Words by Art Jefferson
Images courtesy of Eva Shaw
Eva Shaw is the very embodiment of the word multifaceted. A producer, songwriter, DJ and label boss, her ear for crafting hit records without compromising her creativity or integrity has allowed her to not only churn out massive songs as a solo artist, but has also given her the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in music…period. Although storming the dance and electronica circuits with ‘Charizma’ and ‘Space Jungle’, Eva Shaw demonstrated that she was equally as fierce when it came to Hip-Hop production, crafting pure, unadulterated bangers.
Raised in Toronto, music has always been a part of Eva Shaw’s life. The daughter of a jazz musician father, she began writing songs as a youth with her first endevours into producton happening as a teenager. Although a career in music would have seemingly been written in the stars for her, it would be the fashion industry where she would get her start after getting signed to a modelling agency while still a teen. Shaw found herself being flown to various cities thoughout Europe and The U.S. Her life as a model enabled her to not only relocate to New York City but also make money and reinvest it into DJ and music equipment, as that love yet again began calling her. Hitting the grind at full speed and playing parties around the New York area under the moniker of DJ Bambi, she eventually landed a residency at HQ Nightclub in Atlantic City, NJ. From there she transitioned over to Hakkasan in Las Vegas.
While Eva Shaw’s DJ career was steadily ascending, it would be Calvin Harris’ curiosity about the rising star that help to further catapult in her into the mainstream psyche. After messaging her via social media and inquiring about original production, she sent him over a few tracks, instantly capturing the superstar producer and DJ. Harris shortly signed Shaw’s song ‘Charizma’ to his Fly Eye imprint. The explosive tune got a world premiere on Tiësto’s ‘Club Life’ radio show and from there Eva Shaw began blazing the scene with follow-up cuts such as 2013’s ‘Get Down’ with Hard Rock Sofa and 2014’s ‘Space Jungle’, which got released via Spinnin’ Records with the infamous Showtek edit. ‘Space Jungle’ set the clubs on fire further propelling Shaw as one of the hottest producers in the genre. Keeping the fans flamed with cuts like the ‘Moxie’ and ‘N2U’ featuring the legendary Martha Wash, she released ‘Rise N Shine’ in 2016 which featured Grammy award winning singer and songwriter PooBear. In 2017 she unveiled her single ‘High’ featuring none other than Shaggy and Demarco. A sunny and festive offering, Eva Shaw would eventually find herself remixing a track for the one and only RiRi herself, Rihanna, for the song ‘Pose’ taken from her 2016 album Anti. Shaw also provided a remix for Ludacris’ 2017 single ‘Vitamin D’ featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Lending her talent to Showtek & MOTi’s 2018 single ‘Down Easy featuring Wyclef and Starley, by 2019 Eva Shaw shifted her production style to more Hip-Hop-oriented tracks, dropping ‘Snakes’ with City Fidelia featuring DB Bantino, ‘Free’ with rapper Booka Banks, her EP I Been Doing Great with Montréal’s Nate Husser, and her 2020 smasher ‘Splash God’ with Just John featuring Lord Afrixana and Swagger Rite, just to name a few. Insanely addictive, the musicality of her songs were highly distinctive and definitely grooving.
For her latest track entitled ‘Static’, Eva Shaw has connected with fellow Canadians Kofi and Ching who are both flying the flag high for the Toronto Hip-Hop scene. With lush instrumentation laying atop bouncy drums, the single is yet another mountainous handing that is chart-friendly with that golden touch that we’ve come to expect from the musical wonder.
Your journey into music is quite interesting. You were already producing tracks as a teenager but then got signed for modelling. During those early stages of producing, were there already thoughts of wanting to pursue music professionally or did that happen over time?
