Hailing from Kazakhstan, Gassan is paving his way to conquer the world step by step. With releases on great labels like Dear Deer, Natura Viva and upcoming on IconNYC, he is well on the way.
We had a chat with this great talent about his music, his country and life in general. Check it out.
Connect with Gassan on Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | SoundCloud
Thanks for talking to us, how are you doing?
Hi! Everything is fine, thank you!
You are known for your melodic house & techno sound, why is this the genre/style you chose to produce? What about it that resonates with you?
In general, I have always loved melodic music, I started with Progressive Trance when it was at the peak of its popularity, in the current Melodic Techno I see those wonderful times when I was engaged in Trance sound, and in general it is now very popular and relevant music!
You’ve released a lot of music in the last few months. Including “Don’t Wake Up” with Andrey Exx and “Galaxy” on Exx Muzk. What was the inspiration behind your music and what were you trying to bring to the listener’s experience?
Now I’m trying to make music a mixture of Indie Dance and Melodic Techno, labels like my sound! I always find inspiration at performances, it energizes me to make new music! I try to make tracks that are pleasant to listen to on headphones, and also that they go well on the dance floor during performances!
Tell us more about yourself. New music, events, and projects to tell us about?
In 2024 I will release a lot of new music, I will release a very strong track on the famous ICONYC label, and there will also be releases on Exx Muzik, 3000Grad, I think I’ll try my hand at the sound of Afro House, I think next year this music will be very popular, in 2023 year it gained very great popularity, I will also have performances in India and Turkey, I want to start touring more!
Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your production work and otherwise, please.
My day always goes differently. But most often I wake up early, except on weekends! I do a little warm-up, meditate a little, or at least listen to light and pleasant music! Then, most often, I have breakfast and I check social networks, listen to music, download tracks I like and write music, and watch various training videos on production!
There have been quite a few amazing electronic music artists emerging from Kazakhstan like yourself. What was it like growing up there and who were some of your local heroes?
In general, there are a lot of interesting artists from Kazakhstan! And I’m very happy about it. I think in the era of the Internet it makes no difference where you live and create music! The main thing is to make interesting music and people will know about you!
During the times of trance music, the Armada Music label made a big impact on me, then they released all the top trance hits! I really like Afterlife now! In general, there are no specific idols.
Who did you look up to and why?
I try not to be equal to anyone! But I listen to a variety of popular tracks and analyze them, follow trending labels, now everything in music is changing very quickly!
If you were a tour guide for nightlife in Kazakhstan, what would be the clubs you’d take the people to see and what local DJs do they need to hear?
Unfortunately, we don’t have many places like this! But there is a very interesting festival called Spekto, they bring many famous world DJs! From the Institutions I would definitely take to Bar7, Kumano and perhaps Subject – these places play good dance music and a very pleasant audience!
What’s a book you’ve read or film you watched that has left an impact on you, and why?
Not long ago I watched one very powerful film based on real events called “Lessons of Farsi” – this is a masterpiece of world cinema. It’s a film about the times of the war, when Hitler killed Jews! A very life-like film!
Apart from music, what makes you happy?
My family and travel, travel is the best investment in yourself, it makes you very happy!
What does 2024 hold for you, Gassan? Anything you can share with us?
There are a lot of plans, there will be a lot of music, more than in 2023, from the releases there will be a very strong release on the ICONYC label and I will do a couple of parties in my hometown Almaty!
Thank you!
