Booka Shade and Rashid Ajami collaborate on the stunning and powerful track «Memories», available now on Blaufield Music!
A growing name within melodic house and techno, with releases through Get Physical, Tale & Tone, Anjunadeep, Einmusika and Selador, London-born DJ and producer Rashid Ajami is a multifaceted talent.
Originally discovered by Maya Jane Coles in 2012, her years since have welcomed a steady stream of material, including collaborations with the likes of Julia Govor; «Memories» marks their biggest collaboration to date, as they join forces with the legendary German duo.
Fusing delicate organic drums with towering synth lines, distorted bass lines, and captivating vocals throughout, the epic «Memories» captures that late-summer feel and transports lighter, sun-kissed opening tones to deeper, bespoke territories. that listeners travel between light and darkness.
We have had the pleasure of interviewing Rashid Ajami and this has been the result.
Hi! Where can we find you right now? How did you start your day?
Hey! I’m in London at the moment, which is my hometown. I started my day with a double espresso and a long walk in the park!
What was your first foray into the world of electronic music?
I’ve been listening to electronic music since the age of 13! I’ve always been inspired by this genre of music. Finally, at university I decided to start producing music myself. The rest is history.
You’ve just dropped a new collaboration, your first with Booka Shade – ‘Memories’ is such a powerful track! How does it feel getting that out into the world?
It’s really exciting to see it out in the world. The track is very special to me and I’m so happy to see such a positive response so far. It’s also such a great feeling to collaborate with such a respected and legendary duo like Booka Shade!
We also love your EP ‘Never Knew’ out on TOR. What was the concept behind that one?
I would define it as a journey across a spectrum of sounds. The title track Never Knew incorporates live piano and emotive vocals whereas Chasing Ghosts is heavier and more synthy. Still Think Of You sits somewhere in the middle with a warm organic electronic sound. The concept was to create emotion through a variation of sounds and styles, but still with unity across the EP.
What artists are you interested in these days?
I’m very interested in audiovisual artists such as Ryoji Ikeda and Bill Viola. In terms of music, I like a lot of the stuff coming out on the label Ghostly eg Galcher Lustwerk and Mary Lattimore.
You always have such a fluid sound, with so many genres popping up – is this just something that comes naturally to you?
Yes, I think it’s just my natural approach to making music. I try not to think of genres or specific sounds when making music. What comes is what comes!
How would you define your sound?
This is a really tough one as I find it hard to put a definition on my own music. I would say it’s music that is primarily driven by emotion and real-life experiences. I like to tap into sounds that provoke an array of different feelings within people.
We’d love you to share a set of yours with our readers that you really love; and then tell us a little about it, where did you put it together etc?
I recently put together a set for DJ Mag Spain. I really enjoyed recording it and it definitely highlights the sounds I’m enjoying at the moment! Here is a link:
Can you tell us something about your future projects? We’ve heard that there will be an NFT drop coming from you in the coming months… anything you can share with us in advance of this?
Yes! I’ve dropped my NFT called “Falling Through Eternity”, including six visual pieces each with unique music! I’m also working on an audio/visual exhibition that explores what it means to be human, which is something I’m very passionate about. Lastly, I’ve recently launched a new radio show called Reveal which can be found via my Soundcloud!
Rashid Ajami & Booka Shade ‘Memories’ is Out Now on Blaufield. Get it here: