SHIHA is an Egyptian-based DJ/Producer with a distinctive and iconic sound ranging from House to Deep House, Minimal Tech to Breaks. Now with a recent release “Into The Future” on his label Clubbing Purposes, we caught a moment with him to find out how his year has been so far, and what was it that got him into music in the first place…

WWD: Hey SHIHA, how has 2023 been for you so far?

It’s been great, it marks the start of lots of cool projects that I have in preparation and I am excited to share them with the world soon!

WWD: It’s almost summer, does that change the music you make and play?

Not necessarily, I like to freestyle my sets and I like to be eclectic most of the time, so I tend to adapt to the situation or mood on how I see fit.

WWD: About your style/aims when it comes to DJing – are you someone who likes to get people in a trance, or who likes a sense of fun in their sets, or who likes to shock etc?

I actually tend to do all of the above, with the right selections of tracks and proper flow. A good DJ can properly read the room and achieve all the mention above.

WWD: And where is your best environment? A small dark club or a huge outdoor festival stage? Late at night for the weirdos or early so you can play slow and eclectic etc?

I love the club experience way more than festivals. I love the intimacy and being close to the crowd. I believe the best sets are played in clubs not festivals.

WWD: And when making music, what are your aims, what sounds are you most found of, what is the aim of your tunes?

Each track should have its own impact based on its ideas or how it makes the listener feel. Lots of sounds or ideas come from an emotional aspect whether it’s happiness, sadness or feeling energized and want to trigger movement.

WWD: Why and when did you start in music? What was/is the motivation?

I fell in love with music from an early age. Learning the piano and music theory when I was a kid also came in handy. I always had love for computers and softwares, I even started doing some web development and Macromedia Flash when I was 13 years old writing java and html.

So one day in 2002 being the nerd I am, a friend of mine gave me CD of a free copy of Fruity loops studios v2 to try out. From that day my life changed to what it is now 🙂 I now use Ableton Live as my main DAW. I can even produce visual content for my shows and control the visuals while performing.

WWD: You have a new single on Clubbing Purposes – how did it come about and what’s the vibe?

‘Into The Future’: This single has been in the works for quite sometime now. Experimenting on how I want it to sound and it did indeed go into different phases of evolution while creating it. I also wanted to present a symbolic message to what the future could be in the music video, and that it might not be in our favour if AI technology gets out of hand.

WWD: What is the most important advice anyone gave you regarding a career in music?

Less is more, and take your time!!!

WWD: What next? What have you got on for the rest of the year?

The rest of the year is pretty exciting! I have two upcoming releases this year. One is more on the Tech and house side and the other leaning more to breaks and left-field. I will also be shooting music videos for both releases which I really believe they are gonna be massive. “Into the future” is just the start 🙂

SHIHA’s “Into The Future” is out now on Clubbing Purposes. Grab it here.

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