Friends of the house of Transsonic are probably familiar with the name illitheas: In 2008, he was one of the most sought after remixers and one of the few who were permitted to lay a hand on ”Space Trip“, the uplifting trance number by Earth Shy-T. In the meantime, the twenty-year-old musician from Kirchheim on the Neckar has attracted attention with a release of his own ”Infinity“: the first peak of a career that, strictly speaking, began ten years ago – when a boy called Bernie learned to play the keyboards. The budding artist persevered for four years and finally, at the height of puberty, bid farewell to the ivories. At least: ”I knew the fundamentals of production by then.“

 

Bernie laid the foundation for the music career that was to give rise to illitheas at a tender age; above all, he began composing when he was very young. His oldest songs stem from 1999 and, as illitheas assures, they were definitely not intended for the public. Inspired by the sounds he heard on the radio and by the musical undertakings of his two brothers, he became increasingly interested in electronic music and trance. illitheas acknowledges DJ Quicksilver, Pulsedriver and Kai Tracid as important influences, although he is well aware that his current music has little in common with the work of his former heroes. ”I searched for my own style“, says illitheas. Nevertheless; I owe my love of the melodic and therefore a significant part of the illitheas sound to Kai Tracid: ”I am not so concerned with technique; my priority has always been the melody. I want to create that feeling of goosebumps.“

 

In the meantime, he draws his inspiration less from electronic music than from piano pieces and the work of the Japanese musician Yuki Kajiura, who attracted acclaim with the soundtracks for Animes. The Clubs that illitheas visits play mainly house and electro – ”simply because there isn’t all that much happening with trance in Baden-Württemberg“. That he might become active in this area himself, is a possibility that illitheas does not rule out: ”My horizons are still wide open.“

 

There remains the question of where the name ”illitheas“ came from. The world of Greek mythology perhaps? Far from it. This pseudonym occurred to Bernie at a time when he regularly immersed himself in an epic fantasy computer game. This included a people called the ”Illithiden“. After only brief deliberation, illitheas was born. Take note of this name.

 

 

 

© 2009 by Transsonic Records