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 In anticipation of his appearance for Technoclub's 25th Anniversary bash this month we caught up with Balearic master Roger Shah for his thoughts of the huge night in store and his latest goings on...
On the build to this Friday's 25th Anniversary of the Technoclub over in Germany we managed to catch up with Roger Shah. He's been DJ’in for some time but the decsision to change the name to Roger fits in nicely as he has become just more than a DJ in recent years. His Magic Island mix compilations have fused together some of the worlds most relaxing and laid back Trance records released and you will all know him for his Sunlounger alias. As DJ Shah you may have enjoyed then but as Roger Shah you will enjoy him even more now as his productions, compositions, mixes and workload have all shifted up a gear. Next year will be a very big year for Roger and he's got three very special albums in the works now for you to look forward to which you can read all about in our Interview with the man himself. It's been a while since we had him on the site but ladies and gents, welcome back Roger Shah.
i:Vibes: Roger its been almost been two years since I last interviewed you how time flies. So much has happened in your life as a producer and DJ in this time. Besides getting to position 21 in the DJ top 100, what was your biggest achievement in the last two years?
Roger: Yes, you're totally right. I lot of things happened the past two years but just positive stuff. I think the biggest achievement was to become the official # 21st in the DJ Mag top 100 but also to do this studio collaboration with worlds number one Armin van Buuren and the launch of my magic island record label, which I run in collaboration with armada and to have 3 tracks in the annual ASOT top 20 in 2008; including the official tune of the year with "Lost". so yes, a lot of things happened.
i:Vibes: Congrats on moving from 58 to 21 in the DJ Mag Top 100 list. Has all your hard work now finally been paying off in the last two years?
Roger: It seams that the hard work and effort I put into going my own way in sound and music philosophy is paying off now. One important thing has been to build up a solid team around me who are working on the whole Roger Shah and Magic Island brand.
i:Vibes: Do you think that the name Roger Shah could enter the DJ Mag Top 100 down the road? What has to be done so this can be reality?
Roger: I actually don't think about it, I am very happy with the things I achieved so far and a certain number is not important for me, maybe more for my manager to negotiate things. I realized that a lot of things changed for me, I have a fast growing fan base all over the world and everywhere I go almost all gigs are sold out, I see smiling happy faces and people singing along to my music. This means the world to me, all other things happen or even not.
i:Vibes: You have been around since the 90s and been producing very much. Why do you think it took so long for you to finally get fully recognized as a producer. How much of luck truly plays a role in the trance world?
Roger: Yes you are right it took 15 years of my life to make it to this level. One reason is that I did everything for myself never being connected to other producers or people who wanted to help me. Also when I started to produce as a full time producer I did a lot of different stuff to earn the money I needed to be able to live with the income of my music. so I did also a lot of commercial or cheesy stuff which I am not proud off but i had to do. It's all about a development, the scene but also yourself, finally I managed to create an own kind of sub genre of trance music which finally has been the secret of my success nowadays and why so many people are following me right now. Luck is also very important, my whole career changed when I met Armin in amnesia and gave him a CD with a new production, some weeks later I got a call and have been invited to come to the armada office and signed a long termed contract with the best record label around. so maybe when I didn't gave Armin this CD everything could be still different. you never know what will happen next in this strange industry.
i:Vibes: You will be playing along side Talla 2XLc and Irish trance god John O Callaghan at the Technoclub 25th year anniversary. Correct me if I am wrong, but I can’t remember you ever playing in the technoclub in the last 10 years? Possibly in the 90s in the Dorian Gray, but since the Dorian Gray closed I cant remember you playing in the Technoclub. Why is this?
Roger: In the 90's I just started being a DJ when Talla was one of the big stars of the scene, the only thing I could do is look up to him. why i never played for techno club is more a question you should ask him, not me. I never had problems with him and also been signed with a project when he owned the whole music research company. so it's a good question actually, in case you find out an answer let me know. but better late than never, so I will give my Technoclub debut for the 25th years anniversary.
i:Vibes: What kind of a relationship do you have to Talla 2XLC? He was already around and a household name as you were starting out
Roger: As I already said he was the big man of trance, I looked up to him and Taucher and thought how great it would be to archive something similar like this guys. Unfortunately we never had really a kind of a relationship, he did his stuff and I tried to do mine but always been open minded to change this. So finally I'm very happy to play with him for his big Technoclub birthday day.
i:Vibes: When do you remember your earliest recollection of hearing the name Talla 2XLC? What did he mean to you as a producer and DJ for you as you were growing up?
Roger: I played in a great trance club in my hometown in Stuttgart called Zenit from 1996 - 1999, so this decade has been very influenced by Talla and also all his releases on his different labels.
i:Vibes: Trance started in the 90s, had its boom in the late 90s and then some years of trash trance followed which died in 2004-2005. Since then trance has been kind of dead in Germany. There are artists like Paul van Dyk, the Euphonic crew, Talla 2XLc and yourself that is keeping trance alive. What has Talla 2XLC truly meant to the German and worldwide trance scene?
