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DJ SHOGUN

DESCRIPTION  / 'SHOGUN' - American born ; Trance DJ / Producer  - 'Andrew Chen' - (aka Shogun) has made big leaps since being signed to the - S107 / Armada trance music Label, enjoying his recent ; '# 42' - finish on the prestigous ; 2016 DJ MAG TOP 100 fan based voting system. Whether it’s remixing with superstar DJ ;'Armin van Buuren' or reworking Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter 'Nadia Ali'' ; 'Shogun’s' - productions have gained him full support from the biggest names in the industry, including 'Ferry Corsten', 'Paul van Dyk,' 'Above & Beyond', 'Armin van Buuren', 'Gareth Emery', and 'Markus Schulz.'

  We sat down with 'SHOGUN'  in the heart of 'Hollywood' Los Angeles, California, to give us this in depth Interview.

 

MEMBERS ; ANDREW CHEN  
LABELS | ARMADA DIGITAL / S 107  / MONSTER DIGITAL / ARMIND

ARTIST ; SHOGUN

MANAGEMENT | MOST WANTED ENETERTIANMENT

STYLE + TECH TRANCE / VOCAL PROGRESSIVE 
ORIGIN | ORANGE COUNTY, UNITED STATES 
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1.  How was the Asian Trance Tour you just got back from, any Highlights of the Tour !meaning what city had the the Biggest and best Crowd over there ?
  •  The Asian Tour was Amazing, ..I was there about a month ..I must have played 'Jakarta' (Indonesia) - 8 or 9 times before, I played a Club called, "Coliseum' -  did a  2 - hour set, ..and their was so much energy there. 
2.   You started spinning at age, '16' - did you take lessons or, learned from scratch ?
  •   I learned on my own - ( to DJ ) - everything I've done, I learned on my own. Producing-wise ..I have a 'Audio Engineering' Degree. As far as piano and strings are concerned - I learned on my own. It was hard, .. I don't recommend it.
 3.  Did you want to 'DJ' right away , or did you start to Produce first !
  •  I  wanted to 'DJ' right way,..I started to, 'DJ' first. then produce, ..I was Dj'ing your typical songs - and the people were going crazy, ..so I was thinking to myself, "Why not play my own songs" and have them go crazy over my own songs. So that's what made me start to produce, and then I learned how play piano and keyboards later on my own.
4.  Growing up in, 'So Cal' (Southern California) - Did you have thoughts, about going into any other styles of Music ?
  •  I grew up with a lot of 'Industrial' sounds, ..like 'Depeche Mode' and the'Prodigy' - even "Old School", and "Hip - Hop", there was 'Tupac' (west coast hip hop) and 'Biggie' (east coast hip hop). ..Umm ..but a lot of darker industrial bands influenced me. But Trance Music was my passion, ..its so emotional ! - I listened to 'Paul Van Dyk' and 'Armin Van Buuren', their beautiful melody's pulled me in.
 5.  Do you still listen to listen to - 'Linkin Park' ?
  •   Ha ha ha, ..I love listening to 'Linkin Park' - (L.A. modern rock band) - they got a lot of energy, ..like pure hard rock music, I like the Intensity their melody's are really powerful ! also 'Nirvana' - 'Green Day' !
 6.  Tell us what type of 'Clubs' or House Party's you played, 'Starting Out' - and did everything go smoothly or ?
  •   In High School, I was about 17 ..or 18 - My Parents let me have a, 'House Party' - so I set-up my 'Numarks' and everything, ..and I just started to rock'in it, ..and then, ..the power went out, ..I was like, ' OH SHIT" - with no amplifiers or lights, about 5 or 6 of us, we started singing about five or six songs together. I would play, 'Alice DJ' - 'Venga Boy's' .."Old School" stuff.
 7.  Growing up, you enjoyed, 'Armin Van Buuren's', Trance Classic - "Communication" - tell us what did you like about the energy of that track ?
  •   The melody is so, 'Classic Trance' like. ..it's got a lovely melody, ..like that '90's Trance sound, the melody was so special. For me, they don't make "Classic Trance" like that that anymore., a Friend played it for me (Communication) and I was like .."What is This" ? - he was like ..Oh, this is 'Armin'.
 8.  Your influences are, 'Paul Van Dyk', and 'Ties'to' , what do you think about, 'Ties'to' going in the direction of 'House Music' ?
