Anthony 'Shake' Shakir

Hailing from the home of techno, Detroit-based Anthony 'Shake' Shakir who started the labels Frictional and Puzzlebox in the 90s, made his name working with massive legends such as Derrick May and Carl Craig back in the day. This weekend, the pioneering DJ and producer will be landing in South London, headlining at Beyond the Clouds at Corsica Studios with support from Hessle Audio's Ben UFO, Lakuti (Süd Electronic), Bodyhammer/World Unknown's Joe Hart and Daniel Bell for one night to remember. Here, Dazed speak to him about his NASA space samples and current musical loves ahead of the event...

Dazed Digital: Having made music for so many years, how do you think your sound has changed over time?
Anthony Shake Shakir: I have never consciously thought about that other than wanting to make a record. So the key thought was simply to make a record I could play in my sets or something I thought would not sound dated five minutes after I made it. If it changed in any way it was due to the tools or equipment I used to make it. The sound quality definately improved.

DD: Has it been noticeable to you or a gradual thing, if so?
Anthony Shake Shakir: One choice I have made was to move away from trying to apply hip hop ideas or ideals to my tracks. This was a deliberate choice. You could probably point some things out to me that I am not aware I was doing.

DD: Collaborations are often a spontaneous thing, but in your dream world, is there anyone you'd wish to work with musically (dead or alive)?
Anthony Shake Shakir: I wanted to work with a lot of my peers but was afraid to ask because I would be found to be a fraud of some sort because I can not actually play an instrument. Since I stumbled through most of what I was doing, I keep on stumbling. I was looking forward to working with James Stinson as he had asked to do some collaborations with me. I was surprised and shocked by him asking me to do that, but he passed before that could happen. I have a little more confidence nowadays.

DD: Where was the weirdest place you've sourced a sample from?
Anthony Shake Shakir: A sample from NASA that was the sound of outer space. It is slowed down to make it sound like something decipherable. It is on the Space Probes track I did for an Italian label but it was Sherard Ingram's mix that made it work.

DD: Who are you listening to at the moment?
Anthony Shake Shakir: Africa Hi-Tech, Cooly G, Micron Audio, Cee-Lo Green, Norm Talley, Kyle Hall, Sound Stream and Hack, Steely Dan, The Spinners, and Parliament-Funkadelic.

DD: What are you most looking forward to next?
Anthony Shake Shakir: My first trip to Austrailia, and completing an album of new material.