Food, music, technology and art rank high in Red Bull Music's Ameeth Shah

Published Nov 23, 2018

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Red Bull Music hosted its South African National Finals of the World 3Style Championships at The Werehouse in Durban recently, where DJs went head to head to secure their spot in the World Finals taking place in Taiwan in January. 

Red Bull Music 3Style is the global platform that has been advancing and celebrating the culture of DJing since 2010.  

 

Each DJ had fifteen minutes to play and showcase at least three different music genres and Durban’s Ameeth Shah was victorious and was crowned South Africa’s National Red Bull Music 3Style Champion. 

Shah, 31, is a creative aficionado who loves music, technology, art and food. 

Shah said he became a DJ when he was still little, playing around with his father’s records and breaking the needles on his turntables. 

“I just always loved listening to music, buying music, recording stuff of the radio. In 1999 I became a bedroom DJ, using a computer with some DJ software alongside one turntable and a mixer trying to learn the art of mixing and beat matching until I gained enough confidence to ask my mother to invest in a pair of decks for me so I could pursue this further,” he said.

Shah said what inspired him is that his father was a DJ back in the late seventies and eighties and there were other family members who followed in his footsteps being involved in the sound and music business which influenced him a lot but it was when he first started sneaking into clubs and matinee parties from a young age that the buy bit him the more he saw DJs moving crowds and just connecting people through the power of music. 

He said it took him months of preparation for the competition to get everything together. 

“I have been writing ideas down from the beginning of the year and once I found out I was selected to be in the competition, I started exploring everything deeper and building upon those ideas to try and tell a story in a unique and creative manner. It was such a challenging process and the aim of my set was just to have fun and showcase everything I’m all about which I’m so grateful came together and connected the audience and judges. I tried to incorporate all of my skills and throw in South African trends throughout the set to make it fresh as possible, Trial and Error was my best friend or worst enemy”

“I’m absolutely ecstatic to be representing my country and I am just a tad bit nervous because this is such a massive opportunity and there’s going to be so much of talent around me for more than a week. It can be intimidating but I’m just going to do my best and have fun and showcase what i’m all about along with where I’m from,” said Shah. 

Asked about the future and growth of the DJ scene in SA, he said it is growing rapidly and thanks to competitions like the 3Style.

  

“The next generation of DJ’s are being born all the time and it’s pushing our culture forward in a diverse manner. With DJ’ing being easily accessible these days, There’s a lot more upcoming guys taking a shot at it even if it’s just a part time hobby. It’s still incredibly tough to get yourself out there as social media and having a strong following, presence is the key these days for booking gigs and guest slots in venues. When I first started, all you needed was talent and nowadays you gotta play a lot more roles.” 

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