Shubostar

"The experience of being a DJ inspires me"

© Kim Jimi

Hailing from South Korea, Shubostar has been immersing herself in the ever evolving underground scene of South Korea and Thailand and now in Mexico. Has been on the road, reaching cities far and wide, and deep into the crevasses of the underground electronic music scene, for quite some time now, making strong impressions on and making an even stronger impression in every culture or style she ever steps foot into. It could be defined her music style as Cosmic disco – A base of disco but with more techno elements, often referred to as Dark Disco. 2018, She decided to launch her own label uju Records with Korean painter Daryung kim, inviting her favorite artists in the genre.

When and how did you get your interest in electronic music?

When I was young I loved playing computer games. (of course, even now) I had another life in virtual space. During playing games what I was listening to? was midi music. So the music from gameboy or MS-DOS games was my first electronic music.

Computer games were a big part of my life. I wanted to be a computer game programmer. So I entered a special highschool to learn how to make computer games. In order to make a good quality game I started to make midi music on my own. That was my first step into electronic music.

How did you decide to dedicate into djing?

I had a DJ friend who had all the equipment for playing when I was in University. He let me know how to play. After that I started to play small parties then had some chances to play in big clubs.

What is your criterion when you are dj sets? What inspires you?

The basic concept of my DJ set is that I play what I want to listen to. DJ booth is my favorite place to dance. Mostly I have plenty of space only for myself - I don’t need to worry about stepping on people's toes.

Before going to play I always simulate the stage in my mind and make a list. I imagine the size of the stage, the crowd and the air. Most of the time it’s working pretty well. So I would say the experience of being a DJ inspires me.

How do you assess the trajectory you have had and what were the reasons that led you to start it?

I only have this, Working on the music scene is my everything.

You had a huge touring schedule last year. Is there anything you do to warm up before you go on the road, to get yourself into the right headspace?

Just pack well, go to the airport early and finish all the work. Nothing special!

Were there any gigs that surprised you?

Pitch Art & Music 2020 was. Normally I get the connection between the crowd with me after playing some tracks but at Pitch I directly felt the connection right after I started. It was the main stage so it was quite huge, but I didn't get nervous. I felt all the ravers in front of me were my old friends. After playing at Pitch I fell in love with Aussie ravers.

What was the last track that you heard that really blew you away?

Bruxas - Más Profundo

What’s been the most difficult lesson you’ve learned since you first started your career?

It’s still difficult for me, maybe until I quit my job - When I’m in a slump. Spending many hours everyday but can’t get any good result is a pain in the ass. For me there is no other answer except keep doing as usual.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

When I was having a hard time, my mom told me the story about “How Success is Like a Chinese Bamboo Tree”.

Like any plant, growth of the Chinese Bamboo Tree requires nurturing – water, fertile soil, sunshine. But in its first year to fourth, we see no visible signs of activity. And finally in the fifth year we experience growth. The Chinese Bamboo Tree grows 80 feet in just six weeks.

But we can’t say it grows only in fifth year. If we stopped nurturing within the first to fourth year it may have died. Success is like this. It is never easy. It’s slow to show any progress. It’s frustrating and unrewarding at times. But it is so worth it…. especially if we can be patient and persistent.

Could you recommend a set that you are especially proud of it, and that we can see on your Soundcloud or on YouTube?

My set for Novel (Australia), It's a very special set, not common my style. You can listen to the original 80s analog synthesizer cosmic disco.

How did you come up with the remix? What inspired you? What do you like the most about the Ali X x Ximena track?

To be honest, making this remix didn't take so long time. I'm kinda familiar with Ximena's voice so the first time when I was listening original version, I already got some ideas.

First I did was making a fat-acid bassline. Actually this bassline with Ximena's voice inspired me so adding other elements went really quickly.

I like the raw synthesizer sounds with Ximena's gangster style voice from Ali X x Ximena track. 

What can you tell us about the scene of your city? What would you improve?

Now I’m based in Mexico City, so I will talk about it. Actually Mexico is an amazing country to be a DJ. Because many cities have their own scene so DJs could have many opportunities to play other cities and actually I play more outside of Mexico City so maybe better talk about “The scene in Mexico”.

One thing I like most in Mexico scene is that they support local artists a lot. Of course it’s because there are a bunch of great artists in Mexico. Not even DJs, there are really good local parties and festivals. Not only Friday to Saturday, on Sunday they have the best parties and even weekdays - like Tuesday you could go to clubs. I would say the scene in Mexico is quite well developed. I actually don’t have any idea how I can improve this scene because it’s already the best!

Finally, what can you tell us about your present and future projects?

Well, now I’m working on EP. My goal is to release my babies on the best labels. Then I will focus more on my label uju Records. I still have a lot of artists I want to invite to make remixes. As the rule of my label is one EP always with my original and one other artist’s remix that means if I want to invite someone I should make my original track. This rule always helps me to get motivated.