Interview with Shane Aungst – DJ behind the Face The Beat 6 Megamix

Earlier this week we launched a mega mix of “Face The Beat: Session 6”, once again executed by Seattle (United States) based DJ Shane Aungst who seems to have really fallen in love with the series. The 100 minutes and 4 seconds long mix features a total of 24 tracks all taken from the massive setlist of “Face The Beat: Session 6”, lots of samples and is available now on Bandcamp as a free download.

Time to call Seattle again and talk with Shane.

SL: Shane, you have realized two very different sides in the megamix, Side A is more laid back while Side B is more up tempo. Was that split in approach already pre-planned?

SA: I didn’t have a set plan going into the project, I spent a lot of time listening to all the tracks and just went with what had the right groove for me. There were a dizzying amount of songs to choose from and I felt terrible for having to pass on so many. My selection process came down to my headphones, a few joints, and a couple late nights listening to the tracks repeatedly

SL: You put quite some work in getting samples etc added. Can you explain how you exactly started on this megamix?

SA: I spent a number of days just sampling for this project. I then ran through my process as the mixes will normally have a number of edits, but I generally messed around with all the tracks in this project in some manner. I like to tell stories or go with a theme with mixes and or edits and I was working with a loose theme of the overall sampling on this mix as well.

I really enjoyed working on this project and have loved the variety of music that comes across these Face the Beat compilations and the sheer size of this volume 6 compilation was by far the largest compilation I have been a part of, even bigger than the 1995 RAS DVA There is No Time compilation.

SL: Besides this megamix, can you bring us up to speed with what you have been busy lately? Also what is in the planning for 2021?

SA: I’m always working on a mix of some type, I currently have two I’m working on to be posted to my Mixcloud account, I try and keep a new mix posted weekly. I have a livestream show for Temple 3 at the end of the month and I have done a few remixes as well as released my first solo track, an ambient track which you can check out below.

SL: Has the current health crisis had any impact on you as a musician?

SA: We have been under some type of shelter in place order since March here in Seattle, closing bars and clubs down. Jason Bangert (God Module) and myself both dj a large monthly fetish event at Kremwerk here in Seattle and I have really been missing the live shows and getting to see and interact with the crowd

I feel like 2021 is going to be a bit of a holding pattern with this pandemic, at least in the states, I don’t really see shows happening until late 2021 at the earliest so its been hard to plan. I had a couple invites for festivals in 2020 that obviously fell through and I’m hoping to get out of Seattle to play more (last show out of Seattle I played was in Brazil back in Dec of 2019).

The 2021 megamix

The megamix completed by Shane Aungst for the “Face The Beat: Session 6” compilation can be checked out right below.

The tracks featured are the following.

Side A

Cima Muta – Change The Color
Munich Syndrome – The Grind
White Cauldron – Emptytomb
Iris Manta – Inverted Aeons
Zauber – Sechs Krähen
Acylum – Sieg Oder Walhalla
Entrzelle – Feeling Heavy These Days
Amorphous – Confinamiento
Planetdamage – Form Follows Function
Llumen – Lifeline-Shibari
Sunao Inami – 2020-0814
Reichsfeind – Persona (Single Edit)

Side B

Blue Ant – Make Me Human
Last Activity – Neon
Modulo One – Gothenburg 2
Alien:Nation – Holographic Deathsphere
Binary Division – Zero Tolerance
Suppressor – Śūnyatā
Traumatize – Comatose (Remixed By Mas-Si-Osare)
Antibody – Sorrow
Synapsyche – Viva Insanity
Phil Stilles – Ordoliberal Final
LCM – Solitary Screamer
Epiphaneia – Unleash!

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