Roger Shah (; born on 29 November 1972), also known as DJ Shah and Sunlounger, is a German

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

composer and producer.

Biography

History

Roger Shah was born in Esslingen,

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, to a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

mother and a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

father. His brother Pedro del Mar (real name Patrick Shah), also a trance DJ, hosts a bi-weekly vocal trance show called Mellomania. Roger first began to hit his production stride in his native country in 1999, putting out the tracks "Claps", "The Mission", and "Tides of Time". In 2003,

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

imprint Nebula signed his "High" release. This marked his first non-domestic release, and over the next five years, he produced a range of trance labels such as

Black Hole Recordings Black Hole Recordings is a Dutch record label founded by Tijs Verwest (Tiësto) and Arny Bink in 1997. In August 2009, Tiësto decided to leave Black Hole Recordings, setting up the record label Musical Freedom in association with PIAS Entertai ...

, Anjunadeep and Vandit. Roger Shah was featured in

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lati ...

Top 100 list five times. As a producer, he has worked with and produced for artists such as

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

, Armin van Buuren,

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. Van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electron ...

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Kosheen Kosheen are an Anglo-Welsh electronic music group based in Bristol. The group consist of singer-songwriter Sian Evans, songwriter-producer Ron Mcelroy and drummer Mitchell Glover. The name Kosheen derives from the name of a North American Apac ...

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and

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

The Armin Connection

In 2007, Armin van Buuren named Shah's "Who Will Find Me" release his favourite track of 2007. Having heard the demo of its follow-up, van Buuren saw crossover potential in the track and made contact in early 2008 to ask if Shah would like to collaborate. The result was the Chris Jones song " Going Wrong", which reached number 5 in

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The track went on to become one of the biggest-selling trance singles of the year. From there, Magic Island Records – Shah's primary label - moved from his stable to that of one of Armin's

Armada Music Armada Music is a Dutch independent record label that specialises in releasing electronic dance music. Armada Music was founded on 1 June 2003 by Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, Dutch business executive Maykel Piron, and music manager David ...

Solo albums

''Songbook'' was released by DJ Shah in 2008. Singles taken from it like "Don't Wake Me Up", "Going Wrong" and "Who Will Find Me". In 2011, this was followed up by another solo album, ''Openminded'', released under the name Roger Shah. Again, this featured two CDs, one with club and the other with album mixes.

Live and DJ performances

In late 2008, Shah decided to change his artist name. Dropping the 'DJ' prefix, he revised it to Roger Shah – which signalled a move away from straightforward DJ sets. Roger Shah frequently uses a wireless keyboard interface such as the M-Audio Oxygen 25 (25-key USB midi controller) during live performance. Roger Shah has mentioned numerous times that he will perform with his laptop instead of CDs.

Pseudonyms and side projects

In addition to his name, Roger has also produced under various other aliases. Notable among them are DJ Shah, High Noon at Salinas, Magic Island, Savannah and Sunlounger. Shah is also one half of the

Anjunabeats Anjunabeats (, ) is a British record label started in 2000 by producers Jonathan "Jono" Grant and Paavo Siljamäki of Above & Beyond. Initially, Anjunabeats was only a trance music label, and it started releasing trance-edged house in 2011. T ...

act Purple Moods and in many more groups such as Global Experience and Black Pearl.

Sunlounger

This project included the release of the '' Another Day on the Terrace'' album in 2007, which reached No.1 on Dutch iTunes' 'all-music-genres' chart and spawned four singles: "In & Out", "Aguas Blancas", "Crawling", and "White Sand". The project became so celebrated that Roger expanded Sunlounger into a live act - a performance that was featured on Armada's ArminOnly DVD. He credited this experience with his latter wholesale move into live Roger Shah performances. In 2009, Roger released the Sunlounger follow-up LP '' Sunny Tales''. Its progeny singles included "Catwalk", "Mediterranean Flower", "Change Your Mind", and the much-revered "Lost" - voted as Tune of the Year for 2008. A State of Trance radio show was hosted by Armin van Buuren and numerous #1 airplay positions across the globe. His third album, '' The Beach Side of Life'', was released in 2010.

Magic Island: Music for Balearic People – The Compilations

Shah's compilation series has seen eleven outings (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022).

Remixes

Shah has reworked tracks for vocalists like

and Nadia Ali. He has also remixed tunes for

, Armin van Buuren, Mark Norman,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Cosmic Gate Cosmic Gate is a German DJ duo consisting of trance music producers Claus Terhoeven (born 1972) and Stefan Bossems (born 1967). Both hail from Krefeld, Germany. On October 28, 2009, ''DJ Magazine'' announced the results of their annual Top 100 ...

