Some say there’s a first for everything. For rising star Omnia, also known as Evgeny Smirnov, this was a lot of firsts. His first time in the United States, his first US gig (which would have been FreakNight), and his first ever U.S. interview. We here at Dance Music Northwest were more than thrilled to have gotten this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit down with the trance producer and chat about his travels, career, and amazing achievements. Despite the unfortunate circumstances that led to the cancellation of Day 2 of FreakNight, Omnia still wowed his fans for his first U.S. performance later that night at Volume Nightclub.
Coming straight off of a plane from Vietnam having just played a gig with Pink Panda, we can only imagine what kind of thoughts were going through Omnia’s head. With a plethora of achievements already, Omnia is well on his way to becoming a music prodigy. He started producing at a young age and hasn’t looked back. Mixing both trance and progressive house sounds, his music is unique and true to his style, something fans can appreciate. So what was in store for his first American performance?
When I’m going into a new country I feel nervous and really I don’t know what to expect from the crowd, you know? But I think it actually makes sense because it gives you some kind of refresh – you can see new people, new fans…I’m really excited about it. I hope everything’s going to be good. We have huge plans for the United States.
For those lucky enough to get to see his very first U.S. performance at Volume nightclub, we can all agree that it was something truly original. At the young age of 27, Omnia has already been making music for well over a decade, and has been producing under the oh-so-famous Armada Music label. But like many, it wasn’t always an easy run, given that it all began when he “got started producing when I was like 13 or 14.”
It was kind of hoppy when I was young, but when I got wind from big names like Above & Beyond and Armin, somebody there was really interested in my music and this was actually something I have to do now you know? I had a job, I was working somewhere and I think it was Markus Schulz who played my track on his radio show and next day I came to my work and say to my guys ‘I’m sorry but now I’m just going to be focusing on music,’ and this is how everything started for me.
Omnia pumps up the crowd at Volume Nightclub
Omnia’s overall sound has a truly distinctive edge and a style that sets him a part from the rest: Sounds ranging from trance to progressive house, all of his tracks differ from one another and have very distinctive melodies. Having had multiple successful tracks and a nod from the 2013 DJ Mag Poll ranking him #48, Omnia has set him self a part from the rest. Most notably, his breakthrough track The Fusion came out in 2012 and although he had been producing music for some time at this point, this song most definitely kick-started his road to stardom.
Specifically, that this song in particular was made in just a few days and sort of ‘popped’ into his head, with Omnia noting that “it was really big, The Fusion was something that changed everything. It’s really special and unique. The sound of the track is kind of unusual so that’s why I think people really love it.” But that unusual sound didn’t just appear out of nowhere.
You never know, sometimes when I’m trying to do a new track I try to do something special but it’s all about the inspiration. You can’t say to yourself ‘I want to make a big track.’ I think the most important thing is to be really different – listen to different styles of music. Honestly, when I’m at home in my studio or in my car I’m not listening to trance music – I’m listening to rock & roll, trip hop, really good pop music so all of these songs give me inspiration.
We couldn’t agree more. Aside from producing amazing tracks, Omnia also recently spent time remixing for the A State Of Trance (ASOT) 650 CD which is truly a privilege and honor for any trance artist. For years now, Armin van Buuren’s ASOT has been a passion project and his radio show reaches millions of fans each and every week. Obviously for Omnia this was a huge opportunity to really push his name out even further.
It was a compilation – what I did for Armin and his ‘A State Of Trance’ it’s something really big for me. I was a really big fan of A State of Trance; this is actually how I was involved in trance music. Armin made a really big inspiration for me. This is something special, this is like dreams sometimes come true you know? Years ago I was listening to ASOT radio thinking ‘I want my track to be played on this radio show’ and right now all this stuff is happening.
From playing huge festivals, producing successful tracks, and having fans spanning all over the world, we can only see things moving up for Omnia. When asked about what may lie ahead for his future he notes that right now he’s really just “focused on the new music, new tracks, and keeping to his own style and doing something new.” He also noted that he is currently working with some vocalists on some new tracks which is truly exciting! As his current U.S. tour has now come to and end we can only cross our fingers that he will be back again here in the Northwest soon.
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