Mexican psytech trance artist and producer, Gabriel KLEIMAN, also of Ometeotl Festival, is joining the procession on the way to the Ozorian experience, adding some Mexican spirit to the Pumpui atmopshere this summer. Get to know a bit more about the man behind the project and get in the mood with the music, read audioillustrated.

What were some of the events or experiences that set you off on this journey?

Music has played an important role through all my life, I used to play the guitar before I had my first encounter with electronic music. The psy trance journey started back in 1999, when a friend gave me a cassette tape with many electronic music tracks, one of them particularly caught my attention, it was the only psy trance tune on the tape and it was from Hallucinogen. My friend told me it was psy trance and I started searching for more of that interesting music. Shortly after I was attending all the psytrance parties around Mexico City, meeting important friends in my life that were already in the scene and learning how to Dj. After some years of Djing night sets and warming up for the headliners, I started producing my own music and the passion for trance culture took a hole new scale.

How was your alter ego born? 

I use my last name, as my name is Gabriel Kleiman, and it is a common thing in techno to use your real name and back then I was also Djing techno so I didn’t think about it too much and went for it. I also like the simple way of using the name that everyone calls you by, and all my friends call me KLEIMAN so why not use that?

Who have your greatest teachers been, your greatest inspirations? Who has had the greatest influence on your musical soundscapes?

I have been into many different styles of trance, had many heroes on the way but if I have to say one name that has been consistent in these many years is Perfect Stranger, from BLT to Yuli Fershtat´s psy-tech. I really admire his particular style and the impecable production skills. Definitely the best teachers are the ones around you, and I feel very lucky to be surrounded by many talented friends, Xavier Fux (Vatos Locos) and D-tek when I was starting and, especially now, my colleagues from Undergroove Music: Ecliptic (Ruls & Navarro), Caballero, Tap the Flow and Jossie Telch. Jossie for sure has been a super important teacher and inspiration, we are very good friends, we live in the same neighborhood and share similar tastes in music, we are always sharing opinions about our music and I am constantly learning from him, I really appreciate the sound he has developed and the goals he has achieved with his music in the recent years.

How has your sound, your taste in music developed throughout the years?

I started Djing night sets because all the headliners played in the morning, and I really got to understand the night music journey on my first years in trance. Some years after, the scene in Mexico was in a “decadent stage” for some time, I also lost interest in the musical options I was getting from trance so I started exploring the techno vibes and I really got into it, but deep inside, my trance roots where strongly anchored. Shortly after producing some 145 full-on tracks, I experimented with some slower tempo techno music, as hard as I tried making them sound techno, all of the resulting tracks sounded very psytrance, I surrendered to the style coming naturally from my productions and the KLEIMAN sound emerged. There was no psy-tech movement at this time so many of my friends told me it sounded weird but now that this slower tempo psy-techno is growing and people have become interested in the music I had been producing. Ruls from Undergroove Music liked some of my tracks and gave me the opportunity to release my first EP “Muddy Feed”, I am very thankful for this.

How about those mind-blowing, life-changing experiences that have shaped you and your sound?

One big moment is when I understood that psytrance was an actual culture and a way of living, before I only saw it as a music genre, this took my interest in trance to a hole new level.

After the “decadent stage” of trance parties in Mexico, I stopped attending events locally and got a bit distant from the scene. In 2010 I went to the first Ometeotl Festival in Mexico and I saw a new proposal which definitely changed the Mexican scene for good. Now I am proud to be part of the production of Ometeotl Festival, it took me back to the core of the Mexican scene.

Another big moment was at Boom 2008, I was with Jossie Telch and we where jumping from the techno stage (Groovy Beach at the time) to the main stage, never really liking the musical proposals of either stage. We stood between the two stages and realized we were in the need of music that had a bit of both worlds. When we came back home, Jossie released his first album merging techno and psytrance, which influenced me a lot.

Which one of your releases/tracks are the most characteristic of your sounds or stand the closest to you for some reason?

My first EP “Muddy Feet” drew the path for the future KLEIMAN sound, I still play some of the tracks sometimes and they work very well on the dancefloors. I personally like “Lean Cow Blues”, released on Furthur Progressions Records (UK) and “Pink Sunrise in Dheli”, released on Undergroove Music (Mx). Also I recently recovered two tracks I produced 10 years ago and suddenly listened to them last year and did a reedit refreshed them  because I really liked them and felt the style was still very fresh – one is “India” which I produced after returning from this amazing country and the other is “Tutu”, which I did for my wife, both of them released on “Electric Power Pole Records” (Aus).

