Roger Shah
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Roger Shah

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He may well have only just woken up, partly due to a dysfunctional body clock and partly due to the need to speak to me over here in Australia at a reasonably agreeable time for both parties, but he is in chatty form. Once the formal niceties are out of the way, he sighs and admits, “I just started my day. I am bit jetlagged as I just came back from North America.” Upon my interjection that he sounds peppy enough and ought to share his secret, he unsurprisingly suggests, “I think the best thing is just to keep busy all the time. I am used to being busy and so I only need to sleep 2 hours or 4 hours, so it is kind of ok. I woke up very early today, about 5am German time and I am ok. I may have a nap in the afternoon.

“I woke up early did some email stuff and responded to lots of people, now I have to do lots of interviews and tomorrow I am travelling to Shanghai then Kuala Lumpur,” he continues. His tone is not one of a whine, though it is understandable that having battled his way to the top of a very difficult game, Shah could be in need of a bit of breathing time. Upon the suggestion of working into his hectic schedule a day or two off, he admits that he has got some scheduled but not just yet. “It is always non-stop, but especially at the moment with my new album coming out. We have lots to do for the new show, then we have to perform the show and so it will be non-stop till at least the end of September.”

Having just left North America for a few days at home, and a trip that includes both China and Malaysia, at least he is getting to see a bit of the world. Well, that is what you’d like to think anyway. “A lot of the time it is just in and out. Sometimes I will get one day off but even then it is just time to chill and rest. So most of the time I don’t get to see a lot of things. You just go from the airport to the hotel to the club then back. Maybe if you stay up a little after the club, you get to see a little bit but it is normal that you don’t see a lot of things.” With his schedule proving completely unrelenting, not only is Shah in a constant state of transition, but he barely even gets the chance to enjoy the culture he is entertaining. He admits, “Sometimes I lose track, so you have to ask where am I at the moment and where am I going next. It is kind of a weird lifestyle, but I am just used to it.”

While many a musician has dreamed of success and acclaim, an equally high number have walked away from it all after realising just how hard it is to maintain. Shah is not someone who is about to cave in. He is riding the crest of his wave and clearly loving every moment. Rather than pointing to the flaws of his privileged position, it is clear that he is still relishing each and every opportunity that comes his way. With his passion for music and performance constantly exercised, he admits, “I am still excited all the time. I am looking forward to the next weekend and to the next show. It is just a chance to perform more music. So that has never really changed. I guess the only thing that has really changed is that now I am getting a lot more attention. I get to do interviews and meet and greets. Shows are getting bigger and busier. That is the main change but I still feel the same thing.

“The main focus is going to be on Roger Shah and not all those other names anymore. I do want to use my name. I will try use diverse sounds for my own project.” With a new album, Open Minded, all set for release, Shah has made a conscious decision to concentrate on building a public persona as opposed to hiding behind the mask of yet further pseudonyms. While he is clearly aware that plugging away constantly under new names has bought him diversity in his output, he feels is finally in a position where his reputation buys him complete creative freedom. “The album is called Open Minded as I am using it to show my diversity as a musician. I am showing the types of music I like to listen to as well as the types of music I like to produce. It is a wide range of drum house to my typical balearic sound, through to jazz, funk, classic through to cinematic soundtrack style tracks. There is even some rock influenced music. So it is a very wide range of music.”