A Human Element creating EarSugar

Mr Martin Knecht aKa Human Element & EarSugar
- a very well-known Dj & Producer and this absolutely Kind & Lovely Dude - is here on his vacation.

Martin came here for a very short visit to play at the Half Moon Festival!

It was Martin’s very first Half Moon party on Koh Phangan.
He met Mr Jao, Half Moon Boss, in Switzerland when Jao was there to play and they connected.

This season we have had the pleasure of many of the Swiss Dj’s.
The rumour is that Mr Big Boss Jao has a tradition of going to Swiss festivals and DJ himself and from there it seems like he is making many good friends!

There has been a very good connection this season and the audience have enjoyed the snack bites of many new DJ’s from the European Progressive Scene.
The Progressive Trance Flow @ Half Moon has been raising its standards all season and the selection of Dj’s and quality music has been really great and with the feeling of more thoughts & talents behind.

Before the performance Martin said about his upcoming gig;
“I always try to keep my expectations low before a party but I always hope to meet beautiful people from all around and enjoy a nice party with good music.
I have my case fully loaded with the latest Progressive and I can‘t wait to play them for you guys!! I also have a wide range of music in the Driving psy-progressive genre with me.”

We asked him also before his performance if he believes Koh Phangan to be a good place for his music and to that he replied;
“Don‘t know yet - but I’m really curious to find it out!! :))”

After his double set performance he looked like a happy man so we believe it is safe to say that he found it to be a good place!
He had a very good experience from the Half Moon, he said!
Enjoying himself & his audience while bare foot dancing around behind the decks.
The “grand” feeling of being raised so high above the dance floor surely also adds to the special atmosphere as the Decks Spinner!

Martin played 2 sets for a packed dance floor and balcony at his appearance at the Half Moon.

His first set was his Solo project Human Element.
If you believed the Flyer it would tell you it would be Progressive House but as Martin said after his set; “I really played more Progressive Trance than really House”

Human element is very special.
It is a Trancy Progressive flow on low BPM. All tracks are around 124-130 BPM.

His second set was his double act Ear Sugar!
His mate Nicola couldn’t make it to Thailand, so Martin created another pleasurable Solo act.

Martin said about EarSugar before the act; EarSugar is more like the driving stuff with 135 BPM and higher even and a bit more Psychedelic then Human Element.
“Unfortunately I’m alone here, Nicola is on tour in India and it was not possible to make it together to Thailand.”
Nicola and I meet in a club in Zurich more than 10 years ago!
After our first meeting we very quickly decided to work together. Shortly after that we were in the studio creating our first track.
That was „womanizer“, released on plusquam records in 2004.
Since then we have been working together constantly on different projects while travelling around and playing at parties and on festivals!”

The Half Moon Night  was a night of very progressive & super harmonic melodic low BPM slowly building up to Light Progressive Tones with breaks of a few heavy beats to a few BPM higher & further into a more Psychedelic adventure and a few even higher raised Beats but still with Progressive Feeling.
A comfortable harmonic Sound Journey with crispy undertones of something very Snacky.
It was a treat starting from really nice chill out tunes up to more progressive / techno stuff until a Delicate Psychedelic Progressive Trance state.

It was a Human Element creating EarSugar!

Martin’s special touch as a Progressive Trance DJ and Producer is the way he brings out the Mix. In one time energetic and powerful but still with the deep feel and hypnotic approach.

Happy to be here and luckily living in the Bay Lounge Resort he has no further plans to play on Phangan.
He didn’t make any plans since he is just on a small vacation, but sure he is open for suggestions while he is here, he says.
“until now I „only“  made plans for Half moon - but let‘s see ;)”

Back home he has a half time job next to Producing and Dj’ing.
It is a daytime job but it is still full connected to his musical interests!
He works daytime in a shop with electronic devices for all kind of gadgets for your tech equipments!
And – we discussed this a bit with a smile – it is NOT a half time job when you only have to work two days a week! .. Is it?

A short flash back to Martin early days will tell us that he started spinning in Clubs in Zurich around 1998.
For more than 15 years now he has been playing in countless Clubs, Parties & Festivals. Year by year raising his profile to be a well known and respected Dj in the Scene!

The last years he has played on many major Trance festivals like Universo Paralello, Cachoeira alta and Fora do Tempo in Brazil!
Boom Festival in Portugal also had the pleasure of Martins Beats and Germany’s Fusion Festival, The Vuuv, Tshitraka and the Full Moon Party!

Martin released under many different names such as Vapour, Sog, Blue Tines. SpinTwist & Spiral Trax. It was around the beginning of 2009 that his Solo Project Human Element took form.

His visit here is going to be very short cause Martin is busy with his current project.

Already next week will he begin his next adventures and return to Europe for now.
We told him that we heard some rumours about an upcoming album, from a very sweet friend of his!
We will, for now at least, keep the name a secret in case she will be our secret informer whenever Martin has upcoming releases. Maybe we can be so Lucky to always be the first ones to share the Good News ;) !
To know a person can be done by looking at his friends, someone said once. In this case Martin must be one of the sweetest kindest guys around ;)

This time she didnt reveal a yet untold story and Martin was happy to share;
“yesssss.... I’m working on the first human element album - I hope it will be finished until June or July.... beside of that I’m working on some ambient chill out stuff - some of the songs with a great vocalist from Toronto / Canada. Amber Long is her name and she has a beautiful voice!”

If you ask his mother about that he is pretty sure that she would Laugh Out Loud!
Let’s hope she believes in him enough to laugh with him and not AT him because Martin believes that one of the best things he ever did was living his life as he did!

“No, serious, there are so many great things going on, that it‘s hard to mention only one special.
But for sure one great thing is that I could turn my hobby into a profession and can travel the world and play my music for lovely people all around the globe!”

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass - it‘s about learning how to dance in the rain!!!” he says!

He dreams of a better world for all human beings and that all people on this planet will start to understand that we are all ONE !
- Treat your neighbour like you would treat yourself!

If he could fix something right now with his Wagic wand he would use his Magic Powers to create World peace.

He would with a single swift of the wand, get rid of all wars and with the money left over from the zero military expenses, - because of his additional brilliant plan to also in the same move get full rid of  the whole military mechanism, he would use the money to Feed the whole world!

Very Kind and brilliant of you Martin! ;)

World Peace & Food to eveyone! We are all One! Martin, the Sweet deep down Hippie in a Progressive World of Wonders! May the ( Progressive ) Force be with you! ;)

Martin is uploading free tracks from time to time on Sound Cloud and at the moment there is free download for a downbeat track and very Apropos Martin's visions of a higher spirituel living, we bring you this one also.
Snack a bit on this; Effortless Being & Mindful Dreaming

While Snacking and Listening to Martin's Audio  have a look through the gallery from his performance at the Half Moon Party March 3.

Audio & Visual Symbiosis! 

Half Moon Gallery March 3 Feel free to purchase any of the photos if you see something you like!

Thank you for your time Martin and Best of Luck further!
It was a very sweet meeting with Martin at the Half Moon and his performance there was an absolute treat to the Phangan people!
Enjoy your week here and we hope to see you back here again soon!
Good Luck with your upcoming album and all the best from Phanganist!