SHINNIE

Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of?
I have been putting a lot of time and effort in my music company Oxytoxy preparing releases, remixes,
weekly mixes. My latest track Unfurnished Thoughts was added to trending techno charts in UK, India,
Pakistan, Korea and a few other locations and is now currently sitting at No.12 in Trending Techno
Africa. This is a huge milestone that made all of us at Oxytoxy proud. Also some of my music production
students started releasing music on other labels so I am really thankful and proud of them.

 

What's the biggest misconception about DJing and producing?
That DJs and producer must play and make the music you like. Not at all, they play and make the music
they like. If you like it, then that is a beautiful coincidence.

 

How would you describe your music production style and genre?
My production style is incorporating analog with digital. I sample a lot of analog synthesizers and I use
them in my tracks all the time. I like looping as well.
As far as genre, I do not prefer to go with a specific music style but I am heavily influenced by all types of
Trance and tribal electronic music. My music production range is between 120BPM to 145BPM and that
is a very wide range. I’d like to keep it very productive in the studio and even if the track ends up deep
house, I do not mind it at all . Some days I prefer to make slower music, some days faster, and I tend to
release all the finished work and collaborate more with other artists on their projects.

 

What styles of music do you usually DJ?
I have had quite a few residencies in Southeast Asia and Europe and that taught me to learn to DJ with a
full selection of different genres. I always played late night sets like 4am to 7-8am and that gave me a lot
of room to play different styles of fast electronic music, but two things that are most common in my sets
are 1. There must be a storyline and gradually evolving with progression 2. I always have to play and test
unreleased tracks of my own and my friends . That formula keeps my sets interesting and full of
surprises.

 

As a DJ, analog or digital and why?
I like the feeling and warmth of analog, and the capability of digital. My productions are a mix of both
approaches.

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What do you like most about music production?
It satisfies my soul, and I am glad I have found an art form that connects me to my inner strengths. I love
the feeling of clearing my schedule because I will be working on a track. The time spent producing, is an
investment to my soul, and it definitely has helped me get through hardest of times. A lot of times,
when I listen to my older tracks, I travel back to exactly where I was producing it, the exact moment, the
people who were there, the people who weren’t there, all of that. Each track is a collection of
memories.

 

How long have you been producing and DJing?
I produced for rappers and rock bands before I get into electronic music and my journey with music
production goes back to as early as 2001-2002 on cassettes and memory cards. But I produced and
released my first complete album on CD in 2004. My first important gig was in 2008 in Kuala Lumpur
when I played for 1000 people on a tiny USB controller.

 

What's your typical work process when producing a new track?
It always starts with an idea. I jam a lot and I have a folder with all my jams inside that folder. I organize
jams based on month and year. Then I add beats and synths on top and see where it goes. If I think the
jam is worth continuing, I will probably finish it.

 

Tell us about your studio setup.
I have a very minimal setup. A laptop, a pair of Sony WH1000 headphones and Reason Studios. Honestly,
after 20 years of producing, I sometimes run out of inspiration and ideas so to avoid that, I realized that
if I changed my environment, I would have better inspiration. So I always take my laptop to different
places and make music there. Like in a café, on top of a mountain, in a friend’s house, or a totally
different country. A lot of my jams are made in different locations, and later I bring them back to my
home studio and work on them more.
At home I have an i7 windows computer, two handmade exclusive monitors from my friends brand
VKER FMC, digidesign sound card, M-Audio Luna condenser microphone, beyer-dynamic DT770, a tiny
midiboard and bunch of old synthesizers I found from second hand shops around the world.

 

Can you share one DJ tip?
Avoid burnouts. Health is more important than how many gigs you play in a week. Technical tip would
be using less effects and better and smoother transitions, and definitely looping more.

 

What other musicians or music producers inspire you?
In electronic music, I admire Prodigy, chemical bros, old school BT, Ferry Corsten, Sander Van Doorn ,
and also classics like Yanni, Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis. I also have a bunch of rock and metal
producers and bands that I really like. I love Savatage, Pantera, Slayer etc.

 

What are some upcoming events or projects you are excited about?
We are organizing a music festival in 2026 in a very interesting location, that’s keeping us very excited at
Oxytoxy. We will release more information about that toward end of the year 2025. Excited about my
track on Underground Tehran’s upcoming VA: VORTA on August 22 nd – it is a goa trance track mixed with
hard trance elements. I have another two tracks upcoming on two massive labels in the next months
that I am really excited about. Plus I am working nonstop with my label artists on Tripbox, Echoing Emi
and Machines Don’t Dream to schedule our releases for 2026. Plus we are working on our

 

Where can we find out more about your music and DJ schedule?
On my Instagram @shinnie.omc and Oxytoxy’s website at www.oxytoxy.com.