I recently had the amazing opportunity to conduct an interview with Armada’s own Mark Sixma via email. The Dutch producer has released tracks on Armada, Black Hole, Spinnin’, and High Contrast, and has played alongside big-name acts like Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Gareth Emery, Markus Schulz, Paul van Dyk, Sander van Doorn, and W&W. So it’s pretty safe to say Mark Sixma is a modern trance legend. In our interview, he offered some wonderful insight on a range of topics, and gave a more in-depth look into his new track, “Stellar.”
“Stellar” is a stunning song that sports a wonderful throwback trance sound. According to Mark, it’s a follow up to his 2013 anthem, “Character.” Crunchy basslines and soothing synth work can be heard throughout, mixed together flawlessly to create a jaw-dropping emotional vibe. “Stellar” really hits you in the feels, due to both its beautiful melodies and nostalgic atmosphere. It truly is one of Armada’s best pure trance tunes to come out in recent memory and shouldn’t be overlooked!
Check out the track below and read the full interview with Mark after the jump!
Mark, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to do this! Really appreciate the opportunity to hear from you.
Thanks for having me. Always a pleasure to talk with people who help to spread the music!
I really enjoyed “Stellar,” and its throwback trance sound. Was this inspired at all by Gaia’s “Stellar” from 2011? If yes, whose idea was it to create this track? If no, what was the inspiration behind the track?
Gaia’s Stellar wasn’t the direct inspiration for my Stellar, however I did want to create a powerful atmospheric trance track like the ones Gaia always deliver. The main inspiration actually came from one of my own tracks ‘Character’ which I really wanted to make a follow up to.
I’ve also been told that “Stellar” will be featured on Armin’s “A State Of Trance at Ushuaïa, Ibiza 2015.” Just wanted to say congratulations on that! What’s it like having arguably the biggest name in trance directly support your productions?
It’s a huge honor and a big help for me as an artist to have someone like Armin supporting so many of my tracks on his radioshow and compilations. He exposed millions of people to my music and now we’ve also worked together in the studio on our collab “Panta Rhei”. Safe to say that I’m incredibly grateful for all that!
I also noticed you yourself are billed for an A State of Trance date at the legendary Ushuaia in Ibiza. How can you describe the experience of playing for thousands of Ibiza party-goers?
The ASOT shows at Ushuaia for me are the ultimate summertime events. Sunny weather, beautiful people and an amazing stage production! Instant holiday vibes for me!
Your Facebook page lists 3 tour dates, ETD Love in the US, Creamfields in the UK, and theASOT gig in Ibiza. Any other dates you can announce?
I’m super excited to be playing Tomorrowworld for the first time!! I’ll be touring Asia and Europe as well within the next few weeks, so definitely a busy summer! 🙂
And if you can share this information, any new originals or collaborations we can expect in the near future?
My collab with Andrew Rayel will be out on Armind in a few weeks, we’ve already been playing it in our sets for a while and can’t wait to share it with the rest of the world! Apart from that I’ve also just finished a vocal track with my favorite vocalist in trance music! Will have to keep it quiet for now though.
Do you have any words for anyone saying “trance is dead?”
As long as people like that are still talking about it, how can it be dead? 🙂
Besides, I’ve been playing countless shows in a lot of different countries, so to me it’s been alive and kicking this year!
