As one of the most prolific producers in trance music, Roger Shah recently dropped the DJ moniker from his name, all the while releasing in excess of four albums in the past two years. The undisputed King of Balearic Islands, Shah is heading down under to play Godskitchen this June.
Why did you drop the DJ? The main decision is the change of my performance from playing usual DJ sets of just vinyls and CDs into more of a live act. So now it’s more of a mixture between DJing and a live act. For example, I play with two laptops and two keyboards and I have a set up where I don’t mix the music from CDs anymore, I mix the music from the laptop. And one of the keyboards is wireless, so I can move around with it and go to the people and so forth. It’s really cool.
I didn’t feel like a DJ anymore, so I felt it was wrong for me to be announced like that on stage. I always have more of a concert feel than a DJ set because I play live. It’s amazing to have it like this now, I’m very happy. It’s much more interactive and much more fun.
What is Balearic Trance? Balearic comes from the Balearic Islands. Ibiza is part of the Balearic Islands. So I spend a couple of weeks there each year. And Ibiza is the petrol station for my creativity, so for example I’ll take five or six days to compose about 10 songs while I’m there watching sunsets. The island is kind of magic to me which is why I labelled my label Magic Islands. It has a special atmosphere and I think I have that special atmosphere in my music.
How do you describe your sound? My sound is a mixture of different elements. I have a lot of tribal influences like percussions from the housey side of dance music, but everything is about trance music with those strings, sequences, melodies and melodic vocals. I always say that my music is very emotional, even softer than the banging stuff. It’s a bit different. I just do what I feel when I’m in the studio. I don’t follow any other records or any other trend or progression. I just do what I love to do.
Godkitchen happens Friday June 11 at Metro City Perth. Tickets are available now. www.ticketmaster.com.au
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
