Feature: OXIA [Interview]

Hailing from Grenoble, France, OXIA is one of the most respected DJs and producers on the international house and techno circuit, with a career spanning over twenty years, countless releases and multiple world tours. On top of an impressive list of remixes and releases on respected imprints such as Bedrock, Sapiens, REDIMENSION, 8bit, Hot Creations, Saved and Knee Deep in Sound to name just a few, he also fronts his own label, Diversions Music, alongside long-time friend and label partner Nicolas Masseyeff. Following a huge contribution to Jospeh Capriati's Metamorfosi Remix album back in April, OXIA now prepares to drop his next huge cut later this month, this time on Lee Burridge's inimitable All Day I Dream imprint. We caught up with the man himself to find out more...

Hello Olivier, and a very warm welcome back to Progressive Astronaut. How are you today?

Hello, thank you very much. It's a pleasure. I'm fine, I hope you too.

Where are you answering this interview from?

I came to spend a few days with my good friend Nicolas Masseyeff, who lives on the French Riviera, in Antibes, between Cannes and Nice. It's a bit of a holiday for me. I live in Grenoble where there is no sea, and I can see Nicolas' son, of whom I am godfather, so I'm really happy. We'll probably also spend a bit of time in the studio.

How has the last year been for you, given everything that's been going on in the world?

It has not been easy with the confinements, the curfews etc. Even though, at the very beginning, it felt good to pause from touring. But it wasn't for a nice reason, and especially we didn't think it would last for such a long period. I took the opportunity to do some work around my flat and I made music. I've actually started working on a new album! This is certainly one of the things that kept me positive.

Do you feel like life is finally beginning to return to normal?

It has started to return a bit more to normal. I think thanks to the vaccination among other things. Unfortunately it's still not enough. In many countries it's going again a bit backwards. In France for example, the cases are going back up, and so is the number of people getting hospitalised.

From the gig perspective, in July I had 3 dates cancelled or postponed. So not everything is back to normal yet, unfortunately.

We see from your Instagram that you played your first show in many months at Fresh Wave Festival in June. How was that?

Yes it was my first gig since last summer. It was Fresh Festival pre-party in Bosnia. I was really happy to play again, I really missed it. It was really so nice to play in front of audience, meet people, share moments again. The atmosphere was really great!

We understand you have a new release coming up in August on Lee Burridge's All Day I Dream label. Can you tell us more about that please?

Indeed. I have a new release on All Day I Dream. It's a track I co-produced with my friend Yannick Baudino, and will appear on their summer sampler. It's a pretty laid-back track. When we finished this track, we immediately thought of ADID. It's completely in the spirit of the label. We're very happy that Lee singed it for the compilation which gets released end of August.

How's everything going with your Diversions Music label? Any new talent we should be keeping our eyes on?

It has not been very easy with Covid crisis, but the label is still doing well. The last releases by Quenum and Bizen Lopez (with remixes of my label partner Nicolas Masseyeff and myself) have done well despite the situation. There are three releases planned. An EP by myself with remixes, and a re-release of one of the tracks ("Connivence") from the very first Diversions, by Nicolas and myself, which will be accompanied by remixes. We are still in the process of the remixes, so we'll have to wait a little longer to unveil these. And first up is an EP by Colombian Julian Millan, with a remix from me. Take time to discover this artist, his productions are brilliant, he's very talented.

What else do you have coming up between now and the end of the year for both OXIA and Diversions? Any more exciting releases you can share with us?

I've mentioned all the news regarding Diversions and the upcoming track on ADID. On top is there a remix I did of an old POPOF track, probably for release before the end of the year. As mentioned at the beginning I'm also working on a new album. That's going to be for release next year though. A few other things are hanging.

Thanks very much for your time Olivier and we look forward to seeing you on a dance floor very soon!

Thanks a lot! I hope to see you soon on the dance floor too!!