What projects are you involved in? (Or would love to experiment with?)

Music is not my main activity (sometimes I wish it was) so I don’t have too much studio time between my business and my family, so for the moment KLEIMAN is my only music project and Ometeotl my only festival production activity. I would certainly love to experiment with a bit faster BPM, 136-140 with a darker mood than KLEIMAN but I need to find time to do it. 

Who do you think are the most cutting-edge newest sound makers in the scene? Who are your newest discoveries?

The best music I have heard recently is: EVP, Electrypnose, Ryanosaurus, Grouch, Evil Oil man and Yuli Fershtat among others. On the techno side, I am currently listening to Breger, Timboletti and all the Copy Cow Records music, and I also really like the “Tech Tales” Compilations on Electric Power Pole Records, all of them. Jossie Telch, Peter Grouskreutz, Luis M, MNGRM, etc. I really enjoy playing Dj sets, and I usually play live and Dj so I like to stay updated with music, so when I am tired of producing I can spend hours searching for new underground sounds. 

Which artists remain the ultimate classics for you in the scene (or in music generally)?

In the scene Eat Static, Merv is a creative machine full of powerful music, also Ajja, Perfect Stranger, etc. Back in the day I used to really enjoy Kox box, Etnica, X-Dream, and Logic Bomb.

Scene at home?

The Mexican scene is definitely on a positive road now, especially for the last 5 or 6 years. I believe Ometeotl Festival opened a favorable path for the local underground scene, some other festivals are arising with super nice productions. Many Mexican artists are releasing good quality music, playing everywhere in the world, I see a great future for trance in Mexico now. It is difficult for Mexican artists to play in Europe or Australia because of the flight costs, but I believe the quality of the music will overcome this obstacle. 

Most memorable gigs, experiences?

My favorite performance was at Time and Space Festival 2015 (Mx), the artist before me had technical problems so I got to play my live and a 3-hour-Dj set in the morning, I was playing on the alternative stage and it got super packed while the main floor got empty. I also enjoyed playing live and Dj at the Oregon Eclipse Gathering, it was such a huge event with the beautiful eclipse. I really like playing at small, family parties too, and a couple of times people just went naked to dance in the sea while I was playing, which is certainly something to remember. 

What are some of the greatest challenges you faced so far as an artist or producer? How about the moments that you felt were the greatest rewards so far?

Sharing my time between my business, family, Ometeotl Festival and my music has been the biggest challenge. I don’t have the studio time that most of my producer friends have so I have to be extra disciplined if I want to keep releasing music on a regular basis like they do. I usually go to my studio when all of the other responsibilities are done so sometimes I don’t have the energy that is needed for producing a track. The best reward is to see the people enjoy my music, to listen to the tracks on huge sound systems and to travel to amazing places, meeting super interesting people on the way while having the time of my life, is definately worth it.

Musically speaking what’s still on your bucket list? If it wasn’t this, what would it be?

I really want to perform in Australia, I heard amazing things about the Festivals there. Music is a way to travel to amazing places, I still have a lot of countries to visit. I also want to do a full album and maybe a collaboration project.

What are your other passions in life?

I love food, eating it and cooking, I also practice Tibetan Buddhism meditation and love to ride horses. Traveling to exotic places is also something I enjoy a lot. Overall , my kid is my greatest passion.

What are you working on at present? What are you looking forward to the most?

I am really looking forward to my first European tour as an artist, especially OZORA.

What do you think about psychedelic festivals and their role in our lives, if any:)?

I strongly believe that psychedelic festivals are a door to a better way of living, thinking and learning how to relate to others, they definitely changed my life and I am very happy to contribute in any way to creating the conditions so that more people have this change inside them. The evolution from trance parties to transformational festivals was very important, people now don’t only go for the fun and the music, now they go to transform themselves, learn new things, create consciousness. This change means an actual evolution of the festival people that are seeking a richer experience. Festivals gather these knowledge -seeking people together and allow this exchange of information and experiences that accelerate the evolution within each one of us. 

Have you been to OZORA before? What are your expectations? 

I have never been to OZORA, I wanted to go for many years and I am super excited to attend my first OZORA as an artist, be part of this experience and share my music with these amazing people. 

Are you preparing anything extra for your performance at OZORA?

Performing at OZORA was the best news of the year for me, I am super motivated in the studio because I know everything I am producing now, I will be playing there this summer, and I am definitely preparing the best performance of my life for this and I hope all of you like it!