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Trance Jesus
Chris Blackburn here, reporting live from the beaches of Zanvoort in the Netherlands for the 14th edition of Luminosity Beach Festival. While this is my third time to enjoy the festival biggest trance one in Europe, for this special interview, I'm joined by one half of the duo who are no strangers to this festival with their five time attending and second performing. Having taken over the Trance community by storm over COVID as they've been chasing Dreams and their followers over Twitch, please welcome Anthony Reyers. Aka Pitch.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Hello. Hello. How are you?
Trance Jesus
I'm hot.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, me too. It's so hot, man. Like, my God, my day is like the hottest day of Lumi.
Trance Jesus
I shouldn't be complaining because I have six months out of the year where it's below zero.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Oh, yeah. Okay.
Trance Jesus
In the wintertime, I think, of these days, and I stopped complaining.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Well, it's a bit of overcompensation, maybe right now, but still it's cool.
Trance Jesus
Absolutely not.
Xijaro &
Pitch
It's hot.
Trance Jesus
We wanted to give a very special hello to Xander, aka Xijaro, who couldn't be here in person, and his presence is certainly missed.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, definitely missed. But also, it's like this that we are going to do most of the gigs, especially the European ones. Sure. I'm going to be doing them solo, probably.
Trance Jesus
And then he'll cover North America?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah. I think this is what we're aiming for. But there will be exceptions and there will be other things. And in general, also, Xander also doesn't really I'm more the type of gigging person than Xander is. I like festivals a lot more, so that's why this is the thing. But we were originally planning to be, you know, to have the boat here, but then Xander also fell ill last week, and then we decided to not do it in the end.
Trance Jesus
Sure.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Miss you all Xander. But yeah, it was also a good solo.
Trance Jesus
It was definitely doable absolutely have a great community of people to help make this possible. And it's great to spend a few moments together with you in the flesh. It's been almost two years following yours and Xander’s journey on Twitch. Actually, no, I said two. It's actually three.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Three? Yeah, we just we just the third streaming and anniversary, I think. Yeah.
Trance Jesus
I think every time I go into a stream and I do the followage, I'm pretty sure I have the longest, but I somehow missed that Founders badge. We just have to get you more followers on Twitch to get more of those badges unlocked. Maybe I'll get one one day.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah.
Trance Jesus
So this is the first time we got together at the end of 2021 in San Bernardino for your first dream state, and also spend time not only there at the venue, but also in the AirBNB. That Twitch legend and good friend Chris, aka Triode.ruben
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, that was put together. That was so fun. That after party, these little house parties and stuff after festivals. That's what I'm doing it for. That's really what I'm doing it for.
Trance Jesus
It's nice to be able to not have to loudly over music.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, like now, like right now.
Trance Jesus
Since we got together last, what are some of the highlights for Xijaro & Pitch since we've come out of COVID over the last, I'd say 18 months or so?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Well, it's just been incredible. I don't even know where to start because suddenly this whole thing with Twitch turned out into or turned into real life gigs and real life shows and all these people that were just people in a chat just became real. Luminosity is definitely one of the highlights that we are here, of course. And I think that the thing with Luminosity is that everyone is here. Like all the diehard uplifting Trance fans, they're all here. It's crazy to see basically a stream, but then with all these people cheering in real life and that's really awesome. And of course, you mentioned DreamState, which for me will always be something that will always have a very special dream. He plays in my heart because DreamState 2021 was that was something else, I would say. Meeting those people after COVID for the first time and just being able to hug everyone, it's something that I will never, ever forget.
Trance Jesus
I just got goosebumps for that because that's been my weekend too. Like meeting so many people. And we've talked to on Twitch and being in the States, not coming over to Europe very often. This has been such a great experience to put faces to names. It's been wonderful.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, absolutely. There's plenty others, of course. I mean, what can I say? EDC, Trancemission, A State of Trance. It's just absolutely nuts that we were able to do all that. I didn't ever dream about that. You can say like chasing dreams or whatever, but really you're living that. You're living. But also I'm trying to really not have too many dreams and definitely no expectations because I think it's really, really important to just let things come as they do and just take things as they are and as they come. Because if you don't do that, you can also get disappointed and that's a hard pill to swallow if you do. So I'm just trying to live everything that I can and try to do it as responsibly as possible because hearing is always a thing. Of course.
Trance Jesus
Absolutely. We'll talk about that here in a little bit. And I know we're in a really precarious spot where we've got two stages in between us.
Xijaro &
Pitch
I'm completely being like, I'm trying to figure out what they're playing at the same time.