Eva Shaw – I’ve always loved various aspects of the arts – from acting to singing and song writing, drawing and fashion. I started off writing music already when I was around 6 years old, and I had originally dreamed of being a singer. As a kid, I didn’t realise that being a music producer could be a career (I don’t even think I knew what that was). I tried playing some instruments but nothing really clicked fully for me. When I discovered music production software, I was hooked. I don’t think I realised it could be an actual career, though. When I moved to New York for modelling, I started DJing for fun on the side (for free). I gradually started getting paid for that but at that time I didn’t have any of my original music signed to a label – I just made it for my DJ sets. I didn’t consider the fact that I could make money from the songs I made on top of being paid to DJ and perform. I think that changed for me when Calvin Harris wanted to sign my first song. I started to get interest from a few dance labels like Spinnin Records to sign more music and I think it sort of developed alongside my DJ career. I eventually just stopped modelling all together since I didn’t really have time for it anymore. My main purpose of modeling in the first place was so that I could afford to pay for things like my production equipment, DJ setup at home and for my school. Although I am in music as a career, I consider myself an all around artist, so I probably will always dabble with various aspects of the arts.
Staying on your early teen days of producing tracks, had you already started delving into more dance-driven sounds?
Eva Shaw – It’s funny because I never listened to a lot of dance music as a kid. My dad was a jazz musician and around the house we mainly listened to funk, jazz & R&B. I had a pretty eclectic taste though, even as a tiny kid I’d listen to everything from classical music, to rap and rock. I got into dance music when I started to learn how to DJ. I started off being more into house and tech house music. I think it was a little more straightforward to learn in terms of production and even DJing. I listened to a few DJs like Carl Cox and went that direction at first, maybe because it was more popular in Toronto (in my circle). I quickly moved to liking a more aggressive electro house vibe. Deadmau5 and David Guetta -very different- but both early influences for me in that realm. I remember going to see a couple of EDM DJs like Hardwell playing in Toronto and I thought it was so cool how he mashed up the songs. It was fast mixing, loud and hectic and I loved that. I loved the rave aspect mixed with different genres. I really love a variety of music and I think that shows in not only my DJ sets but also my music productions. Being from Toronto may have something to do with my love for mixing things up. It’s such a multicultural city that I grew up exposed to so many different sounds and rhythms. Every genre and even sub genre of music has it’s own unique energy and vibe, and I can really appreciate that. I have DJed with every kind of electronic artist from John Digweed to Avicii. I don’t really look at genres and subgenres – I like everything.
Can you talk about your father’s musical impact on you? Also do you feel that being exposed to his jazz sounds and more helped to lay the foundation for you as an artist?
Eva Shaw – My dad plays so many instruments – I was always in awe how he could just pick up almost anything and play it. The music he and my mom listened to definitely influenced my style in a lot of ways. They love rhythmic grooves. One of the reasons I got a bit “EDM tired” was that I felt it was stiff. I liked the excitement of playing it live, but production wise, I have always wanted to do something more rhythmic. I’ve noticed that the dance music I am more driven to is from artists like Henry Fong or Diplo who really experiment with sounds, genres and rhythms. I do appreciate a good pop song, but I need something unique and different in a track. I get tired of the same old thing, and I look for songs that are hooky but different. I probably get that a bit from my dad since he has always been extremely unique in not only his music taste but also the way he plays chords and his choice in direction of sound musically. Doing things differently means you may have some more difficulty getting masses to like it, but it’s a lot more rewarding when something unique that you did actually clicks with people. I definitely have that in common with my dad.
In terms of the diversity of your music, whether it be dance on down to Hip-Hop, how has growing up in such a multicultural city like Toronto played a part in the wide palette of sounds that you incorporate in your tracks?
Eva Shaw – Growing up in Toronto, most of the kids I was around were all from different backgrounds. Most kids I knew had such strong culture coming from somewhere other than Canada. I think the beauty of Toronto is that people keep their culture, bring it to the country and share it with others. I always felt this was totally normal and beautiful. I grew up in Greek Town in Toronto so to me “home cooking” is souvlaki and spanikopita. I’m not greek but that reminds me of being a kid. All of the kids I knew had totally different and unique taste in food, music, sports and art. I think I got used to being exposed to such a variety of ideas that I just integrated whatever I liked into my life. My identity as a Canadian is that I don’t have an identity. I’m just me.
