We recently connected with Anahit Topchyan and have shared our conversation below.
Anahit, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Embarking on creative projects define an artist’s path. I believe it’s important for an artist to pursue projects that have meaning to themselves and the values they stand for. My most recent creative project took the form of a nighttime market and music event. I chose to pursue this for many reasons. As a DJ, I wanted to showcase the skills I practice and hone every day. As an entrepreneur, I wanted to bring value to the music community in the shape of something new, fun, and interesting. As a friend, I wanted to bring all of my friends and colleagues from all aspects of my life together to build something great and exciting to help each other grow and expand the net-work while promoting each other’s businesses. My aim was to create space for people to do what they love most and share it with others, and in turn, take part in creating an atmosphere of good energy and good music. This project took a lot of time and effort not only from my end, but from every person who chose to become involved to make it happen. I knew it had to be great, as this was the first large-scale event which I organized, promoted, and hosted. The days leading up to the event were both nerve-racking and exciting. Show day was spectacular. Everyone who needed to be there was there, operations ran smoothly, and my DJ performance, along with the rest of my lineup, was outstanding. The benefits I reap from this project are internal; knowing that I am capable of leading and putting together large-scale events, and understanding that this event in particular would not have been possible without the people I am connected with. This project was meaningful to me because it took place exactly one year after picking up my first DDJ and teaching myself how to DJ. The whole experience left me feeling significant, purposeful, and as an agent for change.
Along with this, the Underground Connections Podcast is a project that I actively work on with respectable members of my community. My team and I bring on guests who are making an impact in the underground music scene. Everyone we interview is putting in hours of hard work and working behind the scenes to create something magnificent all through the love of music and community. It is powerful to hear peoples’ stories about the challenges they’ve faced and how they overcame them. It’s also inspiring to hear the things they create and dedicate energy into making it great. I am grateful to be one of the founders and hosts of this show as it is the first of its kind for my community and I get to bring my personality and twist into the experience.
Anahit, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Anahit Topchyan and I DJ. I go by AnaHeat when performing to remain true to my name.
Alongside all of the creative ventures I embark on, DJing is by far my favorite. I discovered the industry I am currently heavily involved in on my 25th birthday and I discovered my passion to perform six months later. Both discoveries were life altering for me; they were an outcome of difficult times and left an impact on me that changed the course of my life forever. I do not know what I would be doing with my life right now if I had not broken into the music and festival production industries and had not met the people I have on this journey of mine. Within only a year, I became a booking manager for a handful of DJs, found a job with Insomniac, hosted and organized music events small and large, performed in Amsterdam, started a podcast representing the underground music scene (Underground Connections) with a team of trailblazers within the community, and created a brand (Techno.ology) representing my work as an artist, designer, and mental health and safety advocate.
Everything I do, I do through my love of music. My purpose in music is to create sound you can fall in trance to; some call it hypnotic. I believe everyone has specific skills whether they are aware of it or not, and everyone has a purpose on this planet whether they are aware of it or not. My sound aims to bring further awareness into your life, your skillset, and your purpose. I want the euphoria I feel when listening to music to resonate with others. I want the sound that activates my awareness and my life-changing realizations to influence others with their awareness and their realizations.
My sound is high on energy. You can expect to become energetic, entranced, and enthusiastic. With an increase of energy in the body, you increase your endorphin levels, boost your heart health, and sharpen your focus. Emotionally, having higher energy will help you cope and manage stress better, uncover motivation to keep moving forward with optimism and fortitude, and experience greater happiness and well-being. These reasons, along with the given feelings of wanting to dance and feel free on the dancefloor, allow for self-realizations to occur more easily. Being in a high state of feeling, creates greater room for change. You become more accepting, more adaptable, and more optimistic. These are experiences I’ve had myself and adapted from techniques I’ve learned from gurus and life coaches such as Tony Robbins. I create an environment for my listeners to go on their own personalized internal journeys.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect about being an artist is inspiring others. Whether it be through music, art, or the words I speak, my intention as a creative is to help others draw closer to their true path. The true path is the one that brings the most joy into your life. I believe people are capable of whatever they set their minds to, this includes both the things they believe they can and cannot do. When I am approached with a goal, a desire, an interest, I help the person feel capable of accomplishing that idea.
My goal is to ease concern and turn that energy into action towards ideas. There have been moments that I cherish of family and friends sharing with me that after speaking to me in the past, they were inspired to start their businesses, to try something new, to think about a topic differently, and even manage their stress better. Hearing feedback after playing music is also of value to me especially when someone mentions they had a change of heart, felt gathering energy in their body, or had a spiritual experience while listening to my set. Seeing the results of the seeds that I intentionally—and at times, unintentionally—plant are by far the most gratifying of feelings.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Absolutely. I absorb information on philosophy, self-transformation, entrepreneurship, and spirituality often. At all times, I have one book that I am reading and one book that I am listening to. Currently, I am reading Across That Bridge by Congressman John Lewis and listening to The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Books which have left a lasting impact on me are as follows:
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
This is a twelve-week course on how to change your life with assigned tasks such as daily journaling and solo dates. I was on Week 4 of this book when I uncovered my passion for DJing.
Will by Mark Manson and Will Smith
Listening to Will Smith speak about his life journey in his own words allowed me to feel the greatness he carries with the decisions he makes. He has encouraged me to think big, take risks, and stand strong with a hard-working, goal-oriented, like-minded team. I listened to this book twice, then went out to purchase the physical copy.
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza
This book is a powerful reminder that we are nothing but energy. Everything we see, feel, and touch is energy, and Dr. Dispenza explains how we can tap into this power to find peace with self and transform into the better versions of ourselves. Dr. Dispenza’s work induced my journey of self-discovery.
Anthem by Ayn Rand
I read this book in high school and it is one of the only books I remember the storyline of from that time. This book left me feeling wondrous and thoughtful. Its underlying message emphasizes the importance of individuality. I took this to heart growing up and remembered the value of diversity and perspective when feeling different around everyone else. I now thrive from seeing other people owning their individualities and I make an effort to be different myself through the music I play, the clothes I wear, and the things I create, like paintings, poems, clothing and accessories, and interviews on my podcast.
Other resources that have helped me on my journey include Gaia (an app with enlightening films, informative yoga tutorials, and relaxing meditations), talks by Tony Robbins, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Osho, Alan Watts, and Pursuit of Wonder on YouTube, SoundCloud (where all of my mixes are uploaded to see the light of day and be shared worldwide), Logic Pro (the easiest way to make electronic music), and Rekordbox (a must have for all DJs using advanced controllers).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soundcloud.com/anahit-topchyan-693578249
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anheat/
- Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UndergroundConnections/videos
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/anaheat
- Clothing Brand: https://technoology.bigcartel.com