Shapov

Hi Alexander, Thanks for answering our questions.

First of all, we would like to congratulate you for the incredible year you did in 2015. Party People, Runic or Vavilon are part of our favorite tracks of 2015. How did you handle this fantastic year ? What is you feeling at the moment regarding this year ?
Hi everyone, this is Shapov and thank you Guettapen for having me. Last year was special for me because I decided to start my project. A lot of music came out, it was super special for me. I actually delivered my brand, what is Shapov and what he is doing. I’m still excited about this and when i look back to 2015, it was simply crazy.

Tell us more about your relation with Axtone and more particularly with Axwell. Did he change your life ?
I work with Axwell since 2011 with Hard Rock Sofa and our tracks ‘Blow Up’, ‘Quasar’, ‘Rasputin’ and a lot of tracks in Axtone. And when I have decided to do Shapov, Axtone keeps her trust on me and says : « Ok, we gonna release your tracks ». Axwell is my real friend. We speak everyday about my music and his music.

Your big track ‘Where I Belong’ in collaboration with Ax & Ingrosso is highly anticipated. Is this track part of Axwell & Ingrosso’s new album ? Tell us a little more about that track.
Yes definitely ! It’s gonna be release on their album on Def Jam. But the track is not completely finished so we had to change some details before the release. That’s why it takes so long. Axwell is a real perfectionist, and the track must be perfect.

What about your collaboration with Swanky Tunes ?
I just tested out in my show in Smolensk, maybe in a near future.

What were the main reasons of Hard Rock Sofa’s split ?
Because I decided to start Shapov. Denis is one of my best friend, we are still very close, we are working in the same building but I decided to launch my own project.

What do you think about the explosion of the Russian scene ?
It’s a really great scene. We have a lot of super talented producers. I think Russia is the future.

What’s your projects for the next few months ? New tracks coming ?
My new track called ‘Future Rave’ is coming in 10 days on Axtone. I have also a new track coming as well, but I’m still working on it. Actually, I have a lot of vocal tracks on the pipe and a lot of surprises for the next few months. I can’t wait to show you what’s coming.

Which artists impress you the most at the moment ?
At the moment, when I see the situation in the EDM scene, I’m really bored…We miss emotional music. Everything sounds the same. But the french scene is definitely the best one. I love DJ Snake by the way, it’s really fresh. His crew Pardon My French is doing something different. Moreover, MEG & NERAK are doing really great and fresh work also.

Which artist would you like to collaborate with ?
My dream was to collaborate with Ax & Ingrosso : it will be done very soon so I’m actually dreaming right now. But now, I would like to finish my collaboration with Matisse & Sadko because we are long time friends and we never did it, not with Shapov project. You know, I just love collaboration with people where I see they have something special. I don’t care about name and fame. If I see talent in someone, its enough for me.

What is your next dream?
Making the best music as I could. Maybe in the future, I wanna do different styles of music like indie or rap music.

Can you tell us one exclusive thing about yourself?
I can sit in the studio 24 hours and not quite my chair. In that moment, there is no food, no drink, not even toilets.

Thank you very much Alex.