You have worked with heavy hitters including Rihanna, Wyclef, Sean Paul, Ludacris and the list continues. Is there any altering in the creative process in terms of working on songs for or with acts such as these versus your solo material, or is the process the same?
Eva Shaw – Anytime you’re producing for, or working with another artist you have to adjust. That’s basically every time I do a song since there’s usually always a vocalist involved (unless it’s a more instrumental EDM type of joint). Everyone has different ideas on what they like and how they work, so it’s a new experience every time. I usually like to think about what I would like to hear the artist doing and then I create a beat or vibe that I personally would like to listen to. I don’t really like just sending beats to people, because you never know where someone is at, creatively, in their head at that moment. If you want to work with DaBaby and you go listen to ‘Suge’, you don’t necessarily just go and send him something that sounds like ‘Suge’. You gotta pick his brain to see what direction he’s going. For all you know he wants to get into some emotional sounds and wants to switch it up. You have to get a sense from an artist if they want to go in a new direction, and/or if they’re open to the idea of you bringing them to a new direction. There’s definitely an insecurity when you work with someone you look up to, though. I think that confidence develops with time and experience, so I’m still working on that. There have been times I wanted to bring someone into another realm of sound but I was too shy and at this point I may do it differently since I have gained more experience in the last couple of years. Someone like Wyclef really surprised me though, how he really asked me what I wanted to do and what ideas I had. Some people are more set on their ideas of how they want it to sound and others want to explore more. I actually find the bigger the artist the easier it can be to work with them. The smaller artists tend to be more closed minded and insecure, whereas bigger artists are more open to opinions and ideas. At the end of the day, all artists are in the same boat and we all want to make amazing music so if you can connect on that level, that’s all you can really ask for.
In terms of the way you approach Hip-Hop production, I love that there is this ‘otherness’ to it that fuses electronica, bounce, bass and more, which is a refreshing sound, not to mention allows emcees to totally deliver their best. I’m thinking of cuts like ’Splash God’ with Just John or even the tunes you did with Nate Husser. Can you talk about how you approach Hip-Hop production in comparison to the way you craft club and house?
Eva Shaw – Thank you! I would say that technically it’s quite different in terms of the sounds and what you’re looking to achieve. For me in a Hip-Hop track, it’s more important to get a groove and an overall vibe rather than it being “perfect”. I say that coming from a dance music production background where everything needs to be clean, loud, and punch a certain way for performance purposes. Dance music is really made to be performed and the big room style is obviously made to play in a big room. Even looking at subgenres like Tech house – you really need another venue for that sound since the beats can get lost in the reverb of a big room. OG EDM tracks like Quintino’s ‘Epic’ or Martin Garrix’s ‘Animals’ were some of those EDM songs that really filled the room and the space in the production. Of course there are hiphop tracks that also work in a big room situation like ‘Mo Mamba’ – a ton of EDM DJs play this one as well because it works live in that environment. The thing with hiphop is that a lot of people also listen to it in the car, at home , on headphones and in different spaces so the subtleties of the beats and sounds can be appreciated more. It’s all kind of blurring now though with rappers like 6ixNine screaming and all, that kinda stuff is similar to arena rock in that sense that it’s made for the big rooms and performance as well. Sometimes I try to make things with that thought of “where are people listening to this?” and sometimes I just make something I like and hope it clicks with someone somewhere. When I was making mainly big room EDM, I really mainly considered the actual room and space and if the song would elevate my DJ sets. Now when I make songs I consider those other aspects like the warmth and intricacies of the production with the idea that listeners are on other platforms like spotify and not necessarily listening at those festival settings. At the end of the day, It’s more about where your listeners are consuming the music that will determine how you approach the creation of it. Regardless of genre.
