Exclusive Interview with Roger Shah

Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Roger Shah, shortly before his performance at The Bank Club on 13th March.

You were born in Germany to a German mother and a Pakistani father and you have a background as classical music composer. As of today you can look back on a career of 2 decades in electronic dance music; you have released over 500 tracks & 3 studio albums and you have been ranked 5 times in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list (with peak position #21 in 2009). How did you get in touch with electronic dance music – especially Trance - in the first place and how did you get into DJing and music production?

I think Trance music is very close to classical music in terms of epic melodies. I have been always interested into music and always liked the dance music. I grew up with the 80s music which has been one of the best decades for music in general, so at some point i wanted to be a part of this and started to compose my own music. The best way to present music live to people is to DJ so one thing came to the other and here I am :-)

You play and produce Balearic & Melodic Trance. How would you describe your own music in just a few words?

Positive, melodic, emotional.

Your tracks “White Sand” and “Lost” have enjoyed huge success worldwide. “Lost” was awarded “Single of 2008” on the ASOT radio show. What other tracks, remixes or mix-sets would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?

I‘m very diverse with my music and every album i‘ve done has been special for me but also for the people because it became huge success. So the easiest is to check out my Roger Shah album "Songbook" including the hits "Going wrong", "Back to you", "Who will find me", "Don‘t wake me up" or the album "Openminded" including the hits "Hide u", "Morning star", "One love", "Island“ and then also my 4 albums under my "Sunlounger" alias.

You are confirmed for Zouk (Singapore) in March and Trancefusion (Prague, Chech Republic) im April. What else is on your agenda for 2015, what are you currently working and focusing working?

My management is working on a lot of shows for this year, especially since i have my new Roger Shah artist album in the making which will feature collaborations with artists such as Paul van Dyk, Aly & Fila, Chicane and a lot of other big names. So at the moment i‘m less touring due to my studio work but will have a crazy summer with festivals etc.

Looking back on the last 2 decades, what were the most memorable & the most terrible gigs you played and what were the funniest things occurring during your performances?

Actually i never had really a terrible gig and can say overall this journey has been really amazing, better than i would have ever dreamed about it. Memorable are for sure all those big festivals i‘ve played and some of my solo concerts.

You have Pakistani roots. Besides growing up in Germany and being well adapted to the western culture, what aspects of your personality do you ascribe to the Pakistani/ South Asian origin?

My dad grew up in germany, and i grew more up like a typical german and wouldn't say that i have any special pakistani sides, but i feel connected to south asia somehow and love the attitude of asian people, i also can‘t wait to be back in asia, it also gives me a lot of inspiration for my music but also for life.

You are best known for your live shows - you play a wireless keyboard live and hold it like a violin. On 13th March you will perform live in Bangkok at The Bank Club. Have you ever visited Thailand before? Will the performance be you Bangkok Debut? What can Bangkok expect of your upcoming performance?

Actually i have played in Bangkok in 2002 already which has been amazing. I‘m very excited to be back soon and for the fact i haven‘t been back since i had all my hit records, i‘ll going to play a kind of best of Roger Shah set including all my big tracks, but of course some of my new music as well.