.
I’m just trying to be myself, to make music without no rules and boundaries.
The latest track on your Soundcloud – 3rd Eye – is an absolute belter with some real old school sounding acid-goa vibes! Do you see your music evolving in a particular direction, or does every track ’come of the moment’?
The process of creating 3rd Eye was really fun and challenging for me. It’s something that I’m not usually do. This track is much faster and more psychedelic for me than other Lifeforms tracks. Each track is a self-journey, and I’m trying to make music with no boundaries.
I think Lifeforms’ direction is more into psy trance right now, but we are trying to keep the progressive drive as well and to be open minded during the creation of the music.
The psy scene is about more than just music, for a lot of people it’s about art, culture and a way of being in the world. What is it do you think that makes the psy trance world so unique from other music scenes?
Unity, freedom and love... there is something magical when you going to a psy trance party. The vibe is so unique, that you feel it immediately.
Israeli trance has been at the centre of the psy scene thank to Astrix, Infected, Hommega, etc. How is it different now from 10 years ago?
I think the scene has grown tremendously over the last 10 years. There are a lot of artists around the world doing psy trance today, so I think psy trance is not as underground as it was 10 years ago.
Why do you think that is, why has it grown?
I really have no clue why or how it has grown.. but I definitely think it’s a good thing. Because more people are exposed to psy trance, as an artist I think it’s super-important to reach more people.
What do Lifeforms have lined up in the way of releases?
We have a new track with Freedom fighters that will be released really soon on Hommega, a remix of Zentura’s Sonic Masala, and a few more on the way!
What should fans expect when they see Lifeforms perform on the 20th of May at Astral Circus Presents Psy-Fi?
ACCESS ALL AREAS - Phone orders please call +44 (0)20-7267 8320 or +44 (0)20-7267 6148.
You can also purchase tickets from our office on the second floor in the Camden Lock market building in the heart of Camden Town, London.
2nd Floor, 30C Camden Lock Place, London, NW1 8AL
Opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12pm-7pm
(Closed on Bank Holidays)
We are ecstatically excited to announce the full line-up for the Psy-Fi Festival London launch party!!!
Manifesting from a storm of space dust and cosmic rays Astral Circus is proud to present to you some of the hottest psychedelic and alternative acts this side of the galaxy ... for what is going to be our biggest and most intergalactic event to date!!
This party will be a fusion of energies between Astral Circus and Psy-Fi Festival to create a carnival of our collective consciousness. Expect nothing but quality sound, prismatic visual production and of course... our special psychedelic family!