GЯEG is a rising DJ and producer hailing from Mauritius, an island situated in the southwest Indian Ocean. Now based in Paris, where he relocated in 2019, GЯEG has swiftly immersed himself in the city’s electronic music scene, with links to Parisian label Boukan Records, the La Creole collective, and Rinse France.
Here, GЯEG supplies a 45-minute primer on the dancehall-inspired sounds of shatta, the French Caribbean musical style exploding worldwide – you may have come across it on TikTok, or heard it soundtracking major fashion shows from luxury houses like Mugler – that GЯEG first discovered while at school in Mauritius.
“Shatta is a dancehall derivative from Martinique. It’s a style of music that began to make a name for itself in the 2010s, thanks to artists like Ti Blica and producers like DJ Vtrine and DJ Digital,” explains GЯEG. “Typical production elements are a big sub, a clap and a melody that’s generally dark and simple.”
Despite its burgeoning popularity in more recent years, a shift that has seen it rub shoulders with styles like tarraxo, reggaeton, ragga and moombathon, shatta had a “bad reputation” in the early days, according to GЯEG.
“I remember my first gigs at student parties where the club manager would say to me in Creole, ‘We don’t play shatta here’ because it was considered to draw a bad crowd. Today, the situation has changed. As the island is a breeding ground for beatmakers, I have to give a shout-out to producers like DJ Wayn, Mii Guel, Avi S, Ash, Helix Dynasty and Nick William who have made a major contribution to the growth of this type of music in Mauritius.”
Introduction to Shatta: Mixed by GЯEG
Introduction to Shatta: Mixed by GЯEG
GЯEG is a rising DJ and producer hailing from Mauritius, an island situated in the southwest Indian Ocean. Now based in Paris, where he relocated in 2019, GЯEG has swiftly immersed himself in the city’s electronic music scene, with links to Parisian label Boukan Records, the La Creole collective, and Rinse France.
Here, GЯEG supplies a 45-minute primer on the dancehall-inspired sounds of shatta, the French Caribbean musical style exploding worldwide – you may have come across it on TikTok, or heard it soundtracking major fashion shows from luxury houses like Mugler – that GЯEG first discovered while at school in Mauritius.
“Shatta is a dancehall derivative from Martinique. It’s a style of music that began to make a name for itself in the 2010s, thanks to artists like Ti Blica and producers like DJ Vtrine and DJ Digital,” explains GЯEG. “Typical production elements are a big sub, a clap and a melody that’s generally dark and simple.”
Despite its burgeoning popularity in more recent years, a shift that has seen it rub shoulders with styles like tarraxo, reggaeton, ragga and moombathon, shatta had a “bad reputation” in the early days, according to GЯEG.
“I remember my first gigs at student parties where the club manager would say to me in Creole, ‘We don’t play shatta here’ because it was considered to draw a bad crowd. Today, the situation has changed. As the island is a breeding ground for beatmakers, I have to give a shout-out to producers like DJ Wayn, Mii Guel, Avi S, Ash, Helix Dynasty and Nick William who have made a major contribution to the growth of this type of music in Mauritius.”
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