In 2020, Vini Vici came, they saw...they had their 2020 world tour cancelled. Although that has not affected their sense of humor or ability to connect with their fans. Aviram Saharai explains the duo’s crusade to bring psytrance to the masses.
The Latin phrase “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came; I saw; I conquered) is one that resonated with friends Aviram Saharai and Matan Kadosh. The phrase is attributed to Julius Caesar, who is said to have uttered the phrase to mark his victory in the field. Adapting the phrase slightly, Saharai and Kadosh are better known as DJ/ production duo, Vini Vici, who took on the name to mark their very own conquest of the psychedelic trance genre.
Known as the fastest rising psytrance artists of their generation, the Afula natives have succeeded in propelling the genre to the forefront of the electronic music circuit through their energetic performances and unique productions. Both established producers in their own right, the pair united over their desire to rework old school sounds into modern day music.
Speaking to Headliner from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saharai is chilling in his home studio, which he’s spent a lot of time in recently:
“We’re doing normally around 200 shows a year, so it was a huge shock for us because our life is very intense normally,” he begins. “We usually live in airports, hotels and studios – everything in our life was very rushy. To suddenly be at home for so much time is a bit weird, but I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying my wife, my family and my house.
"I constructed and built this house and I've barely been inside of it! So now I'm actually feeling the house. It's a bit sad that we cannot tour and of course I miss it a lot, but I'm trying to look at the positive side and see the benefit of it.”
Missing that interaction with their fans, Vini Vici have been very active on social media during the quarantine period, and have entertained the masses (albeit via their phones) with virtual gigs and some humorous remixes, along with the caption: ‘Too much studio time!”
For Saharai, it’s all about finding the positives about the situation, even if that does involve poking fun at themselves (although I think what they’re calling their ‘2020 press kit photo’ is glorious).
“Thank you,” laughs Saharai. “We try to have fun and enjoy ourselves and to let tough moments pass more lightly. During the quarantine all you do is look at your phone, talk to your friends, and you see a lot of funny stuff. So we thought that it would be nice also, because we have all this free time. We’ve also done six or seven new tracks during lockdown, so we’re slowly releasing the tracks and finding good dates for them.”