Techno in High Definition with Shoulders

Shoulders will bring us some serious 4:4 tunes at Phanganist on Wednesday 5th July, here's his Techno story...

Hi Shoulders, so tell us your Phangan story…
I first came here in 2012, I had been to the other two islands in the area and I definitely preferred Phangan. It has something about it, it's a melting pot of all sorts of people from around the world. I just love the vibe here. I have since been back about 4 times over the years.

Have you been djing a long time?
Jeeez, I started Dj'ing over ten years ago. It's been the only hobby I have kept up. I think that's probably because it was so convenient and I didn't have to leave the house.

How did you get into it?
I first started raving when I was 17 and seeing the Old School Acid Techno DJ's smash out the tunes with big grins on their faces was so inspiring for me. I soon decided to invest in some decks after that..
https://soundcloud.com/shoulders/shoulders-sinister-minister-mix
What have been some of your best gigs?
I had a pretty big gig in January at Luminate festival in New Zealand. Unfortunately there isn't a huge Techno scene in kiwi land so it was a pleasure to introduce people to the doof doof.

But to be honest some of the best gigs have to be the forest parties with friends in the South of England that I did years ago. I remember one night turning up to this huge nature reserve miles away from London and somehow this guy acquired a key to the gate. Needless to say the police were quite confused as to how we got in, in the morning.

You'll play Phanganist in 5th July, what will you do?
Well as I will be playing for five hours I plan to start off easy nothing too extreme a bit of Deep House, keeping the vibes nice and wavey. The general plan is to progress from Deep House all the way to Techno with lots of other sub genre's in the middle.

What makes you unique in the Techno/House world?
Haha, that’s quite a difficult question to answer. From what I’ve seen over the years most people call themselves a DJ but only know how to play from a laptop.

I think a lot of dj's are more interested in the egotistical side these days without even learning how to beat match or use a pair of 1210s.

I'm not sure what would make me unique within the genre of music itself, but as an audiophile and music geek I try and play high definition audio files which I very rarely see people do. If you have ever heard a high definition Techno track being played out of a big sound system that definitely makes you unique.

Why this music in particular?
I'm going to be playing a wide variety of 4x4 music on the 5th, but my true passion is Techno. I mean why wouldn't you like Techno it’s the best Ha-ha. For me it pisses all over other dance music.  

When I was younger I remember going to parties with friends who liked Drum n Bass and it never gave me the same feeling that Techno did. I think Techno is special because of its simplicity. It’s like when you see people in Africa dancing around a fire while the others do repetitive drumming, it takes you to a higher state of consciousness. I think that Techno is a modern day form of that in some way without the cheesy forced psychedelia of Psytrance.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Well I'm only out here for a few months this time. Its pretty cold in New Zealand now where I live so I’m escaping the Winter months. To be honest I never really have a plan, I only have rough ideas of what I want to do which is good because then your plan never fails.

I've been quite nomadic over the last five years I pretty much have 2 boxes, a suitcase and some tools. So yeah, we will see what the year brings. More than likely I will work, play gigs and be enjoying life in a nice part of the world.

What do you like to do in your free time on Koh Phangan?
At the moment I'm renting a lovely house that overlooks the sea. It’s pretty quiet here right now so I'm concentrating on doing Muay Thai until it gets busier and then I guess the plan is to play music at more parties around the island!

And leave us with your music philosophy....
Music can change the world because it can change people.