Astrix: the Israeli psytrance DJ and producer

Astrix is the stage name of Avi Shmailov, an Israeli psytrance DJ and producer. He was born on 5 December 1981 in Georgia, then part of the Soviet Union, and grew up in Tel Aviv. He makes and plays full-on and progressive psytrance and has been one of the biggest names in the genre since the early 2000s.

He is best known for the albums Eye to Eye (2002) and Artcore (2004) on HOMmega Productions, the single "Coolio" and later tracks such as "Deep Jungle Walk" and "Universo". Today he releases on his own label, Shamanic Tales Records, and plays festivals such as Boom, Ozora and Universo Paralello.

Astrix at a glance

Short bio

Shmailov comes from a Mountain Jewish family and grew up in Tel Aviv. He started DJing at 12, playing 1980s alternative music, and discovered trance in 1995. In 1997 he started producing on a home PC and took the name Astrix.

Astrix began as a duo. Shmailov founded the project with Amir Afargan, known as Kintaro, and their first tracks were nitzhonot, the fast and melodic Israeli offshoot of Goa trance. After Afargan left a few years later, Shmailov carried on alone and moved into full-on psytrance.

The breakthrough came quickly. HOMmega signed him in 2002, the year his debut album came out. In 2006 he entered the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll at number 41, and in 2007 he climbed to number 18. For a psytrance DJ in a poll full of trance and house names, that put him in front of a much bigger audience.

Sound and style: what genre is Astrix?

Astrix plays psytrance, mainly full-on and progressive psytrance. His tracks run on a punchy, rolling bassline with big, clear melodies on top. They are made for packed dancefloors at peak time, and they are bright and direct compared with darker or more experimental psytrance. That is a big part of why his music reaches people outside the core scene.

His first albums sit in the classic full-on sound of the 2000s. Over the years his sound has moved closer to progressive psytrance, with tighter grooves and melodies that build slowly. If you want to hear how the styles differ, our guide to psytrance subgenres breaks it down, and the full-on and progressive psytrance festival pages show where this music gets played.

Key releases

• Eye to Eye (2002, HOMmega Productions): the debut album that made his name worldwide.
• Artcore (2004, HOMmega Productions): the second album, two years after the debut.
• Coolio (2004): the single many fans still connect with his name.
• Closer to Heaven (2005): single, with a remix by Pixel featuring the singer Michele Adamson.
• One Step Ahead (2008): an album released digitally on a USB flash drive.
• Red Means Distortion (2010): studio album.
• High on Mel (2013): single on HOMmega HD.
• He.art (2016): album released on 29 February 2016, with "Deep Jungle Walk", "Agate" with Ritmo, "Awake the Snake" with Tristan and "Valley of Stevie" with Ace Ventura.
• Universo (2020, Shamanic Tales): one of the most played tracks in his recent sets.

He also runs a mix series called Trance for Nations.

Labels: HOMmega and Shamanic Tales

For most of the 2000s Astrix was a HOMmega Productions artist. The label released Eye to Eye and Artcore, and its HOMmega HD imprint put out the Acid Rocker EP (2010) and the singles "Type 1" and "Stars on 35" (2012) and "High on Mel" (2013). Along the way he also released on Spiral Trax, Tokyo Dance and Plastik Park.

Shamanic Tales Records is his own label, based in Tel Aviv. It describes itself as Astrix's label for psychedelic trance and other mind-expanding music. His back catalogue now appears under it on the streaming and download stores, and it also releases remixes of his tracks by other artists, such as Antinomy's 2024 remix of "Ziran". You can read Antinomy's story in our interview with DJ Antinomy.

Collaborations

His closest partner is Ace Ventura. The two run a joint project called Alpha Portal, made "Valley of Stevie" for He.art and released "Pranava", which got a Volcano on Mars remix on Ace Ventura's label Mutant Disco Records in 2026. Our portrait of Ace Ventura covers his side of the story.

Other notable work includes "Adhana" with Vini Vici (Iboga Records, 2018), "Agate" with Ritmo and a remix of Juno Reactor's "Conquistador".

Live: clubs and festivals

Astrix tours all year. Over his career he has played big dance festivals such as Dance Valley, SW4, Creamfields and the Love Parade, and venues like Brixton Academy, Alexandra Palace, Pacha and the Ministry of Sound.

In the psytrance world, recorded sets show him on Boom's Dance Temple in 2018 and again in 2023, at Ozora in 2022 and at Universo Paralello in Brazil. In 2025 he headlined Rabbits Eat Lettuce in Australia, sharing the bill with house and bass acts, and played Dream Nation in Paris and World DJ Festival in Japan.

Astrix is one of several Israeli artists who took psytrance from the desert parties at home to the main stages abroad. If you want to know why the scene is so strong there, read why psytrance is so popular in Israel.

FAQ

What genre is Astrix?

Psytrance. He started with nitzhonot in the late 1990s, made his name with full-on psytrance in the 2000s and today plays mostly progressive and full-on psytrance.

Where is Astrix from?

Astrix is Israeli. He was born on 5 December 1981 in Georgia, then part of the Soviet Union, and grew up in Tel Aviv, where his label Shamanic Tales is based.

What is Astrix's real name?

His real name is Avi Shmailov, written אבי שמיילוב in Hebrew. He has used the name Astrix since 1997.

What are Astrix's best-known tracks?

"Coolio", "Closer to Heaven", "Deep Jungle Walk", "Agate", "Valley of Stevie" with Ace Ventura and "Universo". His best-known albums are Eye to Eye, Artcore and He.art.

Has Astrix worked with Ace Ventura?

Yes, many times. They share the project Alpha Portal and have released tracks together, including "Valley of Stevie" and "Pranava".