Cologne born house influencer Sharam Jey has used an arsenal of expert level production techniques and a consistent touring schedule to become one of Germany’s most sought after club talents.
Besides impressing with his own studio output, he also heads up Bunny Tiger where he has released music from the likes of Betoko, Purple Disco Machine, LouLou Players, David Keno and Vanilla Ace.
Now Sharam is preparing for the release of his third studio album, titled Invisible. We sat down with the German veteran to chat about the forthcoming record, Bunny Tiger, and more. Keep reading for the full interview.
Thanks for sitting down with us, how are things going in the life of Sharam Jey?
Thanks for having me. Things are going pretty great at the moment as 2018 is a busy year so far with a lot of touring and a bunch of releases and collaborations already being out and still coming. So yes, I am quite happy right now.
You recently announced the release of your third album ‘Invisible’, are you excited to put it out there?
Yes, super excited. Because my last album, the second, was out in 2009. So I somehow forgot how it is to put all your passion and efforts in one big project. You see how it gets bigger and the songs evolve and that’s such an exciting thing. And now I am really happy to put out my third ‘Baby’.
If possible, how would you describe the record in one sentence?
Mhm, that’s pretty hard in just one sentence. My goal with this album was to not follow a trend in the first place but to put together my vision and musical influences. Actually some of the tracks are from sessions for my last album and so they’re 8 years old. But I thought that they fit much better now.
Your music has now appeared on labels like Toolroom, Cajual and Katermukke, how does it typically work when organising a release with their teams?
Those mentioned releases have been out during the production for this album. They are much-more club-oriented in contrast to my album which is more melody-oriented. But to your question, as I know the guys behind those labels it is quite enjoyable and easy working with them.
And how involved do you like to be when it comes to artwork, social media and promo stuff?
I would say 100%. Of course I trust the people I work with but especially with the album I kind of had a vision on how it all should look like. So yes, I want to make sure that the complete package fits my expectations.
The album will include features from KLP, Dirty Vegas, Little Boots, Dacia Bridges and Ashibah, when working on a project like this did you choose those guys before starting or was it a natural fit that came about on its own?
As I said some of the tracks are from 8 years ago. For example Dacia’s song has been recorded for my last album. But it fits perfect to the sound of Invisible. Sure I finalized and newly mixed it but the basic song is from 2009. And the other collaborations were actually pretty simple to choose. I just asked artists whose voice and work I like and found fitting to the overall sound of the album.
Your label Bunny Tiger, tell us what we can expect to hear from the next releases?
2018 is actually a pretty big year for the label as we celebrate our 5th anniversary. Those last years have been amazing because we never thought that we would be so successful with a somewhat small label. And for this occasion we will have a big compilation out at the end of the year. It will feature the biggest hits newly re-mixed.
Before we go, what is something someone said that has stuck with you throughout your career?
Mhm, I would say this was a tip Westbam gave me back in 1993. I was really young and invited him to one of my earliest parties. The next day I got him to the airport and on our way there he said something like, that this DJ-thing is a real gift, that we should be thankful that we can make people dance and happy, that we get to see the world etc. But that this business is also like a roller-coaster, you can reach heights and sometime lows. And that you should be able to always motivate yourself and push up to the next height. To be successful in the long-term you kind of have to re-invent yourself constantly. I think that this was quite a wise thing to say from him.
Sharam Jay’s Invisible LP is out 24th September on his own Bunny Tiger.