Simon & Shaker

Two heads are better than one. This classic phrase goes hand in hand with Simon & Shaker, two of the most important artists to emerge from the clubbing panorama in the last few years.

‘We are very proud of everything that has happened and is happening to us at the moment’, comments Simon Garcia. ’10 years ago we would not have believed all of this would happen.’ Words that demonstrate these artists are still driven by the same illusion that started them on this journey, something very difficult to maintain in an industry that is constantly on the move. Karim Shaker:’It is important to always look forward and sometimes have a peak into the past to learn from what has occurred, but we always have our sights fixed to the future.’

Looking back for a moment this brief retrospect gives us an opportunity to outline why this duo is regarded so highly international: more than 50 productions that include original releases and remixes on prestigious labels such as Global Underground, Ministry Of Sound, Stealth, Electronic Elements, to name a few. With an extensive list of productions that cover many genres, ranging from House to Tech-House and all including the Simon & Shaker sound. This sound has marked every track in their extensive catalogue, recognizable for fans and DJ’s such as Deep Dish, Armin Van Buuren, Pete Tong, Tiësto, Lee Burridge and Paul Van Dyk, who have all included tracks on compilations.

When speaking about Simon & Shaker you don’t only think about their quality productions but also their sets around the globe. ‘Our style of dj’ing is original, both of us are in the booth constantly interacting with each other’, states Karim. There’s perfect harmony and understanding between the two, which is unique to a duo that has been in each other’s company from a very early age. Shaker:’The crowds really appreciate what is going on during one of our sets, it has converted into one of our trademarks’.
their partnership doesn’t only stay limited to the DJ booth but also in the studio. They’ve been playing all around the world: Tokyo, Montreal, Paris, Miami, Moscow, Verna, Rotterdam, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Jakarta, Oslo, Edinburgh, Madeline, Sofia and the multitude of other cities around the globe including the most important cities in Spain, with Madrid as the center of clubbing. ‘It’s incredible when we play in Madrid.’ states Simon – ‘We were residents for many years at some of the best clubs in the capital, but during the last three years constant touring has meant we have been unable to play regularly, still we managed to play two or three times a year, and it’s still amazing every time we play, because the crowd has grown up with us are really part of the set.’ Simon & Shaker refer to their sold out gigs at Space of Sound, one of Spain’s most influential clubs.

The studio, the gigs, all of this may seem sufficient with so little time available, but the guys want to do more. ‘At the moment we are also concentrating on our label, State Recordings. We have signed a label deal with Armada Music, so the future will be very interesting for State. A deal which we have been in negotiations for a couple of months and has finally become a reality. ‘Zero’, ‘Plan 9′, ‘Narco’, our tracks have worked very well and the truth is that they – Armada- also work very well as a company. Everybody is very happy with this new deal’.

Production, remixes, sets, radio-show, Label Management. Simon & Shaker have all the elements one needs in electronic music. ‘We really feel privileged to have been able to live from music for so many years. We can only try to work hard, to offer the very best at every set, every production, every radio show and then hope to see everyone on the dance floor.’

Discography:

