Interview with SHato & Paul Rockseek
Pin ItGrand welcome on Trance Hub SHato & Paul Rockseek, how did you come up with this artist name? And how did you guys got together to make trance beauties?
Thanx for this warm welcome! Well the artist name is simple… separately we are SHato and Paul Rockseek so this project name came from our DJ nicks. And our DJ nicks, that’s other story. SHato’s nick is made from his last name "Šatník" which is pronounced same way as "Shatnik". My name came from my gaming nick "proxiiik" (proxiiik = prockseek = paul rockseek) and Paul van Dyk was my idol at the moment so I got "Paul" from him :).
It’s funny because we met online while playing Counter Strike with other DJs. We were skyping, I already had some music ideas and SHato said "OK, fuck it, let’s be famous", so here we are :)).
Your track "Best Of Days" features a vocalist that goes by a name Magda Salamounova with a very sweet voice. Can we expect more vocal collaborations with her from you guys?
The track was created from an original acoustic version. We weren’t in direct contact with Magda but we really liked her voice. We suppose there won’t be any more collabs with her since we’re pretty busy finishing lots of stuff with other singers. Maybe in the future, who knows…
Your latest mashup "Seek Zara" became a bomb on the club dance floors, where do you find your inspiration for mashups?
"Seek Zara" is our heart matter. Arty’s the guy at the moment. The inspiration always comes from different situations… this one came after Paul’s break up. Sad and nice at the same time. For us, music is the main gateway for emotions. And Imogen’s voice is simply amazing.
Are there any upcoming events where your fans can catch you playing in few next months? Or a tour?
We’re focusing on our following productions so unfortunately there are no confirmed gigs at the moment. Everything is in the state of preparation and negotiating, so check our website regularly for news. But yes, travelling around the globe, rocking dance floors, entertaining and meeting new people, having fun… that’s what we were born to do and what is our main goal :).
Some of your Czech fans told us that they are hoping that you are the ones who will bring more Czech people to trance music, what do you think about the Czech trance scene?
That’s really nice :). Unfortunately we don’t think there’s a real scene in here. The same in Slovakia… The main issue is that the good and well known producers turned to produce commercial shit (and believe us, it’s shit) for money. Another issue – there is absolutely no judgement about what is and what is not a "quality music". Lot of the guys think they are doing great sound and have amazing ideas (well yes, when their friends tell them how amazing it is everytime, then we can’t be really surprised). The truth is most of them can’t produce at all or just produce cheesy uplifting (cheeselifting… hehe is it a word? Coining it! :D) and want to release as much and as often as possible. And this is not just about Czech and Slovak scene. There is also another big problem – labels, which are interested to sign these shits and release them, actually ruin the whole scene. Hundreds of bad labels sending promos of thousands of horrible releases. If you look anywhere in the music e-stores, at least 90% of the releases are not worth listening to. But we gotta say there are also few good producers in here – for example Thomas Coastline or Mathias Moor.
On the other hand, Czech and Slovak fans are great. In fact, big trance events are very popular and one of the mostly visited…
Your latest remix on DJ Energy’s track "Once In A Lifetime" highly liked by trance fans all over the world, and it must have taken some serious studio time. How much time do you guys spend in the studio and do you also have fun apart from producing?
The remix took about 2 studio days. Producing is fun as well – we laugh a lot, we talk about many things and sometimes we drink a little O:). The most important thing is to create a good atmosphere, always make a compromise and then you simply don’t have to wait for an inspiration – it comes itself. Apart from producing, yeah… sometimes we grab a beer or get really fucked up and go to disco. The best thing on being so fucked up is that you do not remember any of the crap played there :))…
You guys have produced many nice tracks so far! Interesting releases coming up, what is your next focus? More tracks, remixes, or maybe even an album?
Our most recent EP is ‘Wonderfooled (The Remixes)’ which includes smashing remixes by Maor Levi, Cressida and Radion 6 is ucpoming on Tool Records September 12, 2011. Then in the second half of September we are shooting our first official videoclip for a big single, but unfortunately we are not allowed to tell more at the moment. And of course there are remixes for Cressida & Steve Brian, Dario G, Radion 6 and many more which will be available for a preview soon.
We haven’t really thought about an album yet cause we’re not that big name. But if all things go well, we can imagine SHato & Paul Rockseek album coming in 2013 / 2014.
Every DJ, has a place or an event, where he would love to play. What is your place or event of dreams?
Ibiza, definitely. It doesn’t really matter which club, but the fact you are invited there means that you are "somebody" in the world of EDM. But we really wouldn’t want to get there by kissing someone’s ass or swapping gigs or even paying for this, like some Czech DJs do. It’s pretty funny, cause the guys post photos while playing in Amnesia etc. but if you actually walk through the crowd and ask the people, they don’t know shit about that guys and maybe not even their names :).
Where do you guys see yourselves in 5 years?
Private jet, private spa, private garage with 20 private cars, private bitches, private champagne hehe :)). Just kidding… we can’t really imagine what’s gonna be in half a year and neither we can suggest what’s gonna happen in 5 years. We will definitely continue to make music, to improve our sound, to never produce shit music and what is most important, to make people happy with our tracks and shows. And the rest, only the God knows…
Okay guys, last question. You have many fans all over the world, any message for them? :)
Kids, never do drugs. And if you do, don’t overdose, cause the amount of "quality music" fans is decreasing ;)… Or just buy the music instead the drugs and support your favorite artists, because they spend hours and hours working hard. We hope you like what we do and we’ll try not to disappoint you in the following months and years. And if you want to get fresh news n’ shit regularly, just "like" us at our Facebook fan page. ;)
Thanks for the interview guys, we wish you good luck in the upcoming DJ MAG TOP 100 and future!
For more info related to SHato & Paul Rockseek check out the following links:
www.shatoandpaulrockseek.com
www.twitter.com/shatorockseek
www.facebook.com/shatoandpaulrockseek
www.youtube.com/shatoandpaulrockseek
Written by: Zdenda Břečka
