Priest is the solo psychedelic trance project of Rameez Reagon, a producer from Cape Town, South Africa. Starting his career out in 2016, he has slowly been refining his own sound, and has recently released an album entitled Holotropic on PsynOpticz records.
Q&A with Priest
Hi Rameez. Pleasure chatting with you today. To start, how did you get involved with music production?
I love being on the dance floor and after a leg injury, I wasn’t able to dance and express myself as much at festivals. One day during a sunrise Killer B set, I said to myself I can do that and I’ve never looked back.
How did you decide on the alias, Priest?
Funnily enough, it’s been my nickname since I was 13 years old. It came from playing basketball. Instead of taking them to school on the court, I took them to church [laughs]
When I was picking a producer / DJ name, so many friends already familiarized me with the name Priest, so I decided to stick with it.
Walk me through your typical track creation process?
I gain motivation and creativity through everything in life. I search for a spark and use it as my theme.
Once I have a theme, the track basically writes itself and I just make sure that the feeling of excitement of being at a festivals gets carried into the tracks.
I think about the crowd and time of day the song gets played. The stressful parts are the technical mixing down tedious details at the end.
You recently released your first full-length entitled Holotropic.
I wanted the challenge of doing my first album since it wasn’t an easy achievement. I felt it was time to push myself once again.
I believe you can sort out a lot of your own personal problems through breathing correctly. The alignment of body and mind, hence the title Holotropic.
How did your relationship with PsynOpticz come about, and why do you feel at home with them?
Labels are always a tricky subject. I sat down with Calvin [at PsynOpticz] and spoke about what we can offer each other. It’s very mutual, which is important to me. I like balance and he genuinely likes my music, which helps!
Any career milestones that you haven’t achieved yet?
Ozora Festival is definitely on the cards, it’s a must in my books. Plus a collaboration with Avalon, Ajja or Tristan would be the ultimate!
I see you’ve been booked for a gig in the UK next year. How did that come about?
I released a new act, The Light Brothers, with a UK label. They introduced me to a festival that needed some assistance with site plans, and after hearing my act Priest, they decided to make the booking.
then got introduced to a couple oaks that side then I did a site plan for one of their festivals and then they heard my priest act and made the booking
What’s the #1 tip you have for up and coming producers?
Work hard, listen carefully, grind on your craft and do ear training. It’s not the gear, it’s the ear!
You’ve become active on YouTube with your music production channel. Do you think this is beneficial for both you and new artists?
Yes, it’s definitely beneficial as it has lead to a new income source after the pandemic. I’ve also met tons of new producers who are trying to get better and I get to hear new ideas from them.
You’ll be performing a special versus set with Glitch at Under The African Sky. What can the dance floor expect from your set?
I am super excited for this special versus set at Under The African Sky on 3 September, because Glitch has been a big mentor in my life from day one. We are planning a journey from his new progressive album all the way to my new full-on album with a bunch of synths involved.
Thanks for the interview, see you on the dance floor next weekend!
Thank you! And thank you for all the work Psymedia has been doing throughout the years. You guys have influenced my work greatly and do so much good for the psytrance community!
