Parisian Shonky brings psychedelic techno to the dancefloors in a way that’s titillating and never boring. When I first heard his album, I wanted to keep hearing his interpretations, hanging onto each segment as it unfolded. A DJ since 1998, Shonky is a regular in the Paris scene, playing at La Scene, Le Rex ou Le Nouveau Casino. He has also played internationally, at Fabric in London, Panorama Bar in Berlin, Fuse in Belgium, Weetamix in Geneva. He started producing in 2005 and has since appeared on Mobilee, Sub Static and Resopal. He’s collaborating with Jennifer Cardini for Crosstown Rebels and was recently nominated Best Minimal Artist by the Beatport Music Awards ‘ sure it isn’t the Grammy’s but for an American company to recognize a French artist with so many out there is notable. http://www.myspace.com/shonkar URB ‘ Can you cite some of your musical influences? Shonky ‘ I’ve always been listening [to] a lot of music ‘ a lot of black music, funk with George Clinton or Prince. I was also listening [to] bands like Sonic Youth. We got a radio in Paris called Radio Nova that was playing underground records. It was really important for me. I’m also a big fan of Kraftwerk. When I started to DJ, I was playing a lot of deep house from San Francisco and Chicago, also stuff from Detroit. What would you consider one of the biggest challenges a DJ has on the circuit ‘ whether it be technical, cultural or…personal? I think its really hard and a lot of work. First of all, you have always something to learn as a deejay. I think the good thing is try to play music from any time [period], mixing all tunes with new stuff; try to do something a bit different from the others. I think the technical part is also key, it’s important to keep the dynamic when you are playing. A good technique helps a lot. What prompted you to become a producer and DJ? I think for sure, Dan Ghenacia’s Kwality after parties at Batofar in Paris. I was seventeen, I was hanging around in the coolest party and I heard a lot [about] the Batofar afterparty ‘ everybody in the underground was speaking about it and how it was so different from any other venue in Paris. I’ve been once, [it] was incredible, the sound was new and the way it sounds was so weird and interesting. I met most of the crew Freak n’ Chic [crew] there. Dan was playing, it was the first time I heard him play and I still remember it. That’s why I wanted to become a DJ and producer. Did you have a hand in the remix aspect of your album? Yes of course, I mean we were talking together with Dan about the producers we wanted for the remixes. Paul Ritch was a long friend from Paris that we really appreciated and Mathias Kaden [is] a producer that we both like so it was more easy to choose. We might get other remixes. We will see what’s going on, but I like remixes, to see how people interpret your track. What are your favorite moments on the album? (And don’t say all of it!) There are some tracks that I really appreciate, I love ‘Nebula,’ ‘Galactica,’ ‘Magma’ and ‘Minor Planets’ because I used my roots and I put a lot of me [into] it. In general, I like how the album drives you. I wanted to make it a journey in space and I think it’s not too bad. Where do you think dance music is headed in the next few years, right through to 2010? Everything is going so fast, impossible to say what will be in two years. I don’t even know what will be the future in six months. But this is quite interesting, so many good producers and everybody can do music, its really nice. You don’t need big equipment or money to do it. Anywhere in the world can suddenly raise some amazing producers and bring another new push and angle to the scene ‘ it’s just wicked. What plans do you have for the rest of the year? Some remixes, others projects for Freak n’ Chic. I also want to do new EPs for Substatic and Resopal and work with Jennifer Cardini. I have an EP with her called ‘Tuesday Paranoia’ with a remix of Jamie Jones that will be released soon. I will be touring the world to support the album release and I enjoy this so much. How does Time Zero represent the Freak n’ Chic sound? I don’t know exactly. The good thing with Freak n’ Chic is that first of all, we are friends that wanted to make music. Dan established his label to release the music of his friends. We play some similar records, we have lots of music in common but we do different kinds of stuff. At the end of the day, we are all Freak n’ Chic.
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