Shazam

Perth is known for having some of the finest beaches in the world. It is also closer to a lot of places in Asia than say Melbourne or Sydney. And the weather is nicer. And Cameron Parkin aka Shazam is from there also. But that’s about all it has going for it. Lucky then that Shazam is on his way to Melbourne – as well as a few other countrywide dates – to hit up the Future Music Festivals with his unique blend of funked up electro house.

And the youngster is decidedly coy about his achievements and successes. "I played music from an early age; I also played piano and drums and guitar and all sorts of things like that. I’ve been around music from a really young age basically so when I was 11 and got my first synthesizer and got into production, I knew it was what I wanted to do. I think the reason was that I could finally produce rather than just listen to the music!"

Indeed, having twiddled knobs for the likes of Empire of the Sun and Calvin Harris puts you in pretty good stead in any company – but when you’re dropping anthems for Kitsune, Ministry of Sound and Modular, you’re doing very well. Topping the Beatport charts with his debut EP titled Pool Party certainly didn’t do his career any harm either; nor does being particularly humble and modest about it all.

"I actually started listening to a lot of club music before I was ever even in a club," chimes Cam. "Friends were listening to a lot of other stuff and I was listening to drum and bass and trance and other cheesy shit that I hate now, but I was listening to a lot of club music when I was younger! So all that contributed to where I am today I guess!"

Yet with all his travels and grueling schedules, he still finds the time to spend in the studio – in fact it is his other great love. "I have an EP coming out next month and for the past year and a half I’ve been working on a debut album that will be out hopefully this year. I’ve been working on that mostly in my spare time so it’s going to be interesting when I can finally get that out!"

"I’ve also started and been working on a side project with a Sydney producer which I’m focusing on. I’m toning down the club element a little as well and focusing more on that sort of pop oriented type stuff; I really like the sound of experimental pop that is still electronic. So this project is a good outlet for that; I’m always looking for those kinds of outlets actually so whether it’s me, someone else or a collaboration, I can get ideas and people together to make quality house oriented music."

"What else that’s interesting right now is how diverse DJs are playing. When you said ‘have the genres blurred?’ – I think that’s incredibly accurate in terms of the music – everything has changed. I still haven’t had a great deal of experience in clubs to be honest! I’ve only been a DJ for three years and a lot of the older DJs say that, but I’ve been brought up where a DJ will play a disco track alongside an electro song or whatever. It’s a cut-and-paste jukebox environment. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t – but as long as people do it right; I mean, if it’s done incorrectly though, it can kill the energy of a set. The energy should remain because otherwise it can get pretty messy pretty quickly!"

Finally, Shazam will be touring a fair bit of his new material shortly and is uber excited about the prospect. "I’ve saved up a fair bit of my material and I’ll be doing a semi-live DJ set with samplers and synths and stuff on stage. I’ve also got my midi controllers in tow so I can bring in different elements of my tracks; it allows me to be a little more creative than just a regular DJ. I’m really looking forward to it!"

Shazam [AUS] plays the Future Music Festival with Plastikman [UK], Dizzee Rascal [UK], Art vs Science [AUS] and more on Sunday March 13 at the Flemington Racecourse.

RK