Armin : Lets talk about the album title “Opus”, is there any meaning to that word ?
Eric : Its kind of funny one, coz a lot of people might think that i am calling my album Opus as in “Magnum Opus” (in latin it means Great Work) and you know it might irritate a few of people, which i like (Armin & Eric Laughs) so thats another reason for it.
Armin : 2015 saw the release of 3 Pryda EPs with 22 new tracks and in the mean while you managed to find time to produce an entire album as well, is it just because you are on the bus all the time, you never short of inspiration?
Eric : Yeah, i mean when i am on the tour bus thats when i actually do most of my new tracks and stuff like that, but i just think normally, because the music that i make, i always, i make them with the purpose of playing them out at my shows, i never have the intention of, you know, i don’t sit down, and, Oh m gonna make a new record now, m gonna make a new EP, you know, which has resulted in not releasing that much of music, but i am making all this music and the fans hear the music at my shows, they are going crazy, tearing like their hair off (Armin laughs) because i am not releasing any of the tracks you know, so last year WE (me and the management) decided to up in gear a little bit and start releasing some music finally, you know, its been so much fun i have to say,
Armin : Great, is there any tune on the album that means the most to you, or are they all special for you?
Eric : Ahhh (sighs), I started with over a 100 tracks you know and we got them down to 30 and i was starting to decide which should go on, which should not go on, you know, each track reminds me of part in a place in the past 10 years, so for me to pick just 1 track is very hard you know, i love the track Opus, i love Moody Mondays, i love Last Dragon obviously i love Sunset At CafÈ Mambo as well you know, i cant really pick a favorite .
Armin : Do you tweak every single track after you play them out ?
Eric : Yes, i mean thats the advantage for me for making tracks on the road is that i can road test them the same day as i made the track and when if there is something in the arrangement that i felt, the crowd will tell me, if it works, it doesn’t works you know, and when the next day m at a new show i change the track a little bit and then i can see yeah that actually works much better and its a cool process and i am fortunate that i can work like that and then obviously u know when i get back home after a tour, i sit down in the studio and try mix everything perfectly in the studio coz on the road i only have headphones, so its a fun way to work,
Armin : Wow, So a lot of tracks that you play in your sets are just mixed down on the headphones, thats it..?
Eric : Well, all of them, i have to say that its just now recently when i actually have a studio at my home before that i was only using the headphones.
Armin : You are also gearing up for your Epic 4.0 tour, is there anything special you can tell us about that ?
Eric : Well, thats what i am doing now, i am actually on the tour bus travelling from Los Angeles to New York where we are doing the first 3 Epic 4.0 shows of this tour you know, what can i say like everything was the first Epic in 2011, we always try an up to next one and bringing brand new technology and you know whatever we can find our hands on, the last show looks shit compared to the new one you know (Armin laughs), and thats what gonna happen this time around, i mean Epic 4.0 is just gonna blow your head off, i mean i am so excited about this, i cant tell you that.
Armin : Amazing, When you played at A State of Trance stage at Ultra Music Festival Miami last year, i didnt have a chance to ask you what you thought about it, i mean we all went nuts and it still is one of the most epic sets i think we ever heard that in Miami, what do you think of it ?
Eric : I have to say that man, i loved it, the thing is this you know we were in the Miami, i was in America, it was Ultra, normally you would go in there and kind of play at stage when you play all the big things that people know, well u know, how it works.. but because of you guys had invited me to come and play to your arena it was a different thing for me coz i know a lot of your followers from the whole trance side of things appreciate what i do as well, coz i have that melodic thing going in my music so i knew i will have a much more educated crowd in your arena than i will have on the MainStage or something like that. So i started thinking and i said you know what i am gonna take a chance and i am gonna do this my way, the way i wanna do it and i am not gonna choose the tracks just to get a reaction you know, i wanna play everyone some new music and thats what i did, and,you were there you know, it was amazing.
Armin : Phenomenal,lemme just say as a fan, i hope you do a lot more sets like that, and hope you keep producing many more tracks like Opus and your album i mean, its no secret that i am a big fan of your work, so keep up the good work and i cant wait to play some more stuff from you on the show, and good luck with the Epic 4.0 tour
Eric : Thanks a lot Armin, and thanks for the support, i really appreciate it and thanks for having me on the show.
Armin : Alright man, Thank you and have a good trip.
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