‘In My Blood’ – Huge artist album out this month
Great new single out, ‘Army of Men’ that’s preceding your hugely anticipated long player, ‘In My Blood’. The track has already been hammered by the likes of Sasha, Groove Armada, Laidback Luke and DJ Sneak with some incredible remixes from the likes of TAI and Arthur Baker – talk us through the rest of the album, what can we expect – quite diverse we hear?
“After my last album, I have toured quite constantly. And at firs,t I had some difficulties getting back in those production routines, but I have found so many inspirations and got back into producing quicker than I thought. And it was really great to have that joy making music again. And I wanted to get on to the next level with the new album, ‘In My Blood’. In the end I had about 30 tracks finished and had to cut them off to 13. I would describe those songs as energetic but emotionally with each having a story to tell. The style is a mixture of dance, electronic, rock and indie elements. I think I tend to get inspired by all those old synthi-sounds I always loved since I can remember hearing music. And I wanted to give the album a coherent sound. And I have to say that I am really happy and amazed with the result. And that’s a huge thing to say when you are producer.”
You grew up for ten years in Iran and then the family moved to Cologne in Germany where you have been living ever since. Many Iranians headed to Sweden and the UK for instance, why did your family choose Cologne?
“Yes, I know lots of Iranians moved to the UK and Sweden, I have friends there. My family moved here because of my brother who already lived and studied here. So for my parents it was quite obvious to come here. And I have been here in my summer holidays before. So we knew the area.”
What are the big ten tunes you are spinning right now?
1) The C90s – 10:01 (Villa Rmx) – Relish
2) Sharam Jey ft Cornelia – Army Of men (DDY Rmx) – King Kong
3) Groove Armada – Paper Romance (Zombie Disco Squad Rmx) – Cooking Vinyl
4) Sharam Jey ft Andreas Hogby – Heart Of Stones (RipTide Rmx) – King Kong
5) Cassette Kids – Lying Around (Sharam Jey Rmx) – Sony
6) Malente & Jay Robinson – What A Bass (Sharam Jey Rmx) – Southern Fried
7) The Editors – You Don’t Know Me (Boys Noize Rmx) – Cdr
8) SJ Pres.Discofisco – Straight Ahead – Cdr
9) Arthur Baker – Tear Down The Walls (Riva Starr Dub Rmx) – This Is Music
10) Poser – Cocain (Larry Tee & Alexander Technique Rmx) – Cdr
11) Acidkids – Love You Play (Sharam Jey Rmx) – Cdr
12) Alex Metric – Discotron – Marine Parade
You have travelled the world twice over DJing – what have been the most memorable clubs you have enjoyed?
“Oh, there are so many. Every venue had something unique or at least strange about it. I just think it is great to get to all those places and see so much of the world. On the other hand it is of course quite stressful travelling that much. But when you get to the club and you see all those people waiting for you to start, that is really something special. And that’s what I enjoy the most.”
Favourite city in the world and why?
“Hmm, also difficult, there are so many great cities. But I guess I would pick Sydney because of the weather and I have a really huge fanbase over there.”
Did having an Iranian Passport before you got a German one provide problems at airport immigration?
“Yes, when I started DJing I still had an Iranian passport. And of course that was quite difficult especially on certain airports. But honestly, in some countries it is still a bit of trouble even with the German passport because of the place I was born in Teheran. But when you travel a lot you learn to stay relaxed and don’t take it personal.”
Best and Worst thing about living in Cologne?
“The best: this is my town, my family and friends are living here. And that is really important for me. And Cologne is, besides Berlin, the most relaxed city concerning living as an artist or musician in Germany. Here you’ll have a quite long history of labels, musicians making and distributing electronic music. Plus you are really quick in getting to other great places like Paris, Amsterdam, London or Brussels.
The worst: not having all my favourite restaurants in one place here!”
This is your second album following ‘4 Da Loverz’, much more of a club styled album – are you happier with the new one?
“For me, after 15 years in the business it was always important that when I would start releasing artists albums they should definitely sound like artists albums and not like mix-compilations. I wanted this album to sound danceable of course, but yet also more song oriented. This was kind of the central theme of the album. And I am really happy with the result and that is the best one can say of this work.”
Best label in the world?
“What else should I say than of course King Kong Records. Because especially the last year the whole King Kong Crew did such a great job. This is our first big international release we will be working on our own. We used to do just vinyl yet, just music from DJs for DJs. Now with this album, we had to think much bigger. And of course to get a good package in whole you need a qualified and motivated team.”
Best ever DJ you have played alongside?
“Hmm. There are quite a lot playing all kinds of styles I like. Difficult to choose from. But I think Sven Väth needs to be honored for his work. . He is doing this for such a long time now. Even if his music is not 100 % my type.”
What one album would you never sell?
“Classic wise ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince. Lately I really liked the latest Kings Of Leon album.”
The new album brings in the vocal element – which one artist would you love to get in the studio and make a tune with?
“If I would have the chance to do something more pop-oriented I would love to work with Gwen Stefani or more hip-hop-wise it would be Q-Tip.”
What is your stance on drugs in clubland?
“Well, if one thinks he can be happier with or enjoy himself better with than it’s ones choice. Anyway my drug is music.”
Best festival you have ever played at?
“Again difficult as there were so many. But the ‘Hultsfred’ Festival in Sweden was awesome. I was kind of the only DJ playing there among all those rockbands like The Strokes or the Babyshambles. But also ‘Tomorrowland’ in Belgium and ‘We Love Sounds’ in Australia were really great to play.”
Okay, so for someone who has never been to Cologne where would you direct them to the best:
Restaurant – “You would need to taste the Kölsch-beer in one of the traditional breweries with restaurants.”
Bar – “You need to be on the road with me for a week to get to know all my favourite places!”
Tourist attraction – “The Cologne Cathedral and River Rhine”
Was the main fact you have never moved to Berlin your family and friends?
“Yes, I need to have my family and friends around me. You get to worship that when you are traveling a lot. And I am the youngest in my family so I am really closely connected to my parents. But of course I sometimes think about moving to Berlin because I have many friends there. And everytime I am there I think, yes, this could be a place where I can live. But when I get back to Cologne I realise that I am really happy here.”
Times are hard out there in many entertainment areas – must be difficult running your own label, is it now about the music – and not the money?
“Absolutely. The business has changed a lot. People used to spend their money for music. They wanted to expand their collection of records. Now music has lost it’s meaning. The kids are happy with low-quality mp3 files and to listen on their mobiles or just burn it on CDs. Music is nowadays more like a set card with which you present yourself – that’s me and that is my music. You need to earn money with other things like of course DJing. Another thing, is that one of my main ambitions was to give new talent’s a chance. But without making money you can no longer afford that.”
And finally – what is coming out next from the Jey studio?
“Of course the highlight will be the album and the single’s from it. I will be busy promoting that the whole year including a world tour. I also did some remixes for other artists like Arthur Baker, Malente and Cassette Kids. Plus I am working on two projects which I cannot really talk of yet cause they are still in progress.
‘In My Blood’ is out on February 15th on King Kong Records
