Montreal is a metropolitan city touching the shores of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. It is a city renowned for its cultural landmarks, and is also famous for an exciting night life, boasting a wide array of clubs and after hour hotspots. In many ways, it is the perfect spot for moevalith, an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) artist, to apply his skills and vision. It from this city, that he shares with us his thoughts in this discussion.

shakomakonet: What does your name mean? Where did it come from?
moevalith: Moevalith is an artist alias that I’ve come up with in my early teenage years. It’s meaning is somewhat complex and personal to myself, however the name came from a number of ideas; monoliths, melodies, and purples. Electronic dance music, to some extent, has the ability to pierce your heart, to a degree that may inspire you and make you feel like the sky is the limit. When I thought of hearts and skies I also thought of red and blue, and if you were to mix both colors together, you would get purple, which is a color often associated with passion. And mauve is french for purple... I then decided to squeeze my name onto mauve and finally came up with moeva. Lastly, a monolith is a structure carved from one piece of stone, which requires the carver to have love, skill and patience. This gives you a vague meaning of moevalith, But its up to the music I play and produce to give the true meaning, so be sure to listen in :)

shakomakonet: How did your love affair with EDM start?
moevalith: It all started with a mixcd my sister hooked me up with, a cd which opened me to a whole new world, a world that I wanted to explore and contribute. It was love at first sight, so spread the love and share your beats ;)

shakomakonet: Now, to many people unfamiliar with the world of EDM, a deejay is just someone who puts and mixes together a playlist, is that what you do?
moevalith: DJs not only mix tracks together but it’s important for them to enjoy the sport of performance. You can’t pump yourself up for a night where the DJ is almost falling asleep on the decks ;) But ultimately its all about mixing skills, tracks and flows.

shakomakonet: So you also compose your own music, how did you start that?
moevalith: I recognized at a very early stage that producing music is not only a difficult process, but also an important one since it is almost the only way a DJ can get heard around the world. My dad was always an influence, having him around the house always playing his violin and keyboards may have influenced and encouraged me to start producing sooner than later. However what really got me in the loop was the development of my third ear. The more I listened to EDM the more ideas I understood which in turn got me thinking about my own EDM ideas, and so I started translating my sonic thoughts onto music concrete immediately.

shakomakonet: There are many different variations of EDM, which one do you indulge in? And how do you describe it?
moevalith: My style has never been more into tek; a blend of tech house, acid house, techno and minimalism. I won’t say too much to describe it since I’m sharing a mix with you guys and I don’t want to play with expectations. All I can say is that it’s colorful and exotic, at least to me ;)

shakomakonet: You’re Iraqi, from Basra, does that fit into your quest as an artist, or in your art itself, at all?
moevalith: Being an Iraqi makes me want to push as much as I can. I have envisioned many projects that have Basrawi tribal rhythms, and will be producing these projects in the years to come. I am working really hard to get Iraqi material out there and heard, so expect to receive more from me :)

shakomakonet: What do you strive to accomplish as an artist, what do you see as success in your quest as an artist?
moevalith: I’d love to make a difference in the scene, contribute to the best of my ability, and have a great time doing my work, but that’s easier said than done. To succeed in the EDM industry you need to be creative, have strong cyber relations, work with professionals, know how to market yourself, and lastly have good friends that will truly believe in you more than you might yourself, those who would push for you. You really have to know how to play your cards right…

shakomakonet: What does playing live mean to you? the crowd? people have described deejays in the past as being magicians putting people in a trance, do you feel that responsibility?
moevalith: When I play live, I become a manifested form of moevalith. It’s a remarkable feeling to have people react to the material you yourself enjoy a great deal. A certain energetic fabric is created when you play and this becomes a relationship. This energy travels through the fabric from the crowd, to the DJ and vise versa, creating some sort of dimension. A DJ has a voice that runs through massive speakers, so magic is sometimes inevitable ;)

moevalith has been an intrinsic part of the success of this project, through the use of his other skills. We thank him for his continued support, and wish him the best of luck in his pursuit of a higher state.