  •   I think music needs to evolve. ..I think if the artist want to expand his horizons, and ..in a different genre, and appeal to more people, then I think that's fine. Like a Movie director - you can't expect him to make the same type of movies over and over again. In my heart, ..my passion is 'Trance'. but it's good to appreciate all Music.
 9. - How is it to work with Armin Van Buuren, meaning the 'Armada" - label Sound . does he do the mastering ?
  •   I'm signed directly to 'Armada'. Working with Armin is great. he doesn't do the mastering though. Basically, ..when I do my sound, I do everything from 'Start to Finish" from scratch. I mean he's one of the guys that have brought me into Trance. Now I have a received a certain respect from my peers and colleges from working with him.
10.   What other Trance Music artist do you admire in the Trance Music industry today ?
  •   Umm .. 'Andrew Rayel', ..Umm ..'Dash Berlin' of course, ..I like W @ W - I like their energy.
11.   How do approach the 'Emotional' Orchestral Breakdowns in Trance Music, What type of D.A.W.'sDo you use, do you arrange your own Piano and Strings ?
  •   I  usually come up with the melody first.  it may be the piano, or chords ..then i produce beats around it ; I use 'Logic' - ( Apple's D.A.W. ) - It's like my, "go - to" software, ..I 've been using it for a long time now, and I'm used to it. if I hear a melody on my mind , sometimes in the shower - or before i go to sleep, I record it right way. You Don't want to lose that song that's in your mind.
12.   Do you do all the 'Musical Arrangements' yourself or collaborate with other Musicians ?
  •   I do all the arrangments myself, I very picky about my sounds, and the melodys that I have in my songs, that way I can keep my own, "Sound" ..you can even recognize the songs that I produce.
13.   'Sky-fire' really put you on the map as one of the 'Top Trance' Artist, but 'Lotus' was a big production too, time-wise, do you work in a home Studio or prefer a recording studio ?
  •  I I record at home, ..I have a home recording studio , that way I can wake up and start producing right away !
14.   As a resident 'DJ' at 'Sutra' in the 'O.C'. - what do you like about being a Resident DJ !
  •  Its a fun gig, ..when I come home from a tour , good to see friends and family. People come to it like a, "Homecoming Dance" - there's less pressure, ..I know every one there, and afterwards - I get to sleep in my own bed !
15.  Do you still listen to - 'Chill - Out' Music before a event, and who do you listen to ?
  •  I need about 5 minintes, "Alone Time" - with my "Chill-Out" Music before my event. But it all depends, ..I may listen to Trance, Then I go out and "Rock-it".
16.  Do you write your own Vocals, or do you leave that to the Vocalist ?
  •  The VocaIs, ..I write about 20 to 30 percent, then I go back and forth with the 'Vocalist', because sometimes the music evoles. It has to personal for them too. You can hear their emotion in their voice.
17.  What inspiration did you have, when you wrote the Hit - 'Sky-fire' ?
  •  There was a lot of war then. ..I Wasn't happy, ..when I turned on the news, ..So much fear and tragedy, So I wanted to write a song about .."were all human" - and the end of the day, ..we should all love each other - regardless of race ..your color and your gender. Were all people, ..you know ..like love each other.
18.   B.P.M.'s - you prefer around - '132' and above, how do you feel about Armin's - 'W.A.O. - 138' Label ? do you like it, and would you produce a track for it in the future ?
  •  I love 138, that's how I started out. I started out loving '138', but eventually I slowed it down, ..music evolves, I may start out around, '132' - then step it up to, '136' later on in my set. - I my-self love it around, '136' - but '132' to '138'     ..I can do that.
19.  What direction do you see the, 'Trance Music' Scene taking for 2017 !
  •   I see Trance emotionally, ..because it's influenced by "Electro" and "Progressive" so I see it going more "Commercial" or "Main-Stream" meaning ..more "Vocals" going more 'Emotional' .. more 'Commercial', ..um.. really ..more 'Vocals' , I feel like that's how I see it evolving. Trance has more factors and platforms than other genres. There will be good .. - maybe a type of hybrid style of "Trance Music". it's gonna be good, ..It has hope for the future !

TR - INTERVIEW

TR - trance

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