With the world constantly changing, Andrew Rayel finds his harmony by pioneering great music. We have been keeping up with his music for quite some time now, so it was nice to get a chance to talk to him about his adventures as a DJ/Producer and head of A&R for inHarmony Music.
First, get excited to turn on his latest Armada release with Garibay,“Last Summer”, that stretches Rayel’s spectrum of sound by warmly entering the pop realm. As the season changes to fall, you can look back on this past summer while being washed with these blissful vibes. This radio friendly single creates its own branch of electronic music by uniquely mixing underground sounds with mainstream melodies, in perfect harmony.
Tell us about your recent single with Garibay ft Jake Torrey, “Last Summer,” What was the inspiration for the track and how did the collaboration come about?
ANDREW RAYEL: We started our collaboration back in December of 2017. I knew I wanted to do a track as a summer anthem which was gonna be more pop, slower, more influenced by radio. I fell in love with his sound. I thought it would be great to combine my sound with Fernando’s and his expertise in the pop world. We did it in two days in December: the first day, we did the lyrics and vocals; the second day was the production of the track itself. Ninety percent of it was done after two days. It took another five months to craft the last 10% to make it perfect. I was very happy to work with Fernando [Garibay] because his vision of music is very strong and deep and he has great concepts, so it’s not like the usual things with other artists. With him it was completely different. We listened to a lot of other songs he enjoyed. We had in our minds a very clear vision of how we want the sound and what the song is gonna be about.
Watch the official music video for “Last Summer”:
You recently celebrated your 26th birthday, since your career started at such a young age and your touring schedule has been so rigorous, what are some activities on your bucket-list for the remainder of your 20’s?
ANDREW RAYEL: I’m 26, but I feel like I haven’t don’t a lot of stuff in my life. I’ve never been skiing, for example. Two years ago, I was on a mountain on vacation for the first time. I love nature in general but I’ve never really hiked properly, so all the activities related to nature I haven’t done. I’ve never jumped with a parachute, never been to a lot of countries even though I’ve visited 40 to 50 countries. I like to think there are a lot of things I haven’t done. I’ve never been to an NBA basketball game, never been to a professional soccer game in a proper soccer stadium even though I’ve had chances. With my schedule, in terms of sports, I haven’t done many of them which I’d love to go to the stadium and watch proper teams play.
We often see you playing music live from your studio in Moldova. How does it feel when you’re home? Are you a hometown hero or just one of the locals?
ANDREW RAYEL: Everyone back home knows me but people don’t really bother me in my hometown where I was born. Everyone knows me but a lot of them are really nervous to approach me even though I see their eyes looking at me. I feel pretty good that a lot of them are very educated and they don’t jump on me because they know I’m coming home to see my parents.
As head of A&R for your label, inHarmony Music, what captivates your attention about a new artist? How do they get your attention and what are some key aspects of their music or personality that make you want them on your label?
ANDREW RAYEL: It’s always different and it’s definitely not personality at all. It’s pure music at the beginning. If a track is melodic, sounds fresh and is properly mixed and mastered to a decent level and it matches my vision of music in general, and if I can see playing it in my sets, I see this person being an artist on my label. But, there should be a lot of consecutive tracks of the same quality or growing quality. If I see an artist is consistent, I’ll make him an artist for the label. Then I can say he captured my attention completely. Because there are artists who deliver one great track but then not be consistent. You have to be consistent. If I see all these qualities: great music, is consistent, wants to achieve something, he’s dedicated to create great music, he’s definitely got my attention, then he has a chance of being supported. I’m talking about signing a whole artist, because I can get 20 great tracks from one great artist. I don’t just wanna sign an artist who’s a one-track artist. A lot of guys come to me, we work on one track, some people make the mistake to go to a smaller label for a weaker track, but for me, I’d say, let’s skip the weak one and let me release the next good ones. I don’t want to invest in an artist if he’s going to go to a lesser label for the weaker releases.
Where do you see your career in 10 years? What are some of your big-picture goals? When we look back at the next 10 years of your career, what do you feel your next endeavors will include?
ANDREW RAYEL: Growing the label [inHarmony Music] to a level where it can sustain itself without me being involved. To be a separate entity that grows and develops on its own with established artists. Have a big show and brand and I’d do every once in two years, Find Your Harmony and something else maybe, that would be just me finding my harmony in music and collaborating with all my dream collaborators with AAA dream artists, not from the trance world, because I’ve done that already. But I mean in different genres. Collaborations with big vocalists or artists like Hans Zimmer or Beyonce, that’d be the big picture. Being one of the top 10 DJs in the world and being able to stay there. You never know. The world is changing. The world is moving very fast and you never know. What’s important now might not be important in a few years.
Tune into Andrew Rayel’s latest Find Your Harmony Radioshow ep. 122.
Get the full Andrew Rayel experience by catching him at one of his stops along his international tour that is heading through Turkey, Peru, Mexico, Netherlands, Slovakia, Las Vegas and capping off the year in New York at the Marquee. Keep up with Rayel’s next moves by following him on his social media handles linked below.
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