Duke of Swabia: INTERVIEW: SHONKY ( Freak n Chic)

BIOGRAPHY :

In music, one hit record is lucky. Two? That’s talent. And the talent everyone is talking about at the moment is fresh-faced Frenchman Shonky. But with over 50,000 tracks in the Beatport database, how does a modern electronic music artist distinguish himself? For Parisian techno and house producer, DJ and remixer, Shonky the answer is simple. He took his profound passion for making music and created a signature sound, delivered a few solid EPs, topped the charts, landed a nice place with a “few” big labels, moved to Berlin, & spun in the hottest euro Tech clubs and . . . Voila !

Indeed His natural aptitude for producing was immediately evident with releases like Let Me Ask U, his remix of Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia’s Far Away.. Back in 2007 every underground club was echoing to the sounds of Olympia – a slab of panoramic techno that seemed to have been custom-engineered at the bottom of the sea; Or dancing to his massive remix of Danton Eeprom’s All I Can Say, and he was piling up serious air miles with his increasingly hectic DJ schedule. In 2008, Shonky took another bold leap forward by releasing his first full-length album Time Zero. More than a haphazard assortment of tracks, Time Zero is blended together with a common theme: getting your groove on at a party and the art of celebrating life.

Incredibly, music was a second-choice career for the 26-year-old. “I studied mathematics and statistics for five years. I was supposed to get a job in a bank,” he grins. But as a dedicated clubber since his teens the lure of electronic music and culture proved too strong. Shonky bought a pair of decks though he admits he had no idea what to do with them at first. He picked up many of his tips at Dan Ghenacia’s infamous Batofar after-parties, where he struck up a friendship with Dan, Dyed, and the rest of the Freak n’ Chic crew.

Immersing himself in the rave scene in Paris, Shonky’s musical roots were then found at the “Batofar club”. More so, it was the deep house, soul and funk infused sounds hailing from the mid-90s West Coast house scene (namely San Francisco and San Diego) and the historical Chicago house movement that left an everlasting impression on his future. Inspired by pioneering deep house figures such as Gemini and Kerri Chandler, Shonky has dubbed his own innovative style of mixing, writing and producing.

Shonky’s was to be one of the hottest young stars of 2008 and simply a star in 2009 with still big releases, on Freak n’Chic and Contexterrior his home labels. Shonky’s hit tracks “Carnage” & “Coco Feel and Love Shonk,” unmistakably portray this development and expansion within his production, marking a musical crossroads in his passage towards a new sound –one that revealed sonically groovier house dimensions infused with stronger vocal representation. At this time, Critics and fans alike celebrated the new direction with admiration and enthusiasm. The result was a lighter feeling, less minimal with the same hypnotic overtones.. “He’s a natural talent,” raves Ghenacia. “I know when he does something it’s going to be perfect.” And 2010 shows no sign of slowing down, as Shonky delivered the summer Bomb Cluborama (FNC051) and Les shonkettes, contexterrior’s autumnal anthem.

We may never know what Shonky’s moniker means, but we certainly know the sound.. and Among those clamoring for his services, are clubs like.. DC10, Space, Zoo project in Ibiza; Goa, Madrid, Mac arena Beach Bbarcelona; Techno parade, Rex Club, Paris; mulletover and Fabric London, Bar27 Amsterdam, Berliner clubs Panoramabar, Der visionnaer & Watergate, Pollerwiesen Düsseldorf, Harry Klein München; Arma 17 Moscow; Kazantip Festival; Australian Ambar; La huaka Peru; Playa Del Carmen’s festival in Mexico & Hollywood’s famous Avalon Club to name but a few !

We caught up with Shonky as he continues his North American Tour ! He will be playing @ Salon Daomé

on March 1st ! Remember the date ! He is unbelievable :)

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INTERVIEW: (By Omar Diouf)

DUKES: Hello Olivier! First of all…we are here to talk about Music, a passion we all share so what I want to ask you is, how did you first get into production/DJ and what still motivates you to do it today ?

My first approach to production went through a sampler and that classic TB303. That’s all I could afford at this time. Then I wouldn’t talk of “a start in production” yet, I was 16, but it was a matter of getting familiar with the machine and the process at the time. I started in a proper way in 1999. I was working also with a friend of mine who helped to understand better logic audio and then in 2005 I was releasing my first EP on Freak n’Chic.

DUKES: What is the perfect setting for Shonkys music to come to life? In other words, what’s your ideal spot for producing?

I try to make it as simple as possible, i truly believe that u need to keep it basic if u want to get your idea done from the beginning to the end. Sometimes if u have too many things around or if the process is too long, u just loose your way and your creativity at the end.

My ideal spot requires not that much, I surely need my Dynaudio BM15A speakers and a good audio card The rest of the set up can always be different, working with gears or plugins.. what matter the most is the main idea around which u build the groove and the rest of the track. This idea can be a vocal, a bassline when i find a solid loop, I start the editing.
I used to work in a proper studio two years ago but we were all kicked out because some people were not paying the rent. I m now working at home and i have to say i prefer this way. I realized I need to be close to my computer at anytime of the day.. So when Ideas are coming I can try to make them real straight.

DUKES: Have you ever been to Montreal before? What have you heard about our scene here? Compared to the US or Europe?

I was in Montreal when i was a kid but I never got any gigs over there until now. I heard a lot of good things. My friends Dyed Soundroom and Seuil have been telling me loads of good things as they already played at Salon Daomé I’m really looking forward to be there I m super excited to join you.

And if you want to know everything, my only experience about Canada was Three years ago when i was booked to play Jonny white’s birthday but couldn’t spin as i arrived too late because of a snowstorm in Toronto. We all ended up in an after party till the Tuesday morning. I was supposed to fly back on Sunday evening but still because of the storm the airport was closed, it was at the end a great experience though, had a lot of fun!

DUKES: Which upcoming artist would you say is an inspiration nowadays in electronic music?

Well I usually like a lot of different stuffs and its always hard to pick only one name but i have to say actually I really enjoy Lee Foss’ music! I like his approach of things, & it’s funny how his music reminds u all the good times when u were a kid or a teenager. Every time i listen to a track from him, I have a memory popping back on the surface. My friends Dan Ghenacia and Dyed Soundroom are also doing some great things. We have basically the same roots but a different interpretation of them still inspiring to see how they do it

DUKES: What can Montreal expect from your set on March 1st?

I love to mix a lot of different styles, I don’t like to be stuck in one music only. When people ask me what i play, i often answer club’ music Then expect a mixture of deep techy housy acidi music!

DUKES: Any new projects coming up? Collaborations?

My new big project is to launch a label alongside Dan Ghenacia and Dyed Soundorom. Dyed and I have always wanted to start our own label and the end of Freak n’Chic allows us to do it with Dan involved as well. We share the same background, the same tastes and the same musical vision. We’ll mainly focus on releasing our own music and of course music from producers all three of us enjoy.

Also, I’ve been working a lot on production lately. I’ve got an EP coming on Culprit very soon as well as a few remixes. Some I did in collaboration with Dyed including a remix of Lee Foss on Culprit, one of Robert Owens ‘I’ll Be Ur Friend’ and we will be reworking a remix of Agaric for Ovum soon! On my own, I did a remix of Maya Jane Coles’ track ‘What They Say’ which is coming out late March and one other for Soma’s 20th anniversary. And of course I’m also working on music for our new label!

SEE YOU ALL THERE !

Event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=148057175255113