Veytik, a former combat engineer turned audio engineer, producer, and DJ, creates music that embraces the duality of light and darkness. His sound is constantly evolving across a range of moods, shaped by his own growth and response to world events.
Photo credit: Veytik – Official
As a producer for ten years, Veytik has relentlessly pursued his passion for music, connecting with others on a path of musical therapy. The resulting sound is often haunting and thought-provoking, resonating with a depth and pain that the artist has come to embrace.
Veytik’s music is influenced by a variety of styles, from ’80s disco and synth-infused horror soundtracks to ecstatic trance and deep, melodic, and organic house sounds. He has been featured on several labels such as Closing Sounds, Click Records, Souq Records, Shango Records, Re: Sound Music, and his own imprint, Art Vibes.
Like the moon and its far side, Veytik acknowledges that denying our darkness is to deny that which makes us whole. He incorporates it into his music, creating a sound that resonates with listeners worldwide.
EG caught up with Veytik to learn more about his current and future projects.
EG: Hi Veytik, welcome to EG! Where are you right now?
Veytik: Hello, thank you for inviting me, it’s an honor. I am living in Connecticut in the United States.
EG: How did you get involved with Electronic music? What made you take this sonic journey?
Veytik: When I got out of the military many years ago, it got me through a really rough time in my life. I was homeless for a while and lost all hope, I never had a good support system and the veteran’s healthcare system in the US is terrible so I didn’t receive much help. But I did however find a friend in music and hope. If it was enough to save me and get me to where I am today it can certainly find its way to someone else. that is my goal alongside my own self-healing.
EG: Your music has been described as haunting and thought-provoking, resonating with depth and pain. How do you channel these emotions into your tracks, and what do you hope listeners will experience when they engage with your music?
Veytik: Honestly, it is so much haunting anymore since I moved away from melodic techno. Ironically enough my first “mel-tech” song came out a few weeks ago in years but I create many genres of music, I don’t really limit myself to one genre but mainly a feeling and sonic signature. I go where the music takes me. My music, however, resonates with my pains and depths, making it my raw emotions, nothing fake. I hope that listeners of my music will relate to it and feel what I was feeling as I made it. Something euphoric, maybe nostalgic at times but following along with current trends yet creating original patterns that further my sound.
EG: Throughout your career, you have explored various genres such as melodic techno, deep organic progressive house, and even 80s synth-infused cinematic sounds. How do you manage to maintain your artistic identity while navigating these diverse musical territories?
Veytik: To put it simply, I make sure it sounds like something that I would dance to, vibe to, or listen to. I think electronic is a blender of styles as it is so a real artist can make more than one style of music if it comes from the heart and soul.
“My music, however, resonates with my pains and depths, making it my raw emotions, nothing fake”
EG: Can you tell us more about your ‘Akkulturatyon’ mix series and how you use music to challenge prejudices and promote progress through sharing culture and experiences?
Veytik: I first never put a genre title on my songs I select, If it vibes and I can blend something Latin with something Arabic then it really helps to acculturate the two cultures together. I for one as a white American male have my own stereotype and I want who I am as a person and as an artist to promote this type of progress.
EG: Can you walk us through your creative process, particularly how you combine piano, guitar, and sound design to create your handcrafted sound?
Veytik: Well it’s always differentiating but I like to usually start with the piano and chords, I like to channel the atmosphere and emotion first. Sometimes I hide them in the mix to either make space for the lead or something that might push the emotion further. The sound design was more noticeable when I started and did melodic techno. I used to break things haha.
For example, to use an external vocal synthesizer plug on a lead to make something wild yet contained. Now it’s all about “chasing an emotion” with everything I do sound design-wise. Everything I do on an EQ or compressor should be just that, to further chase the emotion of the intended sound. Not going against the grain.
The guitar I usually add towards the end as a lead or something on top, it always starts as a jam session on my own track and I take LOTS of takes. Like too many lol. Afterward, I take the best parts and comp them together and try to always go for the most raw sound.
EG: How do you curate and select music for your label ‘Art Vibes’ that aligns with your artistic vision and mission of acculturation?
Veytik: We at Art Vibes have always been very eclectic. We helped create the genre organic house genre with other amazing labels, too many to name, and shifted through this time wonderfully with great artists and visions we had for the season-related compilations we did i.e. Solstice Vibes, Winter Vibes, Spring Vibes. We changed with the seasons and held very high standards. We are not afraid to tell a big artist no if we just don’t like the track. It was never about how many followers they had on Instagram but about the music itself. Myself, Pandora, Eryck Wyseman (Beyond Physical), and 9Deep always had to agree on everything as a whole.
EG: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a producer and DJ, and how have you overcome them?
Veytik: For years it was finding my sound, then adapting and evolving that sound with the industry. Music changes with time, sometimes we go back and forward at the same time. It’s easier to look at something familiar for a trend such as a resurgence of trance or disco. And then I had really bad health issues for 2 years after COVID. I couldn’t do barely any music then, it was terrible.
I overcame everything because the only time I believed I failed was if I gave up. I never will give up. Not because I think I am something special but because I believe I have a real and genuine message to put across after this crazy life I have lived.
“We at Art Vibes have always been very eclectic. We helped create the genre organic house genre with other amazing labels”
EG: How do you think the electronic music scene has evolved over the past decade, and what trends or changes have caught your attention?
Veytik: Ah the trends… We have seen so many come and go. I feel an indie dance type of trend is happening at the moment. This style has disco roots so I adapted to that since I started in disco even before Veytik when I was D1rty Kickz. But we have seen great trends from Arabic house to Afro house, and everything in between. I like to think of what makes them special and focus on those elements, some things like drums in an afro house track, or supersaws or chords in a trance track.
This is important because the times change the cultures we get introduced to in music. This is the perfect thing to add to my music for a different piece. Sometimes subtle but acculturating nonetheless. Different style, something unique.
EG: As an artist who values the power of music as therapy, how do you think electronic music can positively impact people’s mental well-being?
Veytik: It’s a meditative state. Your brain shuts off to listen to music whether on your computer or in from of a DJ booth or stage. It gives it a rest, it slows down your thoughts, and filters what is important in that very moment. You have a clarity unlike anything else if you are really into the music. Something that can heal, unlike some garbage pill a pharmaceutical company tries to sell you.
It helps us get through tough times. In the past 2 weeks, I just lost my best friend. She was someone I spent my whole days with from wake to rest. Getting lost in music got me through these incredibly tough times and rejuvenated my soul and the passion in my heart. That is the key, get lost in the music. Let it take you somewhere and anything is possible. Your greatest enemy is your own mind a lot of the times.
EG: What advice would you give to aspiring producers and DJs who are looking to make their mark in the industry?
Veytik: Stop trying to be like everything else. Make your own sound. Keep at it even if it sounds like shit. Something will eventually not. Find out what that was and go with that. Don’t make a half-baked song that is “clean” and that is the focus. Make something that will move you when you hear it, give you goosebumps, and that you are proud of. It might take you 5 years or 10 but if you are committed enough you will always win because at that point you are in it for yourself and the music you make is for you. If the emotion is real others will relate to it. Alan Watts said the real secret to life is to just completely be engaged with what you are doing and instead of calling it work realize it’s play.
EG: Thank you for your time.
Veytik: Thank you for inviting me and I hope this helps in some way shape or form. I just want to help people in the only way I know and connect with people.
Veytik’s ‘Let The Flame Take You’ is out via Polyptych. Stream and download here.
Follow Veytik: Soundcloud | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook
