evan hatfield talks transcendent sound with sol tribe

Evan Hatfield is a multi-instrumentalist, psych electronica virtuoso, and CSULB grad whose genre-defying soundscapes have electrified audiences all over the world. Blending his exceptional skill on the Indian sitar, keyboards, and saxophones, his music is an immersive experience that leaves an indelible mark on listeners. 

We had the opportunity to interview Evan, who will be headlining Que Sera’s first ecstatic dance event Church of Sound on Sunday, January 12th in Long Beach, California.

Sol Tribe: Tell us about your musical evolution with the Sitar and electronic music. What sparked this electric convergence of sound for you?

Evan: I was given a CD of Ravi Shankar in my teenage years. During this time, I got into Deadmau5 and that 2010 era of music and began to absorb how they were making it and how they were making the speakers move. It was just kind of a natural progression to merge rhythm and sitar. 

With a lot of electronic music, it's very similar. Rather than complex chord changes, you have very intricate and beautiful rhythmic and melodic things happening. There’s something transcendent about the way it takes you out of your body, out of your thoughts, and puts you in this sort of trance. 

 I experience that with Indian classical music and I experience that with a lot of really good electronic music. And that's kind of my goal when I perform, both for myself and for the audience.

Sol Tribe: Can you talk about a music moment where you felt transported this way?

Burning Man was a really interesting experience for me because I played five sets over 5 days. The experience of waking up and getting to be a vessel for music every day was just magical. It’s a remarkable thing to create a dream with intention, action, and collaboration. 

That’s one thing I do really love about burning man but also just creating that experience for people— for a moment—to suspend reality and just be in unison with Sound and with frequencies.

Sol Tribe: How does community impact your art? 

The energy of those around definitely play a role in what's happening for me. When I'm alone, many of my favorite pieces of music that I've created have come out of that mindset: what do I want to hear right now in this moment for myself? Then, there's the aspect of when I'm on stage and it’s more about community, the collective consciousness. 

A few years ago at [Lightning in a Bottle], I was playing the stage where it was just a DJ booth on the stage. I perform with a fully live setup and all my gear wouldn't fit on the stage so I made this last minute decision to set up in front of the speakers on the dance floor and perform there. 

It was a revolutionary experience for me because I realized if I'm on the same level of everybody on the dance floor, there isn't this separation between me being high up on a stage, and I can connect with people in a different way.

My sets are fully improvised and everything I'm doing is because I feel like it's right for that particular moment. Feeling like I'm one with the audience makes that connection so much stronger.

Sol Tribe: Tell us about your new work! How does it differ from previous projects? 

Evan: I’ve been working on a lot of collaborations lately which has been really exciting. I had a track come out a few weeks ago with my friend Trevor Moon Tribe, who's part of Desert Dwellers and a huge icon in the underground electronic scene in Southern California. I'm really happy with the way that track came out. I also have a whole line of unreleased tracks that I'm excited to release to the world.

Sol Tribe: Thanks Evan! We appreciate you.

You won't want to miss Evan’s performance on Sunday, January 12th at Que Sera in Long Beach, California!

Hear his new single with Trevor Moontribe on Spotify!

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