Amirali - Beautiful World

Amirali Shahrestani seems to be the name on everyone’s lips ever since he was snapped up by Crosstown Rebels head-honcho Damian Lazarus. The young Iranian DJ/producer, who now resides in London, has his debut album In Time set to drop in May, and if the recently released single Beautiful World is anything to go by, it will be one of the crowning jewels in the Crosstown Rebels stable in 2012. Much mystery surrounds the man however, on the eve of his Australian tour, Amirali opens up about the pressures of impending stardom, experimenting with sounds and the album being a journey of self-discovery.

Pulse: You’ve only recently been thrust on to the underground house music radar as Damian Lazarus’ main contender for 2012. As a result, very little is known about you. What would you like the world to know about Amirali? Both personally and professionally? Amirali: What can I say… Well I’m a cool and down to earth guy who likes to hang out with like-minded people. I love to travel and explore the world. I’m really fascinated and obsessed with space. I see space as a mystery and mysteries are endlessly fascinating. I love reading and learning new stuff about it.
Professionally I can say that I don’t follow trends or any particular sound. I do what I think works best for me, and what I actually love and enjoy doing. Although it can be challenging at times but I guess that's a good sign.

You’ve just completed your architecture degree in London, which suggests you had other plans for your future. When did a career in music really start to take shape? Was it a choice or purely by chance? I always wanted to finish my degree in architecture; I really love it. I can always see a relation between music and architecture. My dad is also an architect and the plan was always to keep the family business alive. I have always focused on my music career and I’m super excited with the way things are headed. To be honest with you, right now music comes before anything else for me. Who knows maybe 10-15 years from now I would want to do something in the architecture field too.

Being signed by Damian Lazarus to Crosstown Rebels – one of the most innovative and successful underground house labels – seems like a golden ticket for a young DJ. It also comes with a lot of hype and expectations from the public. Are you feeling the pressure of being the new kid on the block? Yeah I can definitely feel the pressure, without a doubt, but it’s a good thing and I take it in a positive way because it makes me concentrate on my work a lot more. If I wasn’t feeling the pressure then I guess there must have been something wrong with me! Difficulties and challenges strengthen the mind and therefore my work. It pushes me to develop and progress more. After all life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.

Your debut single Beautiful World has just been released; you’re about to hit Australia for Rebel Rave, shortly followed by appearances at WMC, and Fabric. This pretty much takes you from musical obscurity to international recognition in the space of just over a month. What are your thoughts on the road ahead? I’m just looking forward to it and the good times ahead. I’m super thrilled by the amount of opportunities that have been given to me. I am truly blessed and grateful to be doing what I love and getting such praise and appreciation for it.

We’ve heard a little of your sound with Beautiful World, but what can we expect to see from you live? I’ve prepared a one-hour live set; I’m going to play some of the stuff from my album and also some other materials which is not on the album. I want to provide deep, thrilling emotional experiences in the human mind.

What was it like for you working with Damian Lazarus and the Crosstown crew? How much input has he had on the album? It’s been a great pleasure working with Damian; he has a great vision in what he does and I truly respect that. It all started when I kept sending him tracks and he kept telling me not to stop and keep going. We gathered about 18 tracks, and only chose 13 of them for the album. The mission from the beginning was to come up with more tracks than we needed and then pick and choose the ones that make an album complete. Most of the tracks are my own finished works and have been put in the album with no changes. But Damian had some great inputs on a few of the tracks and helped me put them in a place where they had to be put. He sent me some music to listen to and his comments along the way helped me to make some improvements. Overall he gave me so much freedom for this album and that’s why it made it very special. I was able to express my emotions, think and see things differently, which is amazing.

As a DJ and producer, do you prefer the studio or the stage?  I like them both and to be honest with you I think they both complement each other. Sometimes one feels that their productivity is empty or lacking and that’s when the traveling and gigs and the fans love for your music and performance inspires you. Traveling the world, making life experiences, meeting new people and learning about history and culture are a huge inspiration to anyone.

Your debut album, ‘In time’ took a year to finish and is set for release in May this year. Takes us through your creative vision for the album? What can we expect to hear and how does it reflect what you’re about musically?  Making this album was a period of self-discovery in which I got to know myself at a deeper level. In Time was basically an experimentation of my sound, and myself, which consists of 13 tracks. Each track has a different story to tell and is a reflection of my past. I think depression is a big part of my artistic life. Maybe depression is not the right word for it, but I think I have more sadness to give than happiness. For instance when I'm feeling gloomy I start working on a track, which portrays my state of mind, and to someone else it might sound happy. But the main thing is to feel it, giving you the chills, making you cry or even smile. Sometimes the happiness can be sad too. I hope I have achieved doing so.

Listen to Amirali on Pulse Radio