Apashe is putting the finishing touches on his latest masterpiece.
On the “Antagonist 2.0 Tour,” he will be flanked by a philharmonic orchestra for two ambitious concerts. The performances make a bold statement but, more importantly, bring fans closer than ever to his vision.
Apashe’s unique electronic blend introduces under-appreciated classical music to new listeners. Furthering that mission is the driving force for his upcoming shows. He’s set to perform with the philharmonic orchestra at Seattle’s Wamu Theatre on January 24th and Paris’ Zenith on February 8th.
The scale is impressive, certainly, but it’s about more than pageantry. Working with a philharmonic orchestra allows Apashe to communicate the beauty of classical music still lost in translation.
“It’s definitely another step, another level… The goal is to bring live on stage something closer to the recordings of how the music is made,” Apashe tells EDM.com. “Both of my previous albums were symphonic recordings that were then mixed with electronic music.”
“I wanted to bring that part of the making of that music to the stage. Now that we’re playing with a full philharmonic, it’s definitely closer to the source of those recordings. You get all these musicians. You get the real sound and the mix that is destroyed with the electronics.”
The scale of Apashe’s philharmonic orchestral show is unlike anything the musician has attempted before. He admits it’s a difficult mountain to conquer.
“Proportionally, it’s becoming such a complicated thing to logistically put together,” Apashe admits. “It started as a dream. Now that it’s a reality, no one in my team or I expected this to be so complicated or so expensive. It’s very intense but I’m glad it’s working out really well. Everyone is happy. But let’s just say it’s different than coming on stage with a USB and doing a DJ set.”
DJing is not a flawless act. For every time you’ve caught a DJ blundering, there are countless times they’ve pivoted without raising suspicion. Apashe is more than capable of adjusting on the fly, but the nature of his orchestral shows leaves little room for error. Surgical precision is required for this unique undertaking.
“Since I’m launching all the clips and structure, I can’t skip measures,” Apashe explains. “If I trigger the wrong part, the musicians will be lost from the music sheets. Everything is fairly well-timed.”
“We’re playing with very professional musicians. They’re able to play anything in front of them if the music sheets are well-written. It’s really important once the set is decided that we make those sheets and it’s very clear for everyone.”
Karel Chladek
Apashe’s special blend of electronic and classical music resonates with millions. His growing success—highlighted by the scale of his upcoming philharmonic orchestra shows—is remarkable when you learn that he didn’t envision this life.
Before Apashe’s full-time music career, John De Buck was a sound designer producing music as a hobby. He worked in sound design for AAA video game franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Watch Dogs.
“I’d work nine to five sound design, then stay after five—sometimes way to late—to work on my music,” De Buck says. But I did it for fun… The fact that it was fun for me, and not stressful, really helped me not get sick of it, and a pleasure.”
“It’s important to mention that it was a hobby for me. I never saw it as a real career path necessarily. I was always putting myself in a situation where I wasn’t closing any doors. It’s different for everyone. For me, I needed to feel secure so I wouldn’t be stressed. Feeling good made it easy for me to spend time doing my hobby because I knew I had a stable job that was close to music.’
Every artist’s motivation is different. Many pursue a music career as an all-or-nothing venture. For Apashe, music needed to always remain a labor of love.
“The day I switched from one to the other was because I had no choice,” he recalls. “I was starting to tour during the weekend. I started asking for extra days off so I could leave on Thursday instead of Saturday. At some point, I had a full tour where I had to take three months off. That’s when I jumped in the water.”
“But it’s different for everyone. I needed that stability and I probably should’ve quit way before to only do music. But I knew my mindset would be stressed and the outcome of the music wouldn’t have been as good. But other people are different.”
Xavier Cyr
Apashe acknowledges that different artists require different motivators to push their creativity. One concept the “Majesty” producer struggles with, however, is why any musician would sacrifice art’s joy.
“Listen to yourself but keep it fun,” he recommends. “I don’t see why you would do that if it’s not fun. If it’s not a hobby. I never quite understood people who stopped making music or playing an instrument once it’s not for the job anymore. That means you were just doing it for the money or dreaming of having a famous career or whatever? They have to do what they want but I never related to that personally.”
“The day that I quit music, if that happens, I’m never going to fully quit. I’m still going to make music. My dad built a studio in his basement. He’s 60-something. He’s never had a job in music. He just loves music and that’s something I relate to, that he probably shared with me.”
Fortunately for Apashe’s fans, there’s no end in sight. You can purchase tickets to his philharmonic orchestra shows in Seattle and Paris, plus other dates on the “Antagonist 2.0 Tour” here.
Follow Apashe:
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