Celestial Trax is a producer, composer, and DJ who divides his time between Brooklyn and Europe. The artist's sound, which is ceremonious, psychedelic, and heavy hitting, can be traced across his myriad of productions as well as through his live and DJ sets.
After releasing two EPs with NYC's Purple Tape Pedigree and a trilogy of EPs for Rinse, his debut full-length, Nothing Is Real, is an arresting departure from his previous work. Released on PTP in the fall of 2017, the album moves into a surreally daedal and undefinable sonic realm with psychedelia and electro-acoustic composition as the vehicles.
Taking inspiration from a quote by Anton Chekov: "if you want to work on your art, work on your life", Trax attempted to create his latest album as a true representation of his voice right now. He felt a need to distance himself from the distractions a creative hub like NYC can often provide, not wanting to become too influenced by the city's current trends. Instead, he shifted his focus inward to cultivate a more meaningful self-connection, and it is this journey and struggle that served as the main inspiration for the album.
Before beginning Nothing Is Real, Celestial Trax had reached the point of creative purge, deleting almost all samples, sample packs, and software synths. Fueled by ideas of rebirth and true self-projection, he amassed a library of field recordings from New York City as well as samples from his own cassettes, vinyl, and YouTube search history – utilizing every sound source he could come across in his studio whilst trying to spend as little time as possible at the computer. The resulting work is less concerned with achieving a masterful polish and sonic bombast than with exploring organic texture in which noise and imperfection reflect the human experience. Recurring themes of existentialism, surrealism, and nature permeate throughout.