Trance Jesus
There's silence. It's a great track. Shifting gears. I love a good origin story, right? Listening to Yours and Xanders interview on a State of Trance with Ruben almost two years ago. The Timestamp, I believe, you and Xander, your project was born on a mashup that you heard from Xander's, correct?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Actually, that's not correct.
Trance Jesus
It's not? No?
Xijaro & Pitch
So basically what happened is that I was already doing radio. I started in 2005 doing radio. Can you imagine that? Like a 13 year old kid doing it, doing radio.
Trance Jesus
That was almost 20 years ago?
Xijaro & Pitch
Crazy. And I wanted to have guest DJs for my radio show because for me, that was a nice way to sort of network with other DJs. And at some point, I heard this, like, you know, this mega mix that Xander did on Afterhours.FM? Bit like the Armin van Buren year mix.
Trance Jesus
Sure.
Xijaro &
Pitch
And I was like, wow, okay, this is next level right here. That's somebody who understands what I think it would mean to mix music. And I heard that we're doing the same style of mixing, and he was doing something that I would love to do. So I contacted him and I was like, hey, can you do a guest mix? And he was like, yeah, sure. And then that's how that actually happened. And actually, we just probably started talking about music a lot and whatever not and then, yeah, at some point it was just like, he could use some of the gear that I couldn't use because of accessibility reasons. And at some point I had an idea for a mashup, and I was like “hey, can you make this mashup? Like this and this and this? Because I know what it needs to sound like, but I just can't do it with the gear that I have.” And then he was like “yeah, sure, I'll do that” And that's how it started. And then at some point, we just he didn't want his slot and Afterhours.fm anymore because he didn't want to DJ anymore, but he did want to produce.
Xijaro &
Pitch
And I was like, hey, why don't we do everything together instead and do this? And that's how Xijaro and Pitch was born.
Trance Jesus
He is certainly a prolific mashup writer. How many is he up to today, would you say? How many mashups do you think he's produced?
Xijaro &
Pitch
I've looked recently in the folder, and it's like 235.
Trance Jesus
Wow. That's amazing.
Xijaro &
Pitch
And it's growing because for Luminosity, we produced another 10 or so. And not all of them were played anyway. Actually, I think most of them were played now because I had two sets under me, so I had to play a bit more as well. I was very happy that I made more mashups than I needed.
Trance Jesus
So you put 10 out. Are there any still that are floating around deep in your mind that you haven't brought to life yet?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yes, one. There is one that's definitely floating in my mind right now.
Trance Jesus
Give us a teaser.
Xijaro &
Pitch
It contains Louis Capaldi. Okay, there we go.
Trance Jesus
I love it. He's a great dude. So I know my RekordBox. I think I have about 50 or so of your mashups. So we certainly need to close that gap.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, you do.
Trance Jesus
Because I always tell people in my streams, Trance Jesus's favorite genre of Trance is mashups.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, definitely. We definitely have to close that gap somehow.
Trance Jesus
So I was going and I was looking at that we're listening to that same interview with you and Ruben and I was really intrigued by that question. If you weren’t a DJ today, what would you do? And you delve into a little bit of the fact that you would be a podcaster.
Xijaro &
Pitch
That is true. I had two passions as a child, like 10, 11, 12 years old child, was radio and DJing, and that's how also the Twitch stream came together because it's a bit of both like, it's a bit of announcing, a bit of radio show type thing, but then also mixing. But I wasn't really expecting to do any of that. So I actually did communication and media studies and then I actually did also some journalism studies after that, specifically radio journalism. And it was really something that I really loved doing and I started really getting the hang of doing these kind of documentary style podcasts about really interesting stories. For example, I had dinner with a Polyamorous couple and we just talked about that and we went into the poly bar and stuff like that. So like really get into that scene and get into contact about how all that works.
Trance Jesus
The lifestyle community. I know a lot of them from Groove Cruise. Great community.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, of course. I just talked with these guys and see how their relationships work. For example, I also did an interview or documentary about somebody who was at the terrorist attacks, the 22 March 2016 in Brussels and who is still working at the airport right now. And I found it a very inspiring story because I know that she had a lot of mental difficulties with that as well, these kind of things. That's what I was doing.
Trance Jesus
So if you were to produce a podcast episode right now, 2023, about your life as a DJ, what would that synopsis be?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Well, actually we're doing that right now. That's because actually we're doing a documentary.
