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S.H.O.K.K. interview!
Taken from the TidyTrax website (www.tidy.com)
DJ and production duo S.H.O.K.K are definitely causing somewhat of a stir amongst lovers of all things hard, including the team at Tidy. Currently signed to Overdose, these two have been responsible for creating some of the most exhilarating tunes and remixes to come out of Switzerland in the last few years.
Reverb, Swiss based production guru (of Flutlicht) has teamed up with Giotto DJ (Swiss trance DJ/producer), to create some twisted and, quite frankly, scary hard trance. They first teamed up in late summer of 2000 to create ''folie à deux'' which was released on Pulse. The track saw excellent success and marked the start of something rather big.
Then in the back end of 2001 S.H.O.K.K decided it was about time to unleash 'Isnt It All A Bit Strange' onto the unsuspecting public. With a skull crushing kick and a breakdown enough to send any nutter into a rabid, dribbling trance educed coma, ;''Isn't it all a bit strange'' proved to be somewhat of a belter!!! All vinyl copies that were pressed were sold out in just less than two weeks, and the track was included in over 70 compilations worldwide (including Gatecrasher Digital in the UK), reaching No.2 in the German sales charts.
Such a blinding success secured them remixes for Cosmic Gate, Alex Bartlett, DJ Energy, Altitude (Bonzai) and Dave Joy - all of which were really quite blinding. And, as if this wasn't enough, the duo set on world trance domination and have just completed a remix of the Tidy classic 'Coming On Strong' by Signum, which is set for release later this year.
With all this in mind Tidy.com felt it was high time we caught up with them to find out the full SP...
How many years have you been producing and DJing for?
Giotto DJ: I bought my first turntables when I was 15. As Giotto I started to mix in Y2K.
Reverb: Well, I have to disappoint you, I'm not DJ'ing at all! I have been producing for 4 years though.
What's the story with the title 'S.H.O.K.K' and how did it all happen?
Giotto DJ: First we wanted to call the project ''kaddish'' - don't ask why  then I got a call from Reverb and he said that he has a new idea for our project name, so S.H.O.K.K. was born. The 2 K's for me are a sign for hard bangin' tracks. We replace always the c with a k. e.g Klub Mix or Krazy Nut Mix
Reverb: Yeah, that's actually the whole story. I have absolutely no clue, why this occurred to me. It was like ''why don't we call it shokk, but with two k's?''
Where do you create all the S.H.O.K.K tracks?
Giotto DJ: @ RAL (reverb audio lab)
Reverb: Right, reverb audio lab is my little studio.
When starting a track what's the first thing you tackle?
Giotto DJ: It can be the melody, the whole beat or something else. The first thing is to have an idea and try what are the possibilities with this idea.
Reverb: It depends. It's more difficult with our own tracks. For example ''Folie à Deux'': This track was supposed to be something completely different. First we started with the remake of a track we already made in 1999. And then, suddenly we both were kind of pissed. We almost began to argue. Finally I created a whole new melody, let's say ''accidentally''.
What's the equipment listing for your studio and what software is used to put it all together?
Reverb: Isn't this a professional secrecy? No, seriously, it's not a big studio at all. I have not that much equipment at the moment. And I use a lot of software and softsynths.
How exactly are those beautiful growling riffs created as we've experienced in the remixes such as the ones for First Impression, Excelsis and Amnesia?
Reverb: Most of the melodies are made with VAZ Modular (softsynth) and a lot of FX.
How long exactly did it take to produce tracks such as 'Foile A Deux' and 'Isnt it all a little strange?'?
Giotto DJ: Our second single ''isn't it all a little strange?'' took near 4 months of work. It can be that we think that we're going to complete a song soon and then there is another idea or something that we dislike. So we put the track away and do it again. So it can take between hours and months to complete a track
Reverb: Usually things don't come how they are supposed to but we've become used to that!
Describe the S.H.O.K.K sound!!
Giotto DJ: Hard, bangin' and just a little bit strange
Reverb: I guess it's still trance, a bit harder though. Some call it tech-trance. It's not that important. Everyone should decide it for themselves
Are you musically trained at all?
Giotto DJ: Ha ha! I played the flute when I was a little boy I don't play any instruments, but I discovered my love for electronic music since I was this little boy.
Reverb: I am. I played the piano for about six years.
Are there any other Swiss or German Producers in trance, techno or any other style that have influenced you and your ideas with S.H.O.K.K?
Giotto DJ: I don't think that there is a specific producer that has influenced our style. We want to create our own and not to copy an existing one. We don't' want to produce strictly trance music. If you listen for example to the remix of ''altitude'' there is a very housey element in it, or in other tracks there are effects or filters that you normally hear in techno or house music only. It's very interesting to combine elements of different styles together.
Reverb: There are a lot of different influences. It's hard to say what finally influences your own music. I often listen to big beat, trip hop, downbeat and stuff like this. What really influences me are movie scores. I'm a soundtrack collector and I'm very impressed by composers like Thomas Newman or Hans Zimmer.
Where exactly was your first DJ gig?
Giotto DJ: My first dj gig was at a disco night I organized with my friends where I had to play chart music, hip hop, rock and all this things. It's funny to think about past times but I think that, for a DJ, it is important to mix at a lot of small parties or clubs. This way you see if you really like to mix and you meet a lot of interesting and important people. Then over time the parties where you can play will become bigger and bigger.
Where do you hold residencies?
Giotto DJ: It's a small but lovely club called 'Lava' in our hometown Winterthur. I play there as 'Giotto' every time I have no other bookings.
Have you any dates booked in the UK?
Giotto DJ: There is one in July but not 100% confirmed yet. I hope to visit the uk club- and party scenes a few times in 02/03 and in the future. But if you don't have the connections to the uk scene as German or Swiss artist it's very hard to enter it. Too see the dates of shokk gig's visit http://www.shokk.info (online soon)
What are your five favourite tracks and why!?
Giotto DJ:
U96 - Das Boot -> This remake of Klaus Doldingers' ''Das Boot'' from the movie with the same title was my first contact to european dance and electronic music.
Misjah vs. Groovehead - Trippin' out. -> definatley my favourite track ever. I love this powerful hook at the beginning and at the end of the track and the amazing 303.
Usura - Open your Mind 97 -> I love the big 97 remix from DJ Quicksilver. I liked the track before, but this remix was just amazing for me and I listen to it very often.
Mauro Picotto & Mario Piu - Imperiale -> It was my first BXR vinyl. It was very important for my future music and mix style. A new dimension of progressive-trance. When you see or listen to Mauro today you know what I'm speakin' about...
Josh Wink - Higher state of consciousness -> This one is just awesome. I never heard a f**** amazing acid tune like this
Reverb: There are so many artists/tracks that impressed me in the past few years. It's almost impossible to name them all. There is no particular ''favourite track''. Many tracks I like just fit into the time I listen to it and are connected to a situation or a feeling. Difficult for me to describe it in English, but I hope you understand. Maybe it sounds strange, but if I only name five tracks, I would possibly devalue the tracks I don't mention.
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Fave Tune at the Moment: Mesmerizer - Taking Control
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