Roger: He is a real legend, a pioneer and well respected all over the world and the fact that he is around for that long and still keeping the flag high for trance music receive the most respect from my side. Funny thing for me is that when trance died in 2005 in Germany it was a kind of the birth of my Balearic trance sound and the beginning of something huge. I also want to mention that also Pedro del mar is one guy who always keeps the flag high for trance and his Mellomania radio show is one of the most loved shows around the world, so he is for me the most underrated DJ of the moment and should also be in the top 100
i:Vibes: What can we await from your DJ set? Will it be more a typical balearic DJ set or will you give a special never heard kind of DJ set especially for Talla 2XLC?
Roger: You can expect a typical Roger Shah live performance; I totally changed my set up 2 years ago into more a mixture of live and DJ stuff. so I think I never play that much in Germany and I know a lot of people coming to see me, too, so I will play a mixture of a best of and new songs from my current magic island album. I think everybody is waiting that I will play the tune of 2008 "lost" and my current big track "healesville sanctuary", my collaboration with Signum.
i:Vibes: I guess you will play “Going Wrong” or people will hurt you because they want to hear it. What makes this track so unforgettable and were you the enforcer behind the making of this track?
Roger: Ha, yes, I’ve been the enforcer of this track. It was the main song of my songbook album i released last year. Armin heard it and loved it that much, so he made some remixes and we did it as official collaboration and also performed it together at the Armin only concerts which have been a great experience for me. Yes, I think I have to play it.
i:Vibes: What is your impression of John O Callaghan? He has a similar trend to you that he has rapidly moved up the DJ Mag charts at #24. Is he a guy that could take over the throne of Paul van Dyk down the road in the top 10? Have you heard his brilliant new album?
Roger: John is a good friend of mine and I’m very happy for him that he also moved up so rapidly. His album is amazing and his song "find yourself" for me the vocal tune of the year. For me he can take over the throne of PvD for sure but I also don't want to compare one artist with another. We artist’s are unique and even if some of them do a similar music a lot of things are still different. Music wise he could make it and take over PvD for sure within the next 2 years, but it's also not all about the music in this scene. Paul is also such a huge pioneer with a superstar attitude and did so much for trance music, so he is still our number one flagship in Germany and will still be for a long time.
i:Vibes: You recently went from DJ Shah to your real name Roger Shah. What were the main reasons for doing this and what were the biggest benefits for doing this?
Roger: The only reason I did it was the fact that I changed my performance from playing with vinyl’s and cd’s to 2 laptops and 2 keyboards, so I feel more like a real artist or musician and not like a typical DJ anymore. It felt strange for me to be announced as DJ Shah and then I came out and played with my keyboards more like a one man band.
i:Vibes: In the last years as you started to really get known in 2006, you were producing so much that one might have mixed you up with Oliver Lieb, because he also was known as a producer with many aliases and much productions. Is it difficult to make so much music, but still stay credible as a producer?
Roger: For me it was very easy to do, because I’m a workaholic and always writing songs and melodies, even in the planes I do something into this direction. I had to say that between 2005 - 2006 I had a hard time with financial problems and also thought about to give everything up, but said to myself I will give it a last try and produce and release as much as possible with different international labels and see if my situation will be better or if I just quit. Luckily I had this big hit record with white sand in 2006 under my Sunlounger alias and a number one album on i-tunes and everything turned into a better direction since then. During this time I could really see who my real friends are and who's not. It’s very good to have also times like this, they really make you stronger.
i:Vibes: What do you think is your all-time record of staying in the studio without leaving it? How many hours? Tillmann Uhrmacher was behind the turntables for something like 80 plus hours.
Roger: omg tillmann are you crazy?
It's hard to say, I have a very structured day when I’m at home but work about 14 hours a day in the studio, especially when I work on the final bits and pieces for an album as I do right now again.
i:Vibes: In 2006, the trance world finally made Shah a house hold name by pushing tracks like “White Sand” and “Who will find me” Why do you think it took these tracks to make you more known? It took a while, but I suppose you can only be happy for the love of the trance community.
Roger: Armin made his song’s big hit records because he played it in each set till death and still playing it sometimes. I have to thank him a lot for all the support I got from him and we still have a very special connection even I have to go my own way now. I’m very happy for the love of the trance community and as I said my fan base is so fast growing every day. but I also know that still in Germany there are so many people who hate me for my music and writing bad things about me in the communities, but maybe this is a German attitude because I’m German too and should pay them much attention. But, there is also a new generation in Germany and I know they love me, maybe because they don't know that I’m German. When I played along with Armin for ASOT 400 in Wuppertal everybody came to me and tried to talk in English with me, this was very funny.
i:Vibes: You are the chief number one supporter of the balearic sound. What makes this sound so unique for you and what is the biggest difference to the sounds of trance and the 90s dream dance sound that we all loved?
