Romania’s Adina Butar has been catapulted into the EDM spotlight since joining Schulz Music Group (SMG) as their first female vocalist/ songwriter back in 2012. Adina was introduced to the world by Markus Schulz at A State of Trance 550 in Den Bosch which became the start of her exciting career with SMG. After a relationship of more than six years, Schulz married Adina on June 1, 2019, in Ibiza.
Aside from her high-profile relationship with the Trance superstar, Adina is a vibrant and growing name in the dance music scene, with a career speeding forward with every collaboration and release, Adina’s large numbers of passionate fans keep on growing, and building on her previous successes. She was also able to meet and hang out with a lot of talented producers and DJs such as Ferry Corsten, Dash Berlin, ATB, among others.
We’d like to thank Adina for taking the time to chat with us! Keep reading to discover more about her background, her band, and what she’s been up to during the pandemic these past few months!
1. We know you started singing when you were very young. Can you tell us how you formed your band and how you began your singing career?
Yes that’s true, I started my career in a girl band 🙂 I was in high school and I was already starting to work at the studio, writing lyrics, etc. We basically met into the studio and decided to do this girl band. Was lot of fun (girl power) One of the girls was Celia and the other one, my best friend from High school Monica. I was also working in radio, I had my own radio show from Monday to Friday from 2 pm – 6pm so I was a busy girl in High school. After that, I moved to University in another city and ended my radio career and focused 100% on University and Music. That’s when I joined another band for almost 4 years. That was the period that actually formed me, since we had rehearsals almost everyday, 3 times a week we did Canto and 3-4 times choreography. I loved the vibe and the team work, we also had some amazing dancers who became our best friends and we were all traveling the country together. Were fun times
2. Do you have a fond memory of your childhood life that is at the core of what you’ve grown to be? The incredible talent that you are?
Aww thank you, you are so sweet. I believe the memory of me being in the band is prob the most relevant, because we went through so much together, we grew together, we pushed each other to become better, and was no competition, was just lots of positivity and love and encouraging each other to become better every day. We knew every single one of us had different qualities. Embracing your qualities and work on your weaknesses is the key. We always used to say: “YOU are your only competition. as long as you’re better then yesterday you win, keep moving forward and grow” It’s important to have a team of people around you that is encouraging you to become the best version of yourself.
3. How did you get interested in electronic dance music? Was it always Markus’s fault? (lol)
First I started writing music for other bands, and then I started collaborating with DJ’s. Was just about that time when electronic music blew up and Dj’s all around the country/ world were looking for vocalist to collaborate. I grew up in a world where you used to hire producers to produce for you and you could put your input in the productions, but times changed very fast and start getting so many offers of collaborations. Of course I chose the best once and I was lucky that the first Dj collab I had with a Romanian producer became number 1 on commercial radio stations, from there everything just followed it’s natural course. I started collaborating with international Dj soon enough after that.
4. What was your first ever music festival experience like? How did that affect you?
You mean from the artist point of view ? I do remember first time I sang at EDC Las Vegas in front of hundreds of thousand of people and felt unreal. The stage was so huge and I felt like I was just a little spot moving on that huge stage in front of the amazing crowd. Felt amazing of course. Especially during these times we miss those vibes of unity and energy of the crowed.
5. When it comes to producers you’ve worked with, you’ve hit the jackpot. What insights can you give up and coming vocalists who aim to work with A-list names?
Keep writing from your soul and always have a message for the world. I think that’s the key. Beside the voice, I believe the message of the song is very important. What you try to transmit through the song, writing about stuff that people can relate to, or writing about a feeling/ a high that we are all looking for. In the end people who listen to you and come to the festivals are all looking to escape the reality world for a while. So if you can make them escape through your songs just for a little while i think that is important. We are all chasing those highs, those “ahhhh i feel so good moments” we are all looking to disconnect from day to day life and connect to what is really important, and music connects you with your soul, and connects people.
6. Going back to music festivals, what was your favorite festival moment so far as a singer?
Every time when I have the chance to sing at a festival is amazing, doesn’t even matter where it is, From Dreamstate Poland (amazing crowd and energy, lots of electronic music lovers in Poland) to a NYE in Vietnam that i Had the chance to sing in front of 100.000 people, to Tomorrowland Brazil, but i still think My favorite moment was the first time i sang at EDC Las Vegas. That was next level vibe 🙂 and those who go to EDC Las Vegas know what I am talking about.
7. We know the pandemic made shows impossible to have, how was transitioning into the online world for you? Do you feel your connection with the fans is not as strong at the moment?
Everyone is going through lots of changes. 2020 is a hard year for everyone. Not just because of the pandemic, but also because it took everything that we were used to away from us. I’m a positive person and I always try to look at the bright side. On a hand when someone takes out of your comfort zone you have the chance to reinvent yourself. To meditate, to try look deep inside of your soul and find out what is truly what you want to do in this lifetime, what is your purpose on this earth? And I see a lot of people maybe had the chance to find themselves which is a good thing. On another hand, there is a lot of frustration, because almost everyone lost their jobs and lots of people are really struggling, that why I hope they find peace at least through the music, and I hope we can touch people hearts at least through live streams and through the music they find online. I keep in touch a lot with everyone on my Instagram Page and I am lucky my followers are such beautiful people, is a pleasure to talk to them through DM’s during this times 🙂
8. Every artist is busy in their studios right now putting in more time to bring is some incredible musical gems. What sneak peak can you give us? We’d love to know what’s coming soon!
I am always working on new music, this year I only had two singles OUT, both with Markus Schulz “Indestructible” and “In search of sunrise” but new stuff are coming soon.
9. Could we ever see an Adina Butar virtual singing event? Or maybe a Virtual Reality experience?
That would be amazing 😉 I’ll think about it. I spent some time during the quarantine with Oculus and loved it :))
10. We know from your socials that you love healthy cooking, going on long trips, nature…etc. How have these changes in your everyday routine affected you in a world forced to shut down?
When the world shut down, Markus and I locked ourselves in the studio, and we worked a lot on music, Markus new album “Escaped” that was just lunched was finished during those months. We caught up on sleep and felt good to be honest to not have to fly every weekend; but after a while of course we start missing all those things we used to do and we all took for granted maybe. I guess 2020 was the year who taught us how to appreciate what we have. In Florida we were pretty lucky though the state opened after few months and we were able at least to go to outdoor dinners, plus in September we decided to go on an RV tour through USA, for 3 weeks we slept in The RV and we traveled through all the national Parks and amazing places in USA that we did not have the chance to see before. Now we had the time and was such an amazing experience. We took the DJ equipment with us and filmed 10 DJ sets in 10 amazing locations; you can already see the first 4 on Markus Youtube Channel.
11. Any final words to your fans and readers?
Thank you so much for all your support and love through the years. Stay safe and strong and can’t wait to meet again soon somewhere in the world.