Trance Jesus
Right this weekend, right?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, we're doing a documentary actually. We're doing a bit of the life of me as a blind musician and blind producer and a blind DJ in an industry that's definitely not always as blind friendly just because of the loud sound and also because of the hearing impairment. So really what I want to do is I want to show people what it's like to be me and what the limitations and the challenges are that I am facing every day as well as the possibilities that I get and the way that I overcome these challenges and that's what we're doing now. We're slowly starting the recordings and we're going to release some episodes of that in the coming months on YouTube as well.
Trance Jesus
Watch out for that on YouTube. That sounds exciting. I am really excited to check that out.
For the Trance family, both old and new, your journey as a Trance lover in Belgium to playing some of the biggest stages like Luminosity this weekend is truly a testament that you can do anything if you Chase Your Dreams. And I know that mantra has been a big part of your life, given that no matter what has been thrown your way, you've been pressing on, given your challenges with Norrie's Disease and championing to help the Norrie Disease Foundation.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, I really am doing everything about it and I think for me personally, that's really what it's about. For me, what I want to do is show that music can actually bring people together.
Trance Jesus
Trance is healing.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah. And trancecend the borders of a reality that we have and actually enable us to do more. I've only been able to do more because of the amazing blessing sorry, that instead of the blessing now, but the amazing blessing that I got from Trance Jesus here from everyone, of course
Trance
Jesus
Trance family is phenomenal,
Xijaro &
Pitch
but the blessing that people liked my music and that's the reason why I can do what I do right now. It may sound cliche and stuff, but I'm at a point in the industry still that I don't have to do it for the money because I would then do something else. So I'm really just trying to give something back now for as long as I still can do it because nobody knows how long that will actually be.
Trance Jesus
Certainly, but taking advantage of that platform at this point in time. And to speak of that, since you've teamed up with the Norrie Disease Foundation and you're part of their board, can you share some of the impact that you've been able to contribute and using that money from the Twitch Trance Family and how that's helped through some of the massive raid trains for that foundation?
Xijaro &
Pitch
So basically we're spending that money very wisely. Part of that money is not spent yet because we are actually also having there's two research teams right now that are doing their work for the North Disease Foundation. And at the moment we are having funding from the R&D, which is like the Royal Organization for the Deaf, which is also really fueling that. They amplified part of the money. Basically that was on the Twitch that we raised by Twitch. They amplified it like times five. That's amazing. And so that's how we now are working with figures like half a million instead of $100,000, because I did about $100,000 on all the charity for the Norrie Disease Foundation together. And yeah, very concretely.
Actually, what we're going to do is we're going to unite the two teams that are working on things because there's also a team in the States, so I'm driving the team in the UK and there's also a team that works in the States. And now with the money that we have, I'm personally involved in organizing a Norrie Disease conference in the UK. It's going to be amazing in December and we're going to bring every scientific knowledge that there is, we're going to bring it together and we're going to hope that we're going to be able to do some more collaborative efforts to make that Human Trial happen faster.
Trance Jesus
That's amazing.
Xijaro &
Pitch
I think right now we're talking about three to five years at least, I think, for human trial, which is a lot less than what it was before all the fundraising happened. So we're doing good progress and I'm really amazingly grateful as well for that.
Trance Jesus
And that's thanks to the power of the Twitch Trance Family.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Absolutely.
Trance Jesus
Thank you all.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Thank you all, indeed.
Trance Jesus
So I wanted the listeners and viewers of Church of Trance to try and fathom what Norrie's Disease is personally dealing with tinnitus myself. I know that's just a small scratch on the surface.
Xijaro &
Pitch
It is an important part of it though, that's for sure.
Trance Jesus
Can you describe just even briefly, what some of the normal sights and sounds in your everyday life are and how that impacts you when you're engaging in music or you're sitting at a festival doing an interview with two stages behind you, or you're streaming on Twitch?
Xijaro &
Pitch
So Norrie Disease is actually a disease that malforms. It's like, it's a genetic disease and it malforms part of the blood vessels in your body. And the most, let's say notable, are the ones in the eyes, in the retina. They're so badly formed that sight is usually lost at birth. And then also the ones that are like feeding the inner ear hair cells that basically transduces the sound towards electricity. And of course, if one of these blood vessels starts to leak and then break down, it takes all the hair cells with it that it connects to, and the result is that you actually go blind, that you go deaf later in life. Nobody can tell you exactly when that is. It just happens.
And I mean, of course you can make it happen faster, like going on festivals like this, and definitely if you don't have hearing protection, which I of course do, but still, it's still a risky business, I feel. And in my case, about half of my hearing is is gone. I would say on my left side, every like the high frequencies are really, really badly affected and on the right side it's a little better, but and then it also comes with a lot of distortion and a lot of tinnitus as well that is there like, it's like a sound, like a screeching sounds.
