Shenoda

Laurie Shenoda is a British electronic music producer based in London. His rise through the ranks has been slow but steady. Since the early days of the now venerated label, he has been a key cog in the Hypercolour wheel, remixing an early release before going on to then unleash his Shots and On & On EPs in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The first spread much farther than expected with Martyn and Mosca heavily supporting its weighty beats, whilst the latter, with its thick, locked-in groves, was cherry-picked for Mattias Tanzmann’s Fabric mix. And then came possibly his best yet, the A Homage EP on Hypercolour off-shoot Losing Suki. Packed with garage referencing shuffles and tightly coiled drums, it was not only called “a new breed classic” by Matthew Dear, but got Radio 1 play from Skream and Benga as well as props from the man’s usual peers including Huxley, Jimmy Edgar and Axel Bowman. “For me it’s all about the groove,” says the man whose sounds are refreshingly contemporary. “If that isn't there, then you’re never going to get people dancing. I like to give things a rough, warm aesthetic so they have more of a unique character.” That unique sonic character has also come on boutique labels like Fear of Flying and Connaisseur, forever subconsciously informed by the sounds which first turned Shenoda onto the dance in the first place. Naturally given his age, it was garage that most informed the young Shenoda. Struck by the genre’s distinct groove and heavy basslines, it is something that has stayed in his music ever since, even though the likes of Kerri Chandler, Craig Richards and Koze have all helped broaden the man’s horizons. Being a classically trained musician has also helped foment a musical approach to house and techno, ensuring a Shenoda record has something more than your average dancefloor fodder. That’s probably also why he has remained an in-demand DJ since first breaking through. Playing clubs like Fabric London, Manchester’s Warehouse Project and the illustrious Boiler Room London, a Shenoda set is defiant of genre, instead remaining focussed on making you dance with whatever seems most apt, be it deep house, kicking techno or surging garage. With future EPs penned in for releases on Rinse (alongside vocalist Jamie George), Huxley’s Saints & Sonnets and, of course, Hypercolour, that rise through the ranks looks set to continue well into 2013. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.