Roger: It’s hard to say for me, because when work on a new song I just put all my emotion into it and call it balearic:, but I think that this sound is so unique because it's more melodic than the progressive trance stuff but softer than the uplifting trance sound. For me also a lot of the trance records are sounding the same and it would be hard for me to mention the artists, because the sound is so similar, this is a reason why I also tried to create my own sub genre. Balearic trance is also very summerish and sun influenced just a feel good music genre.
i:Vibes: You really like and make exceptional vocal tracks. You made the big record “Who will find me” with Adrina Thorpe. What makes this singer so special and stands out from all the other numerous female singers in the trance world?
Roger: I always try to find new voices for my tracks, for me it's boring to use the singers who are singing for everybody. When I made my songbook album it took me about 4 months just to find the right singers. I also found Chris Jones the singer of going wrong. about Adrina. I searched for a singer with a voice similar to dido and when I heard her i felt like wow, this is the voice I searched for. She is an amazing person with a great music talent. So we recorded who will find me and back to you and we are also working on a new track for the new roger shah album coming next year.
i:Vibes: Armada started releasing your tracks years ago and obviously for good reasons. What was the nicest compliment that label boss Armin Van Buuren said about your music that you will never forget?
Roger: He told me that my sound is huge and I just have to keep on doing what I’m doing and that he is my biggest fan :-) He is such a nice guy and so down to earth.
i:Vibes: You started your new label Magic Island. You have released two breathtaking compilations and a third is coming in 2010. What is the exact goal with this label?
Roger: I have no special goal for now; we have a special concept how to run this label. So I will always release a mix album first which will include all tracks which will be released as full releases a bit later, so we always have a full catalog and a release schedule on a 14 days rhythm which is pushing the label and the whole brand fast forward. I’m very happy about all the talents I signed to my magic island label and also have to thank armada for the trust in me and that I really can do what ever I want. Maykel the boss of armada supports all my ideas, so this is a great situation for the future. Magic Island volume 3 is planed to be released in summer 2010
i:Vibes: Some months ago “To the sky” rose into the Dutch top five. Do you think the success of this track might have given you that needed push to almost crack the DJ Mag Top 100?
Roger: I think the main reason of the top 100 success has been the fact that due to my new manager I am able now to play all over the world, come closer to my fans and increase the numbers every week.
i:Vibes: The use of male vocalist has become a trend in the last years especially with Paul van Dyk and Giuseppi Ottaviani. What makes a male voice like Chris Jones so special?
Roger: This is a good question, especially to work with male vocals into trance music is very tricky, because the real trance lovers hate it always straight away, but for some reason radio and TV are more into playing a track with a male vocal then a female vocal. The special thing about Chris Jones is that he is special as a person, a very strong personality and amazing stage performance. I did a lot of big festival shows with him together this year and it was always a lot of fun. He is now backing into his original rock genre and I’m sure he can be one of the next big pop stars.
i:Vibes: What was the most difficult thing that you had to get right with “To the sky” to make it perfect in the studio?
Roger: Good question, I think it was nothing difficult because we just composed and wrote it and loved it straight away.
i:Vibes: I really like your track “Body Lotion” The atmosphere is really beautiful. How do you find the perfect atmosphere in a track?
Roger: Thank you very much. I composed this song in Ibiza last year, sitting on the terrace and watching to the horizon and sunset, so this melody and atmosphere came just out of me easily and i composed the rough basic in about 2 hours.
i:Vibes: You are working on the new Roger Shah track “Found” that will be featuring Zara again. What can we await from this track sound wise?
Roger: This will be the new and long awaited Sunlounger single, so not a Roger shah track. After the big success with the ASOT tune of the year "lost" we worked very hard to have a new single which should be worth and follow the success of lost. finally it was very simple and we created "found" so we are just continue the story lyric wise but also sound wise, it's into the direction of lost, but for me more emotional and touching and the melody a bit more uplifting.
i:Vibes: In 2010, you will also release a new Sunlounger album. What can we await from this album? Will there be any surprises in the sound?
Roger: So in 2010 I will come up with 3 new albums on which I work since long term. The new Magic island mix album in summer, a new Roger shah album come autumn and a Sunlounger album around March. People love Sunlounger and the albums are selling that good because of the unique sound and concept of this 2 CD’s with chill out and club mixes. So I will not change anything and just have again a nice mixture of instrumental and vocal track and for sure very guitar influenced to capture this balearic summer feeling. The bigger surprise will be the sound of the Roger Shah album due out at the end of 2010 but it’s to early to talk about it now, maybe we will do it next year.
i:Vibes: What are your current five favorite tracks?
Roger: Roger Shah & Signum - healesville sactuary - magic island
Kim Svärd - You and I - magic island
Soundlift - Lenda - magic island
Nuera - Ocean Love - magic island
Ingsha - Montego Bay
i:Vibes: What would a Talla 2XLC/Roger Shah Studio track sound like?
Roger: No idea, we had never had the chance to find it out and now I have a full studio schedule till 2011.
i:Vibes: Thanks Roger for the chat! We are looking forward to you playing in the Technoclub!
Roger: Thanks for the interview, maybe not waiting another 2 year, so it's a bit shorter then this one :)
See you in Frankfurt
Cheers
Roger
Join in the fun at the Technoclub this Friday over in Frankfurt to see Roger live in action for what will be one massive club night! All the details are on the official site.
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