There's about like, I would say, seven or eight different frequencies in my left ear and about like four or five of them in my right ear. And yeah, they're always there. I can even hear them now over the noise of the
Trance Jesus
It's definitely not quiet. We're sitting less than a couple of centimeters with the phone. Like literally more from our faces.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, exactly.
Trance Jesus
Thank you for sharing that. And thanks for doing this despite all of the distractions here.
Xijaro & Pitch
No, actually what I want to say is that how it impacts me emotionally is sort of everything becomes a lot more intense. It's very intense because amplified almost, you can yeah. Amplify, because on an emotional level, because you don't know if what you're doing is going to be the last time you do it. Like, every minute I'm on stage, I'm thinking this might be the last time I'm on stage because at some point it's going to be done. And every time when I'm hugging someone that I like, then it's like, okay, maybe this is the last time that I can do this because at some point I'm not going to be at Luminosity anymore because it's not going to be useful to do social interactions over there.
And it is already difficult now because of all the sounds. It's very easy to not understand people with my hearing condition, but it also makes me just feel really grateful for everything that I can do and for everything that I am able to do. Thanks to the whole community, thanks to everyone who supports me, and thanks to everyone who's Chasing Dreams with me. And I think that's really something that I cannot say enough how grateful I am.
Trance Jesus
Absolutely. So you've got some big things coming up. You've got Fishermen's Airwalk Events, Chasing Dreams release party?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah. Open to close. That's that's our first ever real life open to close. I'm already afraid for my ears for that one. Honestly, we're going to do Open to Close. I'm probably not going to spin there all the time myself just because of the risk spreading for my ears. So probably I'm going to do shifts where Xander is going to play along for a bit and shifts where I'm going to be playing alone for a bit, but it's definitely a Xijaro & Pitch ppen to close. 8 hours long or seven or 8 hours long in 8 September in Hansuk, in Venlo at the crossing point of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. And honestly, I can't wait. There's so many people already from the US. Flying in for this event, and I cannot even understand why people do that, but it's incredibly humbling.
Trance Jesus
Trance will allow us to drive and do a lot of things. My wife calls trance a very expensive hobby for me, but it's it's a passion. I love it.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah.
Trance Jesus
And and this one in September sounds like a very special event. So send the jet.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah.
Trance Jesus
Outside of your event, any other big events or releases coming up in the second half of 2023? That you'd like to share with the pitchers and other fans of Church of Trance.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, definitely. It's again, so crazy. Like we're going to do unfold festival in August. Are you going to come?
Trance Jesus
Probably not this year. Hopefully come for ADE. So I got to balance out my trip to Europe this year.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, I would like to come to ADE, but I will only be there on the first day because then I have to hurry to Thailand where I have to play a Trancemission for like 20,000 people. Again, it's crazy. And then I think there's going to be but I can't say anything official about, but there's going to be some more dates in Asia following.
Trance Jesus
That awesome.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Yeah, something like that. So I'm really happy about everything that's coming.
Trance Jesus
So, outside of just the touring and events, any other tracks that are coming out with any special vocalists or ones in the works?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Well, I don't want to say too much because definitely the main stage set from Luminosity contains some of them. There's a new single coming on July 14 on Dreamstate Recordings. That's an instrumental. And then in August, normally we'll have another vocal single, I think with with I'll I'll give you the scoop there. It's with Cari and it's a very emotional one.
Trance Jesus
I love Cari. Her
voice is phenomenal.
So, one final question let you get back to the Luminosity final day here. I know XiJaro & Pitch are known for uplifting melodies. Anything in the works for more progressive space?
Xijaro &
Pitch
Well, we are working on stuff there's at the moment. Nothing finished yet, but there's a collab which is going to be a bit slower, but I can't tell you anything more about that. Nice collab with a more slightly proggy artist. And of course, I'm definitely also looking a bit to incorporate yes, to incorporate some techno influences here and there, but really in XiJaro & Pitch way. If I want to do like techno, I don't want to do like complete techno and then without any melody, I want to keep the melody alive and challenge ourselves to include some of the newer elements that come from techno, basically, but still really do all the XiJaro & Pitch epic melody stuff as well.
Trance Jesus
Well, thanks for sharing some of that, Anthony. And thank you for sharing your Time special. Shout out to Xander. And for everyone else listening online, it's been an honor being a part of your community and contributing.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Thank so much for being there. Thank you so much for being there. And thank you so much for being there, everyone. And of course, keep on chasing dreams and thank you for having me.
Trance Jesus
Take care. Awesome. Thank you, Anthony.
Xijaro &
Pitch
Thank you.
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