Boom Shankar Psy Trance Lover

Armin, We are very happy to share your story here!

Shankar (Sanskrit: शङ्कर), "beneficent" or "conferring happiness" reflects one of the many names for Shiva, one of the 3 main deities in the Indian pantheon. His dance is the rhythm of the world, the beat of the heart, the cycle of day and night. Boom is a term used by the Indian sadhus to partake in the religious consumption of charras and contemplate the cosmic nature and presence of God.

German based Boom Shankar is Armin Guenther and Dj for Psychedelic Trance, label manager of BMSS Records and event promoter within Europe. Having his initiation with the Goa Trance scene in the early nineties and by travelling the globe since then, his sets are a constant mirror of the melting pot situation the Psytrance scene is facing since its origin.

Whether he is guiding you through the night or into the morning, the outcome of his sets is always a voyage of energy, deepness and bliss showing a character clearly distinguishable from the common formula. His flexibility in terms of „styles“ is a certain proof that he is trying to capture every vibe of the dancefloor and to transform it into frequencies.

Temporarely, he is featuring primarely British Psychedelic Trance artists, going back on many good friendships and a deep connectedness with the Brits. Groovy, deep, halucinating, adult and hypnotizing!

In addition and based on his young incarnation to the scene, he is playing old-school sets as well, featuring early Goa Trance, certainly something special for the adults! The teaming up with his mate Alexsoph lead to the project ABS and showed proof that two elements are more than just the sum of their parts...

Having played at many underground events worldwide, he has developed a full understanding of the flow and the energies of the dance floor in order to reach deeper levels of Trance.

Understanding and living Djing as a mutual form of communication with the dance floor according to "giving and receiving" lead to ecstatic feedback on festivals like like Ozora (Hungary), Antaris (Germany), The Glade (UK), Full Moon (Thailand), Rebirth of the Sun (Israel), Somuna (Switzerland), Hadra Festival (France), Paradise Festival (Austria), Black Moon (Italy), Transylvania Calling (Romania), Transition (Spain), Earth Garden (Malta) or on parties in Mexico, Nepal, Cambodia or India.

Phanganist had many good parties with this one here on Phangan and must admit that he is making a wicked Psy trance dance floor!
We asked him how he began his Koh Phangan story;

My Phangan story started back in 1997 when I came to the island for the first time.
I was listening to Psy Trance or actually Goa Trance since a couple of years and friends told me about this place being a fantastic Goa-like spot. I had to find out for myself...and fell in love with it completly.

In the season of 99/2000 I returned for my second time and the NYE party at Tommys in Had Rin with Dimension 5 playing live at sunrise was one of the best party experiences ever: epic! A year later I came back for my first time playing on the island, a combo tour with other Asian places and parties, but fortunately I got stuck on the island which resulted in a few dozen parties I played here.
For Me it was one of the best seasons ever, I had an amazing time and „received“ my artist name of Boom Shankar as well.
All those experiences resulted in a big boost for my carreer back in Europe so I am very thankful to the island.

I came back every season until 2005 after which I had a break to travel and play in different corners of the world.

Now I had the strong feeling to come back again to see what has changed and what remained and to channel my musical output into the islands rhythm and vibe.

I combined my gigs here with a little Asian tour together with Suduaya, Alexsoph and Azar from my label BMSS Records.
It brought us first to Cambodia to Resurrected Festival and then to a party in the Meta House in Phnom Phen after which we went down to Malaysia to play at Belantara Festival which was nothing but amazing.

Then I came here and played at Half Moon earlier this month which was a hell of a party and at Ban Sabaii for the Black Moon After Party - beautiful!
Last week I went to Kanchanaburi for the Valentrance Moon Mountain Party which was an awesome 3 day party on huge raft village just floating on a lake.
And now I just came back to Phangan to have my good bye gig here at Shiva Moon next weekend.
I am very much looking forward to this, as the last one was simply majestic with serious music and a great vibe. 

Which music did you bring in your record bag for Phangan?

