Astrix

Astrix
Astrix performing in Moscow in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Avi Shmailov
Born	(1981-05-12) May 12, 1981 (age 35) USSR, Caucasus
Genres	Psychedelic trance
Occupation(s)	Musician, DJ, record producer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	HOM-Mega Productions, Spiraltrax Label Group, Tokyo Productions, Plastik Park
Associated acts	Infected Mushroom, Alien Project, Astral Projection, Atomic Pulse, G.M.S.

Avi Shmailov (Hebrew: אבי שמיילוב) under his stage name Astrix, is an israeli trance music dj and producer specializing in the subgenre of Full On psychedelic trance.

In 2006 Astrix reached #41 (+34 rise) in DJMag's "Top 100 DJs" yearly rank along with a rise of several other Israeli musicians (the highest being Infected Mushroom ranked #9) marking a significant worldwide popularisation of the Israeli electronic music scene. In 2007 Astrix reached #18 on the list.

Astrix was born in USSR, to a Mountain Jewish family in the Caucasus and grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel. He began recording music under the name Astrix in 1997, sometimes misconceived to be taken from the Asterix comic books. An interview on UK clubbing website Harderfaster.net revealed the name was chosen for simply sounding good, and not directly influenced by anything in particular.

Astrix started as a DJ in 1995 playing alternative and 1980s music. It was during this time that he learned about electronic music. In 1997 he began his first in-house studio recordings using a personal computer. He discovered trance in 1997 after being invited to a trance party. "At first it was a very new and strange experience for me and I couldn't find myself, but I was impressed by the energy and the impact that the music had made on the people at the party." At the beginning of his career in the late 1990s he produced tracks in the "nitzhonot" style of trance, an uplifting, anthemic offshoot of Goa trance. His first tracks were "In Peace" and "Eakhis World," which both appeared on the well-known nitzhonot compilation "Ptzatzot 3."

In 2002, Astrix signed to leading EDM label HOMmega and was introduced to the world with his debut album "Eye To Eye". Things started to roll for Astrix from that point on, the worldwide scene fell captivated with his unique, smart melodic style. From that point, Astrix started working on several other projects. In a 2003 interview Astrix said that in fact he worked on 3 albums by Alien Project, but its maintainer Ari Linker did not give him credit. Touring massively after the "Eye To Eye" album release and working on other projects didn't leave much studio time for Avi and it took two years to write & perfect his second album, "Artcore" which came out in 2004. "Artcore" was a lauded album for its sonic picture and it showcased the musical evolution of Astrix. Tracks from the album were used in movies, video games and TV commercials.