MLA Q&A || Shane54

Shane54 has been involved in the music scene since the early 90’s and clearly has not been wasting any time in 2016. His signature sound is the perfect blend of elements from the genres of trance, progressive, and house, creating well loved tracks that are the soundtrack to your night. After the announcement that Myon and Shane54 would be splitting to focus on individual endeavors back in June, Shane54 was right back at it again producing mash-ups and relaunching his radio show International Departures. Even with all of that going on he still found some time to sit down and answer a few of our burning questions.

The recent mashups that Shane54 released are available for streaming HERE and available for free download by clicking HERE!

Can you tell us a little bit about your hometown and who some of your early influences in music were?

I live in Budapest, Hungary where I was born and raised. It’s a very old, very beautiful city with a very vibrant nightlife. You’d love it!

I’d have to say that my earliest influences were my Mom, who used to be a singer, and my Dad who is a sound engineer to this day. By growing up, literally surrounded by music, I knew by the time I was 5 that I wanted to be a professional musician. Seeing my first concert, cemented that idea and when I was 9 and got introduced to Depeche Mode, well, it was all over by then. I got lost in music completely. I formed by my first band when I was 13, started writing songs, and before I finished high school I was at the top of the Hungarian charts with my first album. I was the lead singer and I pretty much produced all our songs.

You recently relaunched International Departures! Where do you plan on taking fans with the radio show, any new surprises in store on the horizon?

I’m always looking to push the boundaries and deliver something unexpected. For example, I’ve just barely scratched the surface with my Widescreen Mashups, where instead of using acapellas on instrumental songs, I sample TV shows, TED talks, anything that sounds good. I also like to share personal stories with the listeners. I love that people actually listen to what I say and – according to their tweets – sometimes they burst out laughing, which is definitely not very common in dance music radio. I like to make people laugh almost as much as making them dance.

Do you plan to start touring or will the future hold a lot of studio time?

To be honest I can’t wait to get back on the road. I love being in the studio, creating music for the heart and the feet, but I do miss the instant reaction. The smiles, the chanting, the whole shebang (including not sleeping much). Once you make a new song you naturally want to go out and see how it reacts in the real world. Real life conditions are the ultimate test: you can never be sure how everything works out. Your music has to be good enough for the crowd to still remember it by the end of the night?

What are your thoughts on the resurgence of trance in the United States?

It was just a question of time. Trance has more faces than the Many Faced God in Game Of Thrones. Which of course means everyone can find something that they like in there. Slow, fast, aggressive, soft whatever you’re after there’s a trance for you. And it’s very emotional which – paired with a good artist and great production at a good show – can really be a life changing experience musically. You can fall in love with trance easily. I know, I’ve been there…

A new generation has grew up who seem to like it a lot. And there’s one more thing: trance fans in general are more enthusiastic or vocal about their love, more so than any other genres I think.

When creating a mash-up, is there a process in how you decide on which tracks you end up splicing together?

Sometimes I’ll actually hear it in my head first. I’ll imagine a song on top of another while it’s playing. It doesn’t necessarily happen every time, but when it does, I know I can trust my gut feeling. More often than not, it’s like playing with Legos. You mess around, stack together different parts, and see what you can make with the parts you have until something clicks. You basically go for that special moment, when everything comes together seamlessly. When you get goosebumps, you know you’re done.

https://soundcloud.com/shane54/sets/id-track-of-the-moment

What has been your favorite event or festival to perform at?

There are so many. If I had to narrow it down, I would say Tomorrowland and EDC Las Vegas. If you want to go see a big festival, you HAVE to see at least one of these. The production and execution are just flawless, it’s great to play or attend them.

We know you absolutely love Star Wars, who is your favorite character from a galaxy far, far away?

Darth Vader hands down. That voice… Seriously if I could get James Earl Jones to say my name (and I can record it) it probably would make me even more happy than Han Solo was at Ben Solo’s birth.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you can share with our readers?

Of course I do! It’s one of my absolute favourite dishes to make. You’ll need a crock pot though, but it’s worth buying one so you can make this only. Yeah, even though it has the simplest ingredients, somehow it’s like a good mashup: one and one makes ten. The video couldn’t possibly justify the smells in the last hour of cooking, I love love love it!

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