Boxed Off Festival is a brand new one-day music and AV experience launching September 19th with Nina Kraviz, Patrick Topping, Dense & Pika, Daniel Avery and many other world-renowned artists. The event takes place at Fairyhouse just 30 minutes from Dublin City Centre. It marks a return to Ireland for future star Shall Ocin, who graced the decks as the recently closed Twisted Pepper earlier this year. The producer has been on an astronomical rise since winning the support of Maceo Plex. We caught up with Ocin, ahead of highly anticipated performance to get his views on making the grade at Ellum, production and his love for the black stuff…
WWD: Where are you right now and what has the schedule been like this week?
Right now I am in Georgia. Today is Sunday and I play here, on wednesday. I´ll play in Croatia on the Barrakud festival, on thursday I´ll play on the official festival boat after party, on Friday on DGTL Barcelona and on Tuesday on Il Grido, in Italy.
WWD: Boxed Off Festival sees you returning to Ireland, can us tell us a bit about your recent trip to the Twisted Pepper?
I loved the energy from the crowd and the hospitality from the promoters. It was a great experience and I would love to be back.
WWD: Have you developed a taste for the Guinness yet?
Yes, in fact I´ve been drinking Guinness for a long time. People say it’s healthy (as much as a beer can be), it is one of my favourites.
WWD: The festival comes after a very busy Summer of gigs for you, what have been the highlights?
Amnesia Ibiza, Cocorico, Spybar, Tini Soundgarden, Trade Miami, Hideout, Dream Festival… It´s hard to pick up the best moments, it would be
impossible to name every good club or festival I´ve played this summer.
WWD: Has it been hard to find time to produce with so much going on?
In fact I am having a internal struggle about this. Maybe I will take some time without travelling so I can come back to the studio a bit more and
spend the time it deserves.
WWD: It’s not easy to make the grade at Ellum. I know a lot of artists would love find out… What do you think it was about your music that
attracted the label?
I just made music with personality. I think they might be looking for something different.
WWD: With such a big reputation, do you feel any pressure from the label’s high standards?
I feel this pressure, but the biggest pressure about my music comes from
myself and my desire to make it always better.
WWD: Talking production, what have you got coming up?
My next releases are an EP on Hotflush, another one on Ellum and some
remixes i´ve been working on.
WWD: The line-up for Boxed Off is huge! Anyone you’d love to see play?
That`s a very hard question. So many great artists, I can’t pick up just
one name.
WWD: Aside from Boxed Off, what are the other big dates on the horizon for you?
Warung´s anniversary in Brazil. Barrakud, DGLT Barcelona, ADE, Piknik
Electronic Barcelona, Amnesia Ibiza, etc…