Orkidea has just been voted most popular Nordic DJ for a third time and his popularity is set to grow even further as he prepares to release his second artist album Metaverse.

Metaverse is no ordinary artist album in that it almost defies definition. You can definitely call it trance but beyond that it becomes a real challenge to describe it using the written word. A lot of people refer to the heyday of trance as a genre being the late nineties and when you play the album for the first time it certainly takes you back to that period. By the end however, the album sounds ahead of it's time.

The sound is clean and crisp, each instrument with it's own personality fusing together to create a real sense of depth and wonderment. Orkidea's ability as not only a producer but as a musician cannot be doubted. Some of the biggest producers around including Andy Moor, David West, Solarstone and Way Out West have lent their support and skill to the album bringing another level of depth.

After listening to the album for several months I became increasingly frustrated that each track would end before the next one would start, breaking the spell the sound had over me. Thankfully upon release this will no longer be a problem with a swag of bonus digital material including a two hour DJ mix of the album by Orkidea himself alongside bonus tracks and extended remixes of several tracks available for download when you purchase the album.

I had the opportunity to interview Orkidea about the album, his upcoming tour and his new family:

Thanks for taking the time to talk to DanceNode. First up, the new album 'Metaverse'. This is your first artist album in two years, you must be really proud. Tell us a bit about the sound and how it all came together?

I consider this my second artist album. The first one was 'Taika' in 2003 while 'Music Speaks In Thousand Languages' in 2005 was more of a collection of obscure chill-out pieces. Metaverse has been in making for couple years and represents my vision of trance music. You can hear my influnces from Renaissance style progressive house, psy- trance, Vangelis, more uplifting stuff and even some breakbeats in there. I was really happy that Andy Moor wanted it to AVA as that has been my favourite label for the past couple years.

How has the reaction to the album been so far?

Reaction so far has been amazing! Armin, Above & Beyond, Solarstone, Gareth Emery etc have all been supporting it so far and overall vibe has been that it ofers a fresh "retrofuturistic" approach to trance which sounds good to me.

The name 'Metaverse' has been taken from the famous sci-fi novel 'Snow Crash' simplistically meaning 'worlds within worlds' and each track on the album has a different feel. Was the name something that played a big part in the process of putting the album together, or did it come after the fact?

The name came some six months ago. You've got right the meaning behind it with each track being it's own sonic universe inside this album entirety. The name maybe affected some of the tracks becoming even more atmospheric and "sci-fi" and also the graphics came out quite futuristic.

Would you say science fiction a big part of your life?

I've always been fan of science fiction movies and books. Blade Runner, Space Odyssey 2001, Matrix, Neuromancer are all favourites.

Unlike your previous album 'Music Speak in Thousand Languages' there is a fair amount of collaboration with artists such as Andy Moor, Solarstone and Way Out West. Did this make producing the album more difficult or was it more liberating?

I've always enjoyed collaborations a lot. You learn every time something from other producers' technique and with these guys it's great fun too! With the album it also makes the overall sound more varied and interesting.

YearZero with Andy Moor was a massive release that received a lot of air play, which track on the album are you most proud of and are there any other singles we should be keeping an eye out for?

It's hard to pick any one favourite from the album at this point but 'YearZero' seems to become a firm classic already. The Nightwish remix is the most musical thing I've ever done, 'Metaverse' is best suitable for home listening and 'Masochrist' seems to get some big reactions on dance floor. Time will tell...

AltF4 has come to the table and provided a great remix of your classic 'Beautiful' which was originally released in 2003. Are you surprised by the longevity this track has experienced?

Originally 'Beautiful' in an ambient track from 2001 which was included on MSITL album too in revised form. AltF4 remix is a great & more uplifting version and will now finally be available also in Beatport.

There's a sample in 'Even Better Day' that sounds like Kirsty Hawkshaw in 'It's a Fine Day' (when she was with with Opus III) which was also used in Orbital's track Halcyon. Can you tell us a little about your inspiration for the track and if there is a connection?

This was originally a bootleg remix of 'Fine Day' but the vocal was transformed heavily to be included here. This is albums oldest track and sounds a bit old too! 'Fine Day' is one of my all time favourite tracks and still gets a smile on my face.

It's exciting to know the album is going to be available as a full mix as well, was it difficult to take a step back from the tracks in order to do the mix?

That's still ahead but I'll do that next week. I'm really happy that all the extra material (bonus tracks, extended DJ versions and DJ mix) will be available with both UK and finnish CD versions.

Your about to do the album tour, have you got any gigs your personally excited about coming up?

Album release party in Helsinki will surely be good fun as it's also my 31st birthday party. Definite highlight is also my first ever Gatecrasher gig at their massive 5000 people capasity event at magna in Sheffield in March.

You are about to play at Pacifique at the Serena Waterpark, and have also been involved in the infamous 'One Minute Raves'. Unusual locations and ideas seem to be prominent, what can we expect from you in the near future, can we expect to see more of these kinds of things?

After 16 years of DJing and promoting you start to look for new experiences. I've DJed on streets, floats, boats, waterparks, squat houses, parks, provided mix for finnish Air Rave at 10 000m in 1996, beaches and there's even a small 10 people party planned to take place in a massive hot air balloon! It's always more interesting when you don't quite know what's going to happen.

Congratulations on being voted Most Popular Nordic DJ for a third time, you must feel quite honoured. Can you tell us a little about the scene in Finland?

Thanks for compliments! These votings are more of entertainement than any reflection of DJs' skills but of course it still feels good. The scene in Finland and especially in Helsinki is in amazing shape. Lots of good regular club nights (like Danceteria, Cosmic City, Reiv and Hallmark), top foreign guests and big annual events like Pacifique, Flow Festival and Laseropoint keep things interesting. Lot of interesting underground events and media art also taking place here.

Congratulations are also due on becoming a father! I understand you are taking a break from DJing to look after your family. What are your thoughts on becoming a father in terms of managing your work and family? Have you thought about what you're going to get up to once things have settled down?

Becoming father is the biggest and best thing ever and as Armin put it: "My best release so far". I'll take a half a year break from DJing to concentrate in family life. After that I'll slow down a bit the DJing schedule as last five years have been 100-120 gigs per year. Hopefully will have more time for production and will do more live gigs too with Ableton set up. Really excited about the new Korg mixer together with Ableton so let's see how things progress boith technically and artistically!

Thanks again for you time.

Pleasure was all mine! Hope you'll enjoy the album.


Metaverse is coming out soon on AVA Recordings. A quality artist album with such great bonus material not to be missed.

Tracklist:

01. ORKIDEA: Metaverse
02. ANDY MOOR & ORKIDEA: Year Zero
03. ORKIDEA: Free Dreams
04. DAVID WEST & ORKIDEA: God's Garden
05. SOLARSTONE & ORKIDEA: Slowmotion
06. ORKIDEA: Stretching Time
07. LOWLAND & ORKIDEA: Masochrist
08. WAY OUT WEST: Killa (Orkidea Vs Dallas Superstars remix)
09. ORKIDEA: Requiem
10. NIGHTWISH: Bye Bye Beautiful (Orkidea remix)

Bonus Material:

Orkidea & Marc Mithcell: Eternal Love
Orkidea: Beautiful (AltF4 remix)
Orkidea: Embrace (Orkidea vs Super8 remix)
DSS vs Orkidea: Revolution
Orkidea: Better Day

Extended DJ versions of Free Dreams, Slowmotion and Masochrist.

plus a two hour Metaverse DJ mix.