Shonky & Jeremy Ismael

Since releasing his first 12-inch in 2005 Shonky has cultivated a signature sound, a style all of his own that has been part of his continuing success. He is one of the key exponents from his hometown Paris, helping to re- establish the city’s prominence on the global stage alongside his Apollonia co-dees, Dan Ghenacia and Dyed Soundorom. Shonky has traversed the globe, delivering his brand of groovy, techy house to club and festival audiences from Miami to Moscow and everywhere in between. Parallel to his DJ endeavours, he has been constantly refining his production skills delivering a stream of classic releases on labels such as Freak N’Chic, mobile, Contexterrior, Real Tone and his own Apollonia outlet. A dedicated clubber since his teens, Shonky’s made his first real steps into the world of underground DJing at the infamous Batofar afterhours party in Paris. It was there he discovered a passion for the sounds of nineties San Francisco house, which was being played by resident Dan Ghenacia. The two eventually became friends, sparking a long-lasting relationship which has been the catalyst behind their Apollonia project along with fellow Parisian Dyed Soundorom. Ghenacia recognised Shonky’s gift for production early on, “He’s a natural talent, I know when he does something it’s going to be perfect,” he says. This effortless ability is evident on early EPs such as ‘Olympia’ (Freak n’Chic), or his massive remix of Danton Eeprom’s ‘All I Can Say’. In 2008 Shonky released his debut full length album ‘Time Zero’, a 10-track LP full of hypnotic cosmic jams. In 2009 ‘Roudor & Capulet’ and ‘Chocotox’ marked a musical crossroads in his passage towards a new sound – one that revealed sonically groovier house dimensions infused with hypnotic vocals. The next few years were to be highly productive years with EPs on Crosstown Rebels, Contexterrior, Culprit and Real Tone. ‘Le Velour’ in particular became a Shonky classic that was later re-released as a remix package with new mixes by Mr. Fingers, Delano Smith and The Martinez Brothers. More recently he was the first artist to release on Apollonia with his EP ‘The Minneapolis Touch’ in 2012, followed five later by ‘Tyrolien’ in 2017. The famous ‘Shonk’ sound is also present in his DJ sets, full of groove and rhythms that penetrate down to your very atoms and keep you dancing all night. Shonky’s list of club appearances is vast, covering everywhere from Rex Club (Paris) to Gipsy (Moscow), fabric (London), Louche (Leeds) and Club Der Visionaere (Berlin). He has also been a regular guest at one of his favourite clubs Panorama Bar in Berlin, a city he has called home since 2009. Shonky also reps as part of Apollonia with his buddies Dan Ghenacia and Dyed Soundorom. The three men formed their back-to-back-to-back trio in 2012, also launching a label to release their own music alongside tracks from artists they admire and reissues of classic cuts. As a trio they have become one of the most in-demand DJ groups in the world, playing an exhaustive list of the world’s most influential and respected venues and festivals. The concept is simple, three DJs play a track each b2b2b often for extended periods ranging from five to 12 hours. As Apollonia the trio have not only established a pioneering concept but they have also put Paris back on the map as one of the world’s most respected destinations for electronic music. With years of knowledge and experience behind him Shonky is a master of his craft, possessing an abundance of talent both on the decks and in the studio. Infectious energy emanates from everything he touches, and his enthusiasm for music never wanes. Naturally talented, hard working and a genuinely nice guy, Shonky remains one of Paris’ finest exports...