I’m sure all of us have had that moment, where you’re at your first rave and like, “wow, THESE are my people.” That moment where you’re totally overwhelmed by the PLUR environment around you, and if you’re anything like me, you’re left wondering how you can bring those feels outside of just the rave to your everyday.
For most of us, this ends up with us wanting to attend more events, but for some people, they’re left wanting to build a career in the industry and help create those moments for even more people. I had the chance to sit down with one of these people who was so inspired at Deadmau5’s set at EDC 2010 - his first rave - that he decided he wanted to make music on his own, and now as of August 1, 2018 he has been signed to Deadmau5’s label, Mau5trap.
This story is important because it inspires me that if you “find your thing”, work hard and follow your dreams, they will someday come true. I know a lot of us want to work in the industry, and finding what your niche is within it is important. For me it’s connecting with people in person and capturing them on film as a photographer and journalist. For someone else it might be designing the visuals to a set, producing music or managing an artist. There’s so many ways to be a part of this community and expand plur vibes every day.
Talking with Anakim [pronounced Ana-keem] was inspirational for me, and that’s why I want to tell his story, so that hopefully someone out there reading this can feel inspired too, and know that whatever their dream is that they are pursuing, with a positive attitude and lots of hard work -- it too can be achieved.
Anakim is a Los-Angeles based DJ. He grew up locally always having a passion for music but was never exposed to EDM until 2010.
“My friends were like ‘ we have an extra ticket to EDC you should come’ and I was like ‘oh I don’t know about that, I don’t know if it’s my scene’... but I had the time of my life, and I had no idea that 5-6 years later I would transition to behind the decks.”
Unbeknownst to him, what he experienced, at what was the last EDC in Los Angeles, was a turning point in his life.
“20/20 hindsight, it was a life changing moment. I just fell in love with the culture, I fell in love with the people in the crowd ... that PLUR vibe that everyone talks about was so real and so true back then that it literally took ahold of me. I literally went to every single rave and every single show that I could for 7 years straight.”
Sounds like a familiar story for some of us, right? I could totally understand what he was saying about how the scene took ahold of him. It’s a crazy feeling and I know many people who have felt the same thing.
7 years later, he decided to take his career path in the scene seriously by applying to and attending a music production school called Icon Collective. Icon Collective has an alumni list that includes Jauz, NGHTMRE, Slander, BlackGummy, Kayzo and many more.
While in school, Anakim wasn’t sure wasn’t sure what style music he wanted to make or where exactly he fit into the music industry. Again under the pressure of a friend, he was invited to explore a new festival for him, Desert Hearts, where he had a realization moment of where his sound was going to come from.
“There was this artist who was playing this really sexy, deep style of intergalactic music - every time I closed my eyes to the set it reminded me of traveling through space - and I had an epiphany: this is the style of music I wanna make.”
He spent the rest of his year at Icon finding his intergalactic-deep-house sound and branding himself as Anakim. Which by the way, Anakim is a race of mythological giants who are descendants of a group called the Anak who apparently live on an undiscovered planet in our galaxy. Perfect name for a DJ who’s sound is inspired by intergalactic travel.
I caught his set at Mau5trap’s Day Trip event at Academy LA Sunday Sept 9th, and was really digging it. It had everyone bopping even if the heat had most of us wishing we were immobile. I could hear how various genres had inspired his music and thought it was cool how he was mixing what sounded like a soundtrack as we traveled with him on his musical journey.
Anakim’s new EP comes out today, and if you’re looking for something new I highly suggest checking it out. He’s resident DJ at Sound Nightclub in LA as well, so be sure to check him out live sometime for the full experience.
Our scene is about positivity, and I totally felt that radiating from Anakim. It’s exciting to see someone with such energy having such awesome successes. I’m excited to see what the future has for Anakim, and where he takes us to next on this intergalactic journey.