As I was hoping the parties are still full power, I chose a wide selection of mainly UK oriented Psy Trance in combination of some old-is-gold classix and remixes from the earlier days to please those who've listened to Trance since a long time.
Plus for sure the latest upcoming releases of my label BMSS Records.

As I want to be flexible regarding my sets I have as well slower or more intenese psychedelic music with me, but it is great to see how energetic the people respond to my common style so I can fully express my musical intensions without adapting my style too much.

I love the music from Ultimae Records as a source to gain back energy and to have a proper chill out. Artists like Aes Dana, Solar Fields, Cell or Asura are masters in their respective field and I love their art a lot.

In addition, I am as well into some classic Psychedlic music of the 70s and can fully catch the drift of bands like Pink Floyd or U2.

In the end I think I can say that I love music in general and there is so much great music out there to explore and to fall in love with.

My inspiration is mainly coming from the experiences I have while touring and travelling.
Visiting new places, enjoying new impressions, exploring nature, meeting new people and exchaning ideas and visions probably has the biggest impact on me next to of course, playing on festivals and parties.

When I see the people dance and get into trance, when I feel how my sets work on them and how deep the connection can be I am fully uplifted and eager to go even deeper and higher next time I play.

People who inspire me are usually the ones living to their full potential.
I believe that everybody has a certain talent in which he/she is amazing in and people who realize their gifts and make use of them in the best way possible are usually the ones who make a difference and are capable of changing the world towards the better.

Do you find Koh Phangan to a good place for you? 

It is a very good place for me as I enjoy being here big time.
I always have this feeling of home here, a place I feel comfortable and in peace with.
The nature is beautiful, many people are still very positive and deeply connected to the scene and quite a bunch of the parties are still kicking ass!

I love to stay in Ban Tai and to have it as my homebase.
And Baylounge to chill out and enjoy good company in a supa tranquil sourrounding, Ban Sabaii for after Parties and countless other small places or beaches to have a good time.

As some of my friends are living on the island I have many places to have a good time which gives me again the feeling of being home.

What are your next projects?

I'll be back to Europe in beginning of March as the season is starting there.
I will play a few gigs in Austria, in Turkey, Barcelona and in Germany.

After this I'll go to South Spain to work on our own Festival called Transition which takes place during Easter near Sevilla.

After Transition I play in Marocco at Transahara, at Doof Festival in Israel and then countless gigs throughout the early summer in Europe and the US.

In July, another festival I am a part of will have its initation: SUN Festival in Hungary which is the next project of the original Ozora family. I am proud to be a part of this amazing new festival concept, trust me, it will be the place to be in 2013 for the family! 

My next compilation should be out as well by then alongside my debut EP of my new Live Project Lightsource (together with Soul Kontakt from Malta) – very exited about that!

In addition I have to manage a lot of new EPs and releases for BMSS Records.

And then I will already start planning the next tour to Asia. ;)

Do you see yourself playing on Phangan in 10 years from now? 

Depending on the island. I know Phangan now since 16 years and there were a lot of changes in this time.
I can still find great parties with a blasting vibe and there are still so many good people here, but it's becoming less like it was before and the general vibe is changing towards something I no longer fully vibrate with.

I hope Phangan will keep its spirit, I hope that Psy Trance won't be complety replaced by other kinds of electronic music as this will defenitelly result in a different crowd I dont see myself fully connected with.

I have the hope that the magic, the spirit and the vibe will still remain and that I will feel home again on the island to play some serious music in some blasting parties!

What is your life philosophy?

Find yourself, trust yourself, listen to your heart and your inner voice and just go with your own flow! Be good and do good, make people happy and share your love!

As a last snack before we end this interview will be to dig in to this small parade of goodies:

5 of Boom Shankar mixes featuring Live at Ozora etc. on BMSS Records Soundloud page:

Thank you for sharing with us Mr Boom Shankar!

We are glad you let us bring your story here.

Boom Shankar himself was the story teller in most of this interview.
He is a very open and sweet guy that Loves his music and shares his visions with the people around him easy! We feel lucky to have received such a thorough life and DJ adventure!

Love & Light with Lots of Laughter for your Next Roundabouts!

Hope we will have the pleasure of your company and music for a long time further on Phangan!