12′
2008 Simon & Shaker presents. Teramik. Plastic Upgrades. State Recordings
2008 Simon & Shaker vs Groove Garcia. SoulTech. State Recordings
2007 Simon & Shaker. Naco. Electronic Elements
2007 Simon & Shaker. Plan 9, Sate Recordings/Electronic Elements
2006 Simon & Shaker. Pure State/Last Trip. DK Records
2006 Dark Providers. Elec-Disco. Intenso Rec.
2006 The Latin Soul Drivers. Fashion Victims. Bamboo Music.
2006 Simon & Shaker. Zero. State Recordings/Electronic Elements
2005 Simon & Shaker. Freshness. TUSOM Rec.
2005 Simon & Shaker feat. Joe Diaz. Into The Room. Distinto Rec.
2004 Simon&Shaker feat Alicia Hawks. Make It. Beat Freak Rec.
2004 Dark Providers. Join Us. Intenso Rec.
2004 Coca&Villa feat Pepe Rubio. La Noche. TUSOM Rec.
2004 Simon&Shaker. Life from Mars. Beat Freak Rec.
2004 Dark Providers. Believer. Intenso Rec.
2003 The Latin Soul Drivers. Fiebre. TUSOM Rec.
2003 SARS. Overbooking. Intenso Rec.
2003 Beat Freak E.P. Osbourne. Beat Freak Rec.
2003 Simon&Shaker. Descarga!. Beat Freak Rec.
2003 The Sundayprayers. Coming Up. Intenso Rec.
2003 The Beatfreakers. Now Way Out. TUSOM Rec.
2003 The Latin Soul Drivers. Latin Soul. TUSOM Rec.
2002 Simon&Shaker. Sunday @ Mambo. Beat Freak Rec.
2002 Tekken. Tribal Pursuit. Tekktonn Rec.
2002 The Sundayprayers. Basics. Beat Freak Rec.
2001 The Sundayprayers. Outstreet. Beat Freak Rec.

REMIXES
2008 Robert Nickson ‘Narc’. Simon & Shaker Remix. Pilot 6
2007 Armin Van Buuren. The Sound of Goodbye. Simon & Shaker Remix. Armind
2007 Tatana feat Joana. Silence. Simon & Shaker Remix. S2 Music
2007 Elio Risso & Raffunk. Be Mine (Shine). Simon & Shaker Remix. Stealth Records
2007 Smike. Everyday. (Superfly Remix). Superfly Recordings
2007 Luis LÃ³pez & Gabi Newman feat Nicole Tyler. Burning the Vinyl. S&S Remix. Vendetta
2007 Andrew Bennett. Save from Harm. (Simon & Shaker Remix). Armada Music
2006 Tatana. If I could (Simon & Shaker remix). Sirup Music
2005 David Amo & Julio Navas. Light my eyes. (Midnight Watchers remixes). Irresistible
2005 Martin H & Oliver Klein. Clubgame. (Simon & Shaker remixes). Invent
2005 Inkfish & Tronso. F**k me. (Midnight Watchers remix). Suburban
2005 Rosh. Nadsat. (Simon & Shaker remix). Iberican Sound
2005 UDG. Give me fierce 2005. (Simon & Shaker remix). Garbage
2005 David Ferrero. Evolution of House bit (Simon & Shaker remix). House Park
2005 Frost. Wait for Me. (Simon&Shaker Remix). TUSOM
2005 Chus pres. The Groove Foundation-’That Feeling 2005′ (Simon & Shaker R.) – Defected
2004 D-Formation. Third Dimension. (Simon&Shaker Intenso Remix). Beat Freak Rec.
2004 Abel Ramos. Aquarius. (Simon&Shaker Intenso Remix). Pulsar Rec.
2003 AgeHA feat Jocelyn Brown&Loleatta Holloway. A Better World.(S&S We are One Mix).
2003 D-Formation. Starstuff. (Simon&Shaker Remix). Intenso Rec.
2002 Hight Definition Project. Sax. (The Sundaprayers Remix). Vendetta Rec.
2002 D’Flame. B-Witched. (The Sundayprayers Remix). Fresh Rec.
2002 Dj Sammy&Yanou. Heven. (Simon&Shaker Remix). Universal.
2002 Dot Ru. Broken Childhood. (Tekken Remix ). Tekktonn Rec.
2002 Dimas&Martinez. The Flame. (The Sundayprayers Remix) .Beat Freak Rec.
2001 Rosh. Ezequiel 25.17. (The Sundayprayers HLP Remix). Beat Freak Rec.

COMPILATIONS
2004 DUAL ‘The Definitive Spanish Underground Compilation. Beat Freak Rec.
2003 Kapital Platinum. Mixed by Simon Garcia, David Villa&Tito Coca. Dreams Rec.
2003 The Underground Sound Of Madrid. Mixed by Dimas, Simon&Shaker. Beat Freak Rec.

Awards:

2005 Best House Producers (DJ1 – Spain)
2005 Best House Producers (Deejay – Spain)