This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
The first gig for a large audience came as a surprise for the Dutch Shahrooz Safarghandi, also known as Shahrooz. Suddenly, he found himself in a large club in Ibiza, performing for 2000 people. He still remembers it as if it were yesterday. He told me about it in 2016. "Without a doubt, I took over from him."
“I still remember my first performance for a large audience as if it were yesterday, even though it’s been 15 years. Prior to that gig, I mostly played in local clubs and at corporate events.”
Passion
“DJing has been a great passion of mine since I was fourteen. I often frequented well-known spots in Amsterdam like Outland Records on Zeedijk. Those were beautiful times!”
A form of art
“At that time, there was still not much recognition for the DJ profession. It was truly a form of art that only the biggest DJs fully mastered. Practice made art for me as well. Each new mix I created became a bit tighter than the previous one.”
Club with history
”Years later, I was often in Ibiza. I would always stay with a good friend who lived there. He was a manager at one of the most beautiful clubs on the island: Es Paradis. This club was mostly visited by English partygoers. A club with a history. Es Paradis has been around since the ’70s and is an amazing venue where over 2000 people can really let loose.”
Fanbase
“That friend introduced me enthusiastically to the resident DJ, Steeve Valverde. This man has a huge fanbase in England. That same evening, various DJs performed, including Steeve himself. He asked if I wanted to join him while he was spinning. It was incredible to see how he engaged his audience in his set.”
Your turn
“At one point, Steeve said, ‘Now it’s your turn.’ I hadn’t expected him to hand over the turntables to me at such a crucial moment. After all, he hadn’t scheduled me for that evening and didn’t really know what I was capable of.”
Giving it all
“Without a doubt, I took over from him. The challenge, of course, was to come into the set of a top DJ, a DJ who knew his audience inside out. I got a little nervous. Then I thought, ‘Just give it your all and let’s see where it goes.'”
Incredible thrill
“This unexpected performance gave me an incredible thrill! But to say that I could immediately establish my own sound there is a bit too enthusiastic.” (laughs) “I made a few mistakes with filters that only studied music lovers would have noticed. However, the 2000 partying English folks didn’t mind much.”
Lesson
“What I learned that evening is that you must know the equipment inside out. Of course, Pioneer is the standard, but setups in clubs can vary greatly. I once played in a tent in Greece where the mixer was missing half of its buttons. Since then, I have performed in many clubs around the world, from Ibiza (Ushuaia, Destino) to The Ark in Barcelona.”
“By the way, I’m still friends with Steeve Valverde. In 2016, we’re going to DJ together at one of the biggest nightclubs in Jakarta and Bali. I’m still grateful to him for taking the risk of letting me take over the turntables in the middle of his set. It’s amazing when someone trusts you at the beginning of your career.”
This interview with Sharooz was originally published in January 2016 on DJMag.nl.
More Shahrooz?
Shahrooz is a Dutch Techhouse DJ and an epic producer who became a resident for Pacha On Tour in 2017. His signature is a raw mix of techhouse and house with a deep flow that keeps surprising. His mature music selection stems from the challenges he had to overcome in his life, as well as the music lessons he received as a child that led him to play the piano for years. Nowadays, he performs in many clubs and venues worldwide, from Spain (Ushuaia (Ibiza), Destino (Ibiza), The Ark (Barcelona), and Es Paradis (Ibiza)) to Asia (Colosseum (Jakarta), Invasion Festival (Jakarta), Skygarden (Bali)). In his hometown Amsterdam, he enjoys collaborating with other top producers and DJs, from B2B sessions to remix co-productions. When it’s contemporary, Shahrooz takes it to the next level.