Josh Gabriel Josh Gabriel is an American electronic dance music DJ and producer, most known for his collaborative partnership Gabriel & Dresden with Dave Dresden. History Early years (1988–2000) In 1988-89, a 20-year-old exchange student from California ...

, Johan Gielen,

System F System F (also polymorphic lambda calculus or second-order lambda calculus) is a typed lambda calculus that introduces, to simply typed lambda calculus, a mechanism of universal quantification over types. System F formalizes parametric polymorph ...

The Thrillseekers Steve Helstrip, known by the stage name the Thrillseekers, is an English DJ and record producer. His debut single was "Synaesthesia", released in 1999. Helstrip has worked under the guises of En Motion, Insigma, Rapid Eye and Hydra. He also w ...

Solarstone Richard Mowatt, (born in 20 October 1972), commonly known by his stage name Solarstone (formerly spelled Solar Stone), is a British trance DJ and producer based in Birmingham and Wales. The music project Solarstone was founded in 1997 as a tri ...

, Three Drives,

Matt Darey Matthew Jonathan Darey (born 29 November 1968) is an English trance music producer and performer. Darey has sold over two million albums and singles with numerous top 40 chart hits. Music career Darey was born in Leicester, England. Some of his ...

and OceanLab.

Discography

DJ Shah

Albums

* ''DJ Shah'' (2000) * ''Songbook'' (2008)

Singles

* "Claps" (1999) * "Commandments" (1999) * "Riddim" (2000) * "Tides of Time" (2001) * "High" (2002) * "Sunday Morning" (2003) * "Sunset Road" (with

) (2004) * "Beautiful" (feat.

Jan Johnston Jan Johnston (born 13 October 1968, Salford, England) is an English professional singer & songwriter, best known for collaborating with some of the world's top trance music DJs and producers. Career In the early 1990s, she was signed to Colu ...

) (2006) * "Palmarosa" (2007) * "Who Will Find Me" (2007) (feat. Adrina Thorpe) * " Going Wrong" (with Armin van Buuren, feat. Chris Jones) (2008) * "Don't Wake Me Up" (feat. Inger Hansen) (2008) * "Back to You" (feat. Adrina Thorpe) (2008)

Roger Shah

Albums

* ''Openminded!?'' (2011) * ''Music for Meditation Yoga & Any Other Wellbeing Moments'' (2016) * ''No Boundaries'' (2018) * ''Guardian of Dreams'' (with LeiLani) (2020) * ''Dinner For Two'' (with Tom Benscher) (2022)

Singles

* "You're So Cool" (with Tenishia, feat. Lorilee) (2009) * "To the Sky" (feat. Chris Jones) (2009) * "I'm Not God" (with Tenishia, feat. Lorilee) (2009) * "Healesville Sanctuary" (with Signum) (2009) * "Hold On" (with

Judge Jules Julius O'Riordan (born 26 October 1965), better known by his stage name Judge Jules, is a British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer. He is known for his DJ activities, music production and long-running radio show which ac ...

, feat. Amanda Angelic) (2010) * "Catch a Cloud" (with Tenishia, feat. Lorilee) (2010) * "Ancient World" (with Signum) (2010) * "Over & Over 2010 / Guaba Beach" (2010) * "Morning Star" (feat.

) (2011) * "Hide U (with Sian Kosheen) (2011) * "Shine" (with Sian Kosheen) (2012) * "Perfect Love" (with Fila, feat. Adrina Thorpe) (2012) * "Dance With Me" (feat. Inger Hansen) (2012) * "One Love" (feat. Carla Werner) (2012) * "Island" (feat. Adrina Thorpe) (2012) * "Higher than the Sun" (feat. JES & Brian Laruso) (2013) * "One Life" (feat. DJ Feel and Zara) (2014) * "No Brainer" (2014) * "Hope" (with Nicholas Eli) (2014) * "Without You" (with

Sied van Riel Sied van Riel () is a Dutch trance music DJ and producer originally from Rotterdam but currently residing in Spijkenisse. He came into the scene in the year of 2006 with the production of his first track, "Fearless" and the following year was si ...

, feat. Jennifer Rene) (2014) * "The Namib" (with Pierre Pienaar) (2014) * "Eye 2 Eye (FSOE350 Anthem)" (with Aly & Fila, feat. Sylvia Tosun) (2104) * "Louder" (with

Paul Van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. Van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electron ...

, feat.