Your new single ‘Static’ features Toronto’s own Kofi and Ching. Now Kofi has been making waves over the past couple years with tracks like ‘Came Up’, ‘Ballin’, etc. and is definitely repping for Scarborough. Ching is another one who is in the now generation of Toronto artists who are proving that they can stand sonically against any of the biggest acts on the charts right now. What made you decide to feature those specifc artists on this single?
Eva Shaw – I started working with more Canadian rappers since I’ve been doing more Hip-Hop production. There’s a lot of talent back at home and I feel I can connect a lot with Canadian artists. They also tend to have a wide range of taste musically, and a lot of them are just nice to work with. I really liked Kofi’s vibe and I reached out to him probably a year ago now. I appreciated the fact that he started off with music production and engineering, and I thought his work sounded super professional and competitive. He actually got Ching on the record, and once I was introduced to him, I was pretty blown away by his talent as well. I think the contrast between their voices adds to the track and was inspiring to work with. I like to work with artists who I feel have a lot of potential to touch people worldwide. Both Kofi and Ching have so much talent and the business minds to achieve a lot of success and they’re humble and good people.
Aside from the musicality on the production being extremely melodic, I also love the dynamics of Kofi and Ching vocals on the same track. Stylistically and even tone-wise, they really compliment one another. Is that something that you forsaw early on before reaching out to them?
Eva Shaw – It’s funny because they actually recorded on a slightly different beat. I have had this obsession with wanting to do beat switch ups part way through the tracks. It probably comes from my DJ background of wanting to mash stuff up, but I also am inspired by one of my favourite tracks of all time – ‘Sicko Mode’ by Drake and Travis Scott. It’s a totally different track, but the idea of doing two different beats in one song is so fun to me because it’s a real challenge to make it work. I did it in ‘Splash God’ as well and I was just really feeling it and I am still experimenting with that mind set.
Although NYC is where you career might have launched, how does it feel to see Toronto being a city that is now one of the top places in terms of impactful and influential artists?
Eva Shaw – I really feel in the last few years Toronto has been placed on the map and has a lot of respect worldwide. It’s probably partly thanks to Drake and the Raptors, but Canada as a whole, has a LOT of talent (and undiscovered talent). When you think about the population size and how many successful people are Canadian, it’s pretty impressive. Not only in the arts but in business as well. I’ve met tons of Canadians since moving to the U.S. and they keep popping up everywhere. I think these days people just want to work with good people, and Canadians are generally a pretty honest, decent group. There are a lot of things I didn’t fully appreciate about Toronto growing up. I always felt the music industry, art and fashion was so much better in the U.S and that’s why I moved. I’m just happy there’s a shift now, and I feel I can accomplish more at home than I ever could have before.
2020 has been definitely trying for many musicians. How do you foresee 2021 in terms of playing live again and also what do you have forthcoming this year.
Eva Shaw – It was definitely difficult not only monetarily for a lot of artists but also not being able to tour, and even having trouble being able to film and record in studios. Being a producer, I do a lot of work on my own regardless, and a lot of rappers now are great at recording their own vocals. We’ve still been able to work remotely, which in some ways is similar to what it’s like when we’re on tour. It’s normally hard to connect with other artists to record or get videos filmed due to busy schedules so that isn’t totally different in that sense. It’s a new challenge to find new ways to make money, especially for the artists who are signed to major label deals and who maybe don’t get to see a lot of their royalties. I think this whole situation will push artists to get more creative in trying to figure out ways to make money from their brand. I know some artists are still doing shows amidst the pandemic, but in principle I don’t agree with it so I am not participating as I feel not enough people are being responsible. I do understand it though, since a lot of artists’ main source of income is live shows. I’ve been focusing on making sure my music gets better and better and I have also been developing a new look with my music videos which I will be launching this year. I’m also prepping at least one album and a remix album so I plan to drop a LOT of music this year. I’m also beginning to sign a couple of rappers to my own label Mad Fatti. There are so many talented artists out there and I feel I can really develop some of them. 2021 will be about growing the Eva Shaw / Mad Fatti crew and I couldn’t be more excited for it.
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