From the hotbed of talent that has risen out of the Middle East, Shai T’s star burns brightly in the dance music firmament. At the cutting edge of the underground scene with a unique sonic palette and an ability to harness the full gamut of genres, from deep, tech and progressive house, to forays into techno and electronica, Shai’s music paints a vivid picture of refined natural talent.

Operating out of his Tel Aviv home, Shai began his musical voyage at a young age, as A multi-instrumentalist and accomplished performer, music had always been an overriding passion for the Israeli star and a guiding force on his career trajectory, almost “like the universe pushed me there…”. Consequently, Shai quickly found himself performing across the local scene as a headline DJ for the city’s leading nightclubs.

As his talent became widely recognised, DJ performances have extended far beyond Israeli borders as Shai became a renowned international artist performing at a host of world-famous venues. Thus, global performances across the continents have seen Shai T’s talents behind the decks sparkle in a career that continues to gather pace on a steep upwards trajectory, supported by an ever-growing legion of fans.

In tandem, a production career has witnessed a growing evolution of the Shai T sound that has seen him a first choice for booking agents and leading record labels alike. With a decade’s worth of commercial releases under his belt, 2018 became a catalyst for a rise to greater prominence with an appearance on the number 1 best-selling “Summer Sol” series via the aptly titled “Believe”. Shining the spotlight firmly on Shai, the track was a notable highlight for the highly influential and successful Sol Selectas imprint. Since then, appearances on All Day I Dream, Anjunadeep, Lost Miracle and TRYBESof have all catapulted Shai T to the attention of the underground music fraternity with an immaculate blend of intricate rhythms, flowing melodic lines and organic sounds. Top 10 Beatport hits have followed with the deep house vibes of Shai T’s “Our Time” on All Day I Dream and the 2020 melodic house gem, “Where the Heart is” for Lost Miracle.

Sitting proudly in the top 10 Beatport Organic House artist rankings in the latter half of 2020 – Shai T’s foray into the newly emerging genre has seen him create a tidal wave of success. Indeed, “Illusions” for the blue-chip, Do Not Sit On The Furniture has dominated the Beatport Organic House charts sitting at number one for the entire month of September 2020.
Similarly, the “Miracles” EP on the ever-reliable TRYBESof continued Shai’s supremacy at the end of November with another number 1 Organic House hit for the title track. Companion track, “Storyteller”, completed a clean sweep for the EP as it sat alongside at number 2. Starting 2021 amazingly, Shai hit the charts with a 3rd number One in a row, with his remix for “Hoffnung”.

Continuing to lead from the front in an unprecedented and challenging time for the music industry, Shai T’s undoubted talent finds him establishing a host of new and exciting projects over the coming months. Passion, talent and technique place Shai as a continued and growing force in the world of underground dance music as he weaves a magical sonic tapestry of powerful storytelling and aural splendour.

We are happy to bring you this interview we had with one of the organic house rising star’s – Shai T.

WWD: Hello Shai, it’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Tell us please, where do we find you these days?

Hey 😊 Pleasure to be here, and thank you for having me. These days mostly in a mix between the studio and playing in events. Well, I live in Israel, which thank god has been back to normality from the covid19 crises, so we can act and move freely, and we have our nightlife back, with no restrictions and it feels amazing to be back again. Of course, it’s still not the ultimate situation, as the international gigs are hardly happening, but I guess that’s a good start, at least for the local scene.

WWD: How did the Covid19 crises affect you, and how do you see the near future?

I think the covid19 crisis has been affected me the same way it has affected most of the artists… learning to struggle with the new situation of no gigs, no shows, and flights, and only studio time is the only thing left from the “normal days”. Its been a very though year, but at the same time, during this year I learned to value lot’s of simple things in life, that we used not to notice them (like family time and etc.) About the future – we can see how’s it going now here in Israel, as everything back to normal, so I’m pretty optimistic for the rest of the world too, to be back on track soon.

WWD: How’s the nightlife industry in Israel doing now, once your country is the first one to be fully open and back to normal?

As I mentioned above, For the beginning of June 2021 – All is totally open, with no restrictions at all. The fact that we have been vaccinated most of our population has brought us to the point in which the numbers are close to zero (0) each day, and we hardly have sick people in hospitals, so the government approved to the nightlife industry to open wide, just as it was before the crises.

WWD: You have been reached the #1 spot on Beatport 3 times in less than a year. How do you feel about it? Anything this status brings with?

Well, it’s always a positive thing to reach the #1 spot on the charts. Honestly, I didn’t expect to reach it 3 times in less than a year, but I’m very happy that it happened 😊 I think that once your music becomes more and more popular, reaching the top positions on the charts and having more and more followers, you feel with yourself more and more pressure with each and every track you release, to be at least in the same “standards” of the music that you have been released already. So these achievements does somethings, which is the efforts to always try to improve your productions.

WWD: Any artists you can name that you especially like or feel musically connected with?

I have many artists I’m feeling connected to as for the music style, the vibe, and the productions they are producing. I think that here in Israel we have many talented artists in our genre (Organic / melodic / progressive), but if I have to name one I’m especially connected to, I would say, Sebastien Leger, as I feel that our musical roots, the place we come to the electronic music from, is the same (funky music, soul music, and etc. ). His productions always have the right balance between groove to the melodic part, and as he managed to put himself time after time during 20 years in the front line of the industry.

WWD: We are catching you just as you are releasing 2 fresh releases – an EP with “Do not sit on the Furniture”, and a remix for Above & Beyond on “Anjunabeats”. How’s the feeling to remix Above & Beyond classic? How the connection been made?

Indeed ! 😊 the Ep on Do not sit has been released on the 18.6, and it’s the 2nd Ep with them, as the 1st one was very successful, and the top seller of the label. As for the Above and beyond remix – Its always a pleasure and a special feeling to remix legends, and Above & Beyond are legends in the electronic music industry. The connection happened after Tony from Above & beyond started to play some of my tracks, and once this remix project happened – the label contacted me and offer me to be a part of it. 😊

WWD: Any future plans from the studio we should be waiting for from you in the near future?

Oh yes 😊 sure. Some very nice music is coming soon, I can say that a very important Ep for me will be out on this August, and I still have more music to be released till the end of 2021. Same time, I keep on working on new music all the time, so stay tuned .

WWD: Do you believe the nightlife industry worldwide will be back to normal as it was before the Covid19 crisis?

Yes, I do think and believe all will be restored. The only thing is that we all will have to go by a process, like mostly “Open air” venues and some crowd restrictions , at least till the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, but slowly and surly , things will be back to safety and normal.

WWD: Any special words or tip’s for the fans and young producers out there?
First – big thanks to all the fans and supporters of the music industry in general, and our scene. The love and support you are showing, is a massive thing for us the artists, during this crazy year, so Thanx again. For the young producers – one tip only, which is ALWAYS KEEP BELIEVING, and never quit, even if things don’t work for you. Do your thing, and success will come.

WWD: Thank you, Shai, for this interview, it’s been a pleasure.
Shai T’s remix for Above & Beyond out now on Anjunabeats.