There are not many electronic activists who have over 100 releases and are a part of the scene for three decades. Asem Shama is one of them. Since the beginning of the 90’s he can be considered one of the pioneers of electronic music in Germany. His breakthrough came with the track “Flash”, which was recognized by the remains of the band “Queens” themselves and afterwards, was promoted as a social remix.
He hit the Top 20 charts across Europe, marking 15th position in the UK and 17th in Germany. With this major recognition, he still continued to concentrate on the underground and was not giving up his upfront emphatic style of producing and mixing. His reputation as a DJ grew constantly, making him play all over the world and get a worldwide reputation.
We had a chat with Asem about music, his latest Action EP and working in the studio.
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Hey Asem, great to have you here with us at Tanzgemeinschaft. How are you doing?
Hello, happy to talk to ya and doing fine, I feel a lot of energy.
How has 2022 been for you so at all? Looks like you’ve been very busy!
Yes, I´ve been producing a lot and also moving to a new studio which was a lot of work but definitely worth it. Also of course I enjoy being behind the decks again after this unintended “break”.
Congratulations on the release of your new EP. Can you tell us about the package?
Thanks! It´s a two-tracker. The title track “Action” is a homage to Miguel Ruiz`s book “The Four Agreements”, especially to his approach to how taking action instead of just imagining makes a real difference. My goal was to translate that credo into music. “Holon” is a dark techno machine.
How does your creative process start when making a record like this?
Most of the time, the creative process starts outside the studio, I get an idea, an inspiration, may it be technical or mental. I try to keep that in mind and then I reflect on it musically when I´m back in the lab.
More on production – what are some of your favourite pieces of studio gear? Are you big into hardware?
I`m mostly a computer guy, I love Cubase. I think that one can learn a lot from hardware because it is a more direct way of creating, but in the end, nearly everything can be reproduced on a computer. Still, I feel the sonic character of hardware can sometimes add that extra edge to a track, that’s why I always get back to my Dominion X and Nord Modular.
Let’s talk some more about your label “Sportclub Music”. How’s that going and what are you planning for 2023?
I`m happy to have Simon Stiglmeier on board now how is supporting me in the label work a bit and contributes great tracks. The next release will be a collab with him. I`m planning to increase release frequency as I have a lot of tracks on hold.
What’s the hardest part of running a label?
Keeping up with the social media game, I´d rather do music.
And the most rewarding?
Doing music 😉
What were some of the best events you played this year?
When the clubs opened again in March, I had the pleasure of playing a 7h set at Sisyphos Berlin in the very first night which was an explosion of all that energy that got stuck inside me in 2021. It was beyond words.
Do you have any exciting projects in the pipeline that you would like to share?
I´m am currently working on my 2nd artist album which is planned for next year.
Thank you.
