ASHER SWISSA — the artist and his music
ASHER SWISSA is a music producer, DJ, and member of the band SKAZI. Based in Israel, he is known for unleashing fire on dance floors across the world. He is mostly known for his psytrance output, having made psychedelic dance floor tunes for over 25 years. Israel has long been a hotspot for this genre, and SWISSA was an important part of its development.
ASHER SWISSA formed the psytrance band SKAZI in 1998, together with his good friend Assaf Bivas. The young men released their debut record in 2000, plastering a unique hard rocking sound onto the emerging psytrance genre. Since then, SWISSA has produced lots of great music and played at some of the biggest festivals in the world. He continues to release music under his own name, from remixes of commercial hits to exciting collaborations with vocalists like Lian Gold.
Introducing ASHER SWISSA
ASHER SWISSA was born in Israel in 1975 to Moroccan parents. He loved music from an early age and was initially inspired by the punk sounds coming from Europe. He formed a punk band with three of his friends in 1990, which they called Sartan Hashad. They played venues in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and became an influential part of the small Israeli punk scene. ASHER SWISSA kept rocking for a few years, but his musical tastes changed when he was exposed to psytrance. This unique, hard-hitting style of dance music was flourishing in Israel at the time, and SWISSA was about to join the party.
Introducing SKAZI
In 1996, ASHER SWISSA decided to leave Sartan Hashad and develop his own career. No longer transfixed by punk, he wanted to write and perform music for a larger and more colorful audience. Psytrance was huge in Israel at the time, having emerged from the Goa trance scene earlier in the ’90s. The Indian state of Goa was the Asian version of Ibiza, but hippier, trippier, and with a more intense and pulsating style of music.
SWISSA adopted the stage name DJ Skazi in 1998 and got together with his friend to form the SKAZI live act. The psytrance coming from Israel was already hard and fast, and SWISSA was about to rock the dance floor like never before. Unlike his contemporaries, who were solely focused on electronic sound design, he infused his sound with electric guitar riffs.
SKAZI’s first album, Animal, was released in September 2000. This solidified the band’s sound, with live guitar riffs combined with squelchy acid sounds and technical percussion. SKAZI had a unique take on psytrance, inspired equally by rock, techno, and hard house. The band produced four compilations between 2001 and 2004, and they collaborated with artists across the psytrance scene. SWISSA also became the owner of the Chemical Crew label during this time, working with artists like Infected Mushroom, Astrix, GMS, Eskimo, and Talamasca.
New releases and collaborations
SKAZI kept releasing new music as the century ticked over, with the band’s latest release coming from 2019. During this period, however, ASHER SWISSA’s musical tastes became broader and deeper. He started looking beyond the insular world of psytrance, producing everything from melodic techno and progressive house to relaxed global grooves.
Most of SWISSA’s new musical output has a slower tempo. Rollicking 140-150 bpm psytrance grooves are slowed down and stretched out, and the emerging space is filled with magical melodies and vocals. He released lots of music during this time, under his birth name and also as The Secret Project by ASHER SWISSA.
In 2020-21, SWISSA released some of the biggest dance floor hits in Europe. Some of his biggest recent tunes include “BUZZING,” “Where Are You Going,” “Burning,” “Special K,” “Enta Omri (Remix Version),” and “Love Tonight (Remix Version).” The great music kept coming in 2022-23, including huge collaborations with DJ Korolova and Evelynka in “Under the Moonlight” and Miss Monique and SANDHAUS in “Electric.”
ASHER SWISSA — “Closer Enemy”
This track is released on Helicon Aroma Music on behalf of Reborn Music. It was released in December 2023, and it’s been making waves ever since. “Closer Enemy” is a fun number with a rolling bass line and catchy vocal. It’s the kind of track you might hear at a festival, but it works just as well indoors with the lights down low. Some of the biggest DJs in the world have been playing this track over the holiday period, and it’s sure to get even more positive attention in the months ahead.
ASHER SWISSA & Lian Gold — “Left Right”
Released on Dharma Worldwide, “Left Right” hit the airwaves just a few weeks ago. SWISSA lays down a solid progressive groove peppered with tech percussion before Lian Gold enters with a hypnotic vocal line. This track is all about juxtaposition, with rolling bass lines and hard-hitting beats combined with lyrics focused on “peace and quiet” and silence. “Left Right” is about finding deep peace in the middle of the dance floor, whether that’s in the deserts of Israel, the beaches of Goa, or the clubs of Berlin.
ASHER SWISSA is already a legend in the psytrance world, and his new music is attracting a whole new audience. If both of these tracks are anything to go by, we can expect more great things from SWISSA in the months and years ahead.
Streaming now on 25/8/366 Global Radio at rBeatz.com.