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Today we released Hazem Beltagui’s new EP on Beatport (click to buy). I catched him on Skype for a mini-interview. Enjoy!

Hey Hazem! Today we released your new EP “Her Green Eyes / Cala Conte / Love Will Find A Way”; can you tell us something about it?

Hazem: Hey Kris. It’s quite an eclectic EP as I like them, since you get 3 different vibes on the same EP. Cala Conte is quite summery, deep and techy, while Love Will Find A Way is more laidback and melodic and to close this EP off you have the bigroom melodic Her Green Eyes.

As you say, the EP is quite diverse. Is there a specific style/genre you like more than others when it comes to producing?

Hazem: Actually this depends on my mood. Sometimes I feel like making techy stuff with lots of groove and swing while some other times I prefer focusing on the melodic aspect of the track. But lately I’ve been more into tech and deep house stuff!

I for one have always been a big fan of your track “222″, as you already know, which later received support by Armin Van Buuren in his warm-up set in ASOT Kiev. Now your new track “Cala Conte”, which some people compared to “222″, also got played by Armin in his warm-up set for his Las Vegas show. Can you tell us about your thoughts around this? It was quite unexpected for both of us!

Hazem: Well to be honest with you, I didnt see it coming at any time. When a friend of mine told me Armin just played 222 in his warm up set for ASOT 550 in Kiev, I was like, you got to be kidding me, not simply because this was the first time Armin support any of my stuff but also because the track was in no way the kind of tracks he’s into! So you can imagine how I felt when I knew he also played Cala Conte in his Warm up set in EDC Las Vegas. It was quite a surprise, but it surely increased my self confidence and made me wanna experiment more since this isn’t really the sound you would first expect when you see my name associated with a track.

That actually answers my next question as well. But speaking of experimenting; you made a remix for Tom Nucleus “Lucida” which will go out on promo in a few weeks. That’s something different from you as well, don’t you think? Frankly I was really surprised when you first sent me the remix.

Hazem: I knew you would bring this up. ;) Well when I first start a new project, whether it’s a remix or an original, I don’t stick to a specific genre or sound, I just go with the flow of ideas and see where it takes me. For example for this Tom Nucleus “Lucida” remix, I loved the way the original sounded but I just had to add something extra to it. At no point U had the idea of the way it would sound at the end, I was actually surprised just like you when I got to listen to it when it was all done. Hopefully the Macarize Fans will enjoy this one as well.

Lastly, is there anything else you can tell us about the future? Do you have any goals you want to achieve or do you take it day by day?

Hazem: I have a main goal I’m running after, which is the same goal for all the producers I know, to go on tour and make a living out of my music. But I also have some short terms goals, which are, building a bigger fanbase and experimenting a lot more with music, hopefully my fans will follow me down the road.

Thank you for the chat, Hazem. I’m very happy to have in you in the Macarize Family. I hope you’ll stay with us for a long time! I think I speak for the fans as well. Cheers mate!

Hazem: You’re Welcome Kris. I’m very happy myself to be part of the Macarize family, and I guess I’ve already told you this like a million times before. I will stay with you as long as you dont kick me out mate, haha!

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I guess this is the first real deep house release on Macarize. It’s really exciting to release something different on the label. Initially I wanted Macarize to be an outlet for everything I like, no matter if it’s Trance, Deep House or Breaks. I wanted to follow my taste, which I have been doing since the beginning. This release follows that ambitions with the original mix and Hazem remix being quite deep and Andycap more to the Electronica side of things.

Anyway, I hope you like it as much as I do! Enjoy.

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Within a couple of weeks I will upload previews of a really cool release! I don’t want to tell exactly what it’s about right now as I want it to be a surprise, but I’ve licensed a track by an artist within melodic progressive house that I know you really like and made new remixes on it. This track hasn’t been remixed before, only released, so I asked a few of my artists to do something with it! The original mix is so good as it is, so none of the remixes are in the same style as the original. Anyway, you’ll see within a couple of weeks. I’m really excited to see your reactions on it.

I can also reveal that axisONE is done with a new EP for Macarize and let me tell you one thing; IT ROCKS! I have big expectations for one of the tracks in this EP as I think it’s a killer. But you never know! Several times in the past when I’ve thought to myself, “Wow, this track is amazing”, some other track from that EP ended up getting all the attention instead. I can even give you an example. When Atlantis Ocean sent me their “Fuji / Ancient Breed” release I honestly thought “Ancient Breed” would get all the attention, but what happened? Fuji charted on the Progressive House Top 100 Tracks on Beatport and placed #1 on Macarize Top 10 Label chart and has been there ever since. Don’t get me wrong, I think Fuji is a great track and I’m very proud of having it on the label, it’s just funny how you can be so wrong sometimes.

Do you remember “Lucida” by Tom Nucleus? Ever since that release I’ve wanted to make a seperate remix release on it and guess what? Now it’s done! Hazem Beltagui did the first remix and it just took the original to a new level! You can never guess how it sounds because it doesn’t sound like anything else he’s done. I’m very happy with the end-result though. The second remixer is Domestic Technology and even DT made a remix that is different from what he usually does. All in all this remix pack is cool and I did not expect it to sound like it does, considering the remixers.

Last but not least I can tell you that Outlook is back! He’s been out on a journey but is now back in business and he’s productive like never before! Shortly after his arrival I basically signed a 3 track EP which will be out on July 30. You’ll obviously get previews of it sooner than that. Anyway, it’s a cool EP and I think you’ll enjoy it. Welcome back Tom!

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