Daphne Khoo Daphne Khoo (born 22 January 1987) better known by her stage name Haneri is a Singaporean singer. She was a contestant in the first season of Singapore Idol, finishing up in fourth place (third runner up) during ''Asian Songs'' week. She was als ...

) (2015) * "Never Forget" (with Nathia Kate, feat. Amber) (2015) * "Love Heals You" (with Leilani) (2016) * "Reasons to Live" (with

) (2016) * "Unbreakable" (with Aly & Fila and Susana) (2016) * "Fire" (with Antillas and Zara Taylor) (2016) * "Castles in the Sky" (with Inger Hansen) (2017) * "Eternal Time" (feat. Leilani) (2017) * "Call Me Home" (with Aisling Jarvis) (2017) * "Skyarium" (with Taucher) (2018) * "Star-crossed" (with JES) (2018) * "For the One You Love" (with Ram, feat. Natalie Gioia) (2018) * "Hold Your Head Up High" (with Aisling Jarvis) (2018) * "A Different Part of Me" (with Susie Ledge) (2018) * "Ocean Flame" (feat. Kristina Sky) (2018) * "Without You" (with DJ Shog) (2018) * "Essence of Life" (with Leilani) (2019) * "When You're Here" (with Aisling Jarvis) (2019) * "Triumvirate" (with Stoneface and Terminal) (2019) * "Beautiful Lie" (with Yoav) (2019) * "Natural Order" (with Rene Ablaze) (2019) * "Save the World" (with Natalie Gioia) (2019) * "Controverse" (with Stoneface and Terminal) (2019) * "Patong Beach" (with George Jema) (2019) * "Epoch" (with Pierre Pienaar and Dirkie Coetzee) (2019) * "Malam" (with Dennis Sheperd and

Richard Durand Richard van Schooneveld (; born 5 April 1976), better known as Richard Durand (), is a Dutch disc jockey and record producer. Biography Starting his career in 2005, Durand was recommended by Tiësto as his 'Tip for the Top in 2007' in ''DJ ...

) (2020) * "Take Me Back" (with Kristina Sky, featuring Emma Shaffer) (2020) * "Firebird" (with Jukebox 80s) (2020) * "Daytona" (with Jukebox 80s) (2020) * "New Horizon" (with JES) (2023)

Compilations

* ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People'' (2008) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 2'' (2009) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 3'' (2010) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 4'' (2012) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 5'' (2014) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 6'' (2015) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 7'' (2016) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 8'' (2017) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 9'' (2019) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 10'' (2021) * ''Magic Island: Music For Balearic People Vol. 11'' (2022)

Sunlounger

Albums

* '' Another Day on the Terrace'' (2007) * '' Sunny Tales'' (2008) * '' The Beach Side of Life'' (2010) * '' Balearic Beauty'' (2013) * ''Sunsets & Bonfires'' (2021)

Singles

* "White Sand" (2006) * "Aguas Blancas" (2007) * "In & Out" (2007) * "Crawling" (2008) * "Catwalk / Mediterranean Flower" (2008) * "Lost" (feat. Zara) (2008) * "Change Your Mind" (feat. Kyler England) (2009) * "Found" (feat. Zara) (2010) * "Breaking Waves" (feat. Inger Hansen) (2010) * "Beautiful Night" (feat. Antonio Lucas) (2010) * "Try To Be Love" (feat. Zara) (2012) * "Finca" (feat. Rocking J) (2013) * "I'll Be Fine" (feat. Alexandra Badoi) (2013) * "Surrender" (feat. Chase) (2014) * "Glitter and Gold" (feat. JES) (2014) * "Sunkissed" (2015) * "Come As You Are" (feat. Inger Hansen) (2016) * "Dancing With a Ghost (with Eden Iris) "(2017) * "I Can Feel" (with Dennis Sheperd) (2020) * "One More Day" (with Ingsha) (2020) * "Hello Sunrise" (2021) * "Ok" (feat. Susie Ledge and Inger Hansen) (2021) * "On the Other Side (Remixes)" (2021) * "Halong Bay (Heatbeat Remix)" (2023)

Compilations

* ''Sunlounger – The Downtempo Edition'' (2010) * ''Armada Collected: Sunlounger'' (2014)

Savannah

Singles

* "Savannah La Mar" (2006) * "Body Lotion" (2009) * "Darling Harbour" (2010)

High Noon at Salinas

Albums

* ''Beach Grooves, Vol. 1'' (2017)

References

External links

Roger P. Shah at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Roger Living people German club DJs German dance musicians German remixers German trance musicians German people of Pakistani descent Armada Music artists Chill-out musicians 1972 births Music of the Balearic Islands German electronic dance music DJs