We’ve been listening to his music for years, so when we heard that he was >thisclose< to finally releasing his debut album, we were absolutely elated! He is, after all, the brainchild behind some of the dance music communities’ most well-loved trance and progressive tunes such as “Save Me” and “Skyfire”, after all.
American born Taiwanese producer Andrew Chen aka DJ Shogun is the first (and perhaps still the only) Asian DJ/producer to have been signed on to Armin van Buuren’s juggernaut, Armada Music. Clearly, he made a statement enough to have been personally handpicked by trance celestial being Armin to be on the label. And Shogun certainly went on to prove having done so by delivering massive tunes time and time again.
His debut album, “Dragon”, has been 4 years in the making and it comes packed with 10 impressive tracks. We dare claim that they’re impressive because we were given first dibs on the album, and thus, we’ve already heard all that’s to come when “Dragon” is released in about a month!
Most of you might have already heard the ever so special “Erhu” track, which was release ahead of the debut album. As you would expect, “Erhu” features Shogun’s trademark elements – the pairing of an unlikely instrument with dance music beats. An “erhu” is a 2-stringed bowed Chinese musical instrument, sometimes called a “southern fiddle”. And believe us when we say that Shogun made it work for his track, coupled with an oriental-type breakdown:
It’s emotional, to say the least, and us being Asians, we loved it. Right down to its very core.
We were also mesmerised the moment we heard the lead single off “Dragon“, a track of the same name which featuring the beautiful vocals of Adara. “Dragon” is an amazing blend of the big room type of vibe without being too big room-ish because it’s laced with dreamy melodies as well as Adara’s voice. It’s a strange sort of bliss to listen to, really.
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The same can be said about “Laputa”, a track that’s mostly beautiful because of its soft piano chords.
Oh, if you’re craving for more anthem-y sounds, Shogun has got those down pat too. Tracks like the uplifting “Zanarkand” and the more driving “Abduction” are absolutely heart-pumping, with the latter possibly rendering you dizzy with its euphoric climax moment. Let’s not forget that there’s also “Find Me”, a collaboration between Shogun and Tania Zygar (who has previously worked with the likes of tyDi and Arty). “Find Me” is a match made in dance music heaven for Tania’s voice and Shogun’s synths.
A masterpiece, if we do say so ourselves!
The full tracklist for Shogun’s debut album, “Dragon”, is as follows:
- Shogun feat. Adara – Dragon (03:42)
- Shogun feat. Susie Ledge – When I’m With You (03:35)
- Shogun – Zanarkand (03:00)
- Shogun feat. Chloe – Underwater (03:35)
- Shogun – Laputa (03:58)
- Shogun – Abduction (03:25)
- Shogun feat. Tania Zygar – Find Me (04:10)
- Shogun – Erhu (03:16)
- Shogun feat. Emma Lock – Fly Away (04:20)
- Shogun – Meteor (03:12)
Shogun’s album is slated for a 12th December release. You may pre-order it from iTunes here.
For more information, visit Shogun’s Facebook page. He’s also on Twitter and Instagram, so hit him up!
