Life-stories Outside the Universe in Interview with Haim Lev & Guy Malka & Boris Blenn

A project between Outsiders (Haim Lev & Guy Malka) and Electric Universe (Boris Blenn)

Self-Portrait: Paint your soul!

What influenced you to get into your field?
Outsiders: We have both been attracted to music since birth. Music has always been an integral part of our life. Over 10 years ago we were confronted by the electronic music revolution and were instantly captivated by it. After a few years of collecting music and going to parties across Israel we each decided to build a studio and start to develop our own significant sound.

Electric Universe: Music has been always my life and I feel more than blessed to be able to do what I love for a living. The very first Trance music I´ve heard evoked a deep bliss in me and really changed something. I already started to make electronic music that time and it became very clear that trance music is what I want to create.

As an artist, what role do you think you play in society?
Outsiders: We are human beings roaming planet earth like everyone else who admire life, nature, people and have the desire to make people happy. Our role in society is to make people dance and smile and be happy.

Electric Universe: Art, especially music can be a huge inspiration to peoples life. Music is an essential part of the native tribe´s rituals. I see the real Psy Trance festivals as the modern tribe gatherings. Music is the fuel, the center.  So we are a bit like the shamans playing the drums… yeah, let´s bring people together, dance and celebrate.

Creating on a regular basis can be a bloody tough job, so what motivates you to press yourself into the workstation every single day?
Outside The Universe: Motivation is essential… we get our motivation from all walks of life… from our family and close friends, from our beloved management and above all from the crowd who is supporting us in every step that we make. We are so passionate about music that it does not feel like we have to press ourselves in the studio… it is more like we are being pressed because it is so much fun.
Do you still get nervous before a performance?
Outside The Universe: Nervous is not the right word to describe it… sheer excitement is more like it… we get our energy from the crowd every time we step on stage. We take this job seriously and aim to please the audience and take them through a personal journey throughout our set.

Face-off: Let’s get the grits on the table:

What’s the story behind your artist name and project?
Outside The Universe: Outside the Universe is the collaboration project of Outsiders & legendary, veteran producer Electric Universe. The name is a blend of both stage names. When we met first time for a studio session we realized that we have a great connection, on a personal as well as on the creative level and we saw that there is much more to discover together. Our motivation with this project is not to do a regular Vs. project but rather to create a brand new project baring a new personal and distinctive sound.

What other genres of music do you listen to? Name your influences.
Outside The Universe: We all love music as a whole… we are connected to basically all forms of genres as long as there is a content in it, a depth, transmission, feeling and / or intelligence.
What quality do you admire the most in others? What quality do you like about yourself the most?
Outside The Universe: The most important characteristics we admire is honesty, respect to others, animals & nature. These characteristics are essential for the world we live in. Change can take place by individuals who strive to make their conduct better.
Which phase was the hardest/scariest in your life?
Outsiders: “Living isn’t easy, no need to make it harder” we try to look at things in a positive way even if at times things are not perfect.

Electric Universe: Most scary are drunk drivers after a week long festival.

When have you been most satisfied in your life? Care to share one of your happiest memories?
Outsiders: The last two years have been amazing for us, loaded with amazing milestones. One of which is our friendship and collaboration with Boris Blenn a.k.a Electric Universe.

Electric Universe: Definitely the birth of my boy Luka. And on stage every time when the crowd is taking the roof off.

Everyone starts somewhere, what was your first job before you got into music?
Electric Universe: Working as a bar tender in a concert club in Hamburg. Great job, seeing lot´s of different music styles every weekend, from Death Metal to Kraftwerk and Techno.
Flash-forward in time. You are now really old. What would you tell your children/loved ones?
Outsiders: A time machine has not yet been developed so it’s hard to really predict. We hope that we will tell our kids that we led an honest life and contributed & touched the souls of others via our art and assisted them in being happier.

Electric Universe: My deepest wish is that I can tell them that our generation is the one that managed a global awakening to a degree of enough cooperation to stop all wars and the destruction of our beautiful planet.

Into the time machine again. What do you miss about being a kid?
Outside The Universe: We hope to keep a “kid-like” side to us till the day we die ☺“
Excessive chopping dulls the axe. Time-outs are a must. What do you do when you take time off from creating? Got any hobbies? (Books? Movies? TV shows?)
Outside The Universe: We are fortunate to do what we LOVE and we invest in our music everything we got. It’s true everybody needs time off to clear the head… We are very connected to our families and friends and try to spend as much time as possible with them.

The genie comes out of the lamp and grants you one wish that will change the world. What would you wish for?
Outside The Universe: PEACE BETWEEN ALL NATIONS

How do you connect to the spiritual side of yourself?
Outsiders: Spirituality for us is to understand that there is a big purpose in life and that there is a higher being who is watching after each and every one of us.

Electric Universe: I am into meditation, yoga and I also love different spiritual practices like Holotropic Breathwork.

Do you have any belief/beliefs that you cannot do without?
Outsiders: We are very close to our religion which acts as an important tool for us.

Electric Universe: Most essential for me is family and friends.

On the Scene of Psytrance:

Where do you think psytrance is headed? Future trends?
Outside The Universe: We are not prophets… What we can say is that it’s a genre that is expanding and growing on a global level. The Psytrance sound has broken the barriers of the underground and is available for and loved by a lot more people than before. The graph is elevating and that is a happy and positive thing.

What do you think of the scene at the present moment? What would you like changed or what would like to see remain at status quo?
Outside The Universe: Honestly we like what we are seeing so far and hope it will keep on progressing and affecting the personal lives of others.
Piracy, works out negatively for the artist, but it allows listeners’to access music that would otherwise be hard to source. Art should be shared…in this light what are your thoughts on piracy vs. a price tag?
Outside The Universe: This is more a philosophical question than anything else. The world is fast changing and markets need to adapt to the breeze of change governed by the advances of technology & science. A wise man once said “if you can’t beat them join them”, fighting change is stupid and will only take you back instead of forward. As artists, unlike Record Labels the digital revolution, internet etc… only expanded and took the music farther than before granting more and more people access. Personally we see it as a good thing.

Pearls: Words of Wisdom for reader and fans:

At the end of the ride, everyone’s looking for some form of success (tangible or not), what does success mean to you?
Outsiders: If we will be able to continue throughout our life cycle to create music and live honestly off our craft we will be happy.

Electric Universe: Leaving the planet one day being able to let go and say: WOW, yes I´ve done it totally to the max.

What’s the best advice you have ever received?
Outside The Universe: Music is the Key
One word to describe yourself, and one word to describe music?
Outside The Universe: Fortunate | LOVE
Outside the Universe on facebook
Boris Blenn / Electric Universe on facebook
Outsiders on facebook