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Interview with
SHIRALEE COLEMAN

(12th March, 2021)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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About SHIRALEE:

Shiralee’s love for music began from a very young age. She would be the one collecting songs and putting together mixed tapes of all her favourite songs and sharing them with her friends at school.  When she was at Uni, her love affair with music started by making mixed CDs.  She fell in love with dance music and in turn, also fell in love with music festivals.  That was a place she most felt free.  She would look up at these DJs playing and would imagine being that person, making the crowd feel so good through music.  It was only a matter of time. 

Her first foray into the world of entertainment started off in Fashion PR and modelling.  Shiralee travelled the world and then eventually came back to Sydney to work in a Fashion PR company.  In 2012 social media was becoming more of a platform and she started sending their designer’s pieces to fashion bloggers.  There weren’t many at the time.  Designers then started asking Shiralee to wear their garments and shoot them for her socials.  As a model she had all this experience being on set and using imagery.  She started taking some creative direction and began to understand the importance of branding.  Shiralee incorporated fashion and travel, shooting pieces from the world’s best destinations.

Shiralee’s love for music was always in the background, however, it was now time for her to take it to the next level.  She contacted her good friend at the time DJ Fuel (now her manager) and he recommended her going to the ‘National Music Academy.’ There, she learnt how to mix and the craft of DJing.  Shortly after came gigs around Newcastle & Sydney.  Fast forward to 2020 when the world literally shutdown and so too did events & gigs.  Shiralee was planning to move to Vegas and from there would go on to play in Ibiza and Marbella.  She was planning to do fashion & travel blogging and play music around the world.

With this change in plans, Shiralee and the ‘Pumping Records’ crew got to work and started to focus more on music production.  She wasn’t packing a bag and catching a flight anytime soon, so music was the new focus! As a result, Shiralee’s debut single: ‘Can You Feel It’ came to fruition. 

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Have you always wanted to be a DJ/Producer? When did you get the song writing bug?
I was always interested in music from the start. I would be the one collecting songs andputting together mixed tapes of all my favourite songs and sharing these with my friends at school. This went onto further obsession where I would source and download songs, and the collections would take up all the memory on my computer. I think I was definitely more passionate about this than studying, looking back! The allocation of memory to songs vs my other work said it all. I would always show off the new finds anytime anyone came over to
my house. When I was at uni I was making CDs. I would burn them and pass them around to people in my classes. This was before we could easily send a link of a song to someone, like we can now. To think I was making mixtapes even back then! And I’m still making them now and putting them on Soundcloud. When people send me videos of them listening to the recent mixtapes we have brought out now, it does make me smile so much to think of how far this goes back.
I fell in love with dance music and in turn, also fell in love with music festivals. That was a place where I felt so free. I remember planning each festival with my friends, and we would do these road trips from Newcastle and play our ministry of sound CDs all the way there – then lose ourselves (and usually each other) on these massive dancefloors. I really do miss what that feeling is like, dancing like that in a sea of people – it’s like I dreamt it.
While I was dancing I would look up at these Djs playing and think wow how good is this!Imagine being that person making us all feel so good through the music. I was inspired and envious all at the same time. And so began the thought of being a DJ, and creating music.

How would you describe your sound/vibe? Why do you think people resonate with your sound?
As a long time lover of house music – it is a sexy summer sound, a signature of mine that I love to play during my sets. I imagine playing my track Can You Feel It at a beach club one day, when I can get back to one!

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
I love the Weeknd and how deep he is in his songs. That expression, that emotional rollercoaster.

Your new single ‘Can You Feel It’ (remixes) is about to be released, describe its origin and evolution. 
Can You Feel It, is about missing someone. Someone you cannot get to. I really felt that separation during lockdown and this song really touches on that. I kept thinking back to a time I had with someone and wondering if … Can You Feel It, too.
For someone who has travelled so much, and usually spends half the year away, I had never done this before. Stay in one place? I look back on the past year and now think, what we achieved has been amazing. Was it a blessing in disguise? Perhaps. We really got to work
during this time with the team from Pumping Records, getting creative. I was forced to really zone in and make the most of this time in Australia. I wasn’t packing a bag all the time and catching flights onto the next place, the next project, I completely was at a standstill.
And here – music was created, ideas came to fruition, and it’s been quite amazing to be honest. I really don’t know what would have happened otherwise, but I brought out a track! My very own song. What was a dream before, I saw come to life. Even with restrictions we still managed to do one hell of a sold out show and launched it on a boat in Sydney, on Seadeck.

Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
There is a new track that is about to be released in May and I am so excited about this song already. 

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Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
I will be playing at the Facon Magazine launch for which I will be featured on the cover, and at the same time releasing my second single with this!
Now that we are looking towards the light at the end of this crazy time of Covid and lock down it will be nice to embrace dancefloors and clubs again. I cannot wait to play to a full dancefloor again.

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
Beyonce is a queen. What she puts into those shows is incredible and such an inspiration. I love a strong female performer like her. I just think she is in a league of her own. Also love female DJs and seeing them perform it empowers me to see women do what they love in the music industry

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist? 
I can’t wait to release more music, play more shows and develop my art. 
There’s always so much to learn, more music to make and always one more song to play!

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
It’s all about the energy. That moment when you see people enjoy your music, and realise it’s your JOB to make them feel happy, was something that I had never felt before I started my music career. 
I love the saying “Don’t adapt to the energy in the room. Influence the energy in the room”
Career highlight has definitely been playing my first single to a sold out show, on Seadeck where we were on a boat on the most incredible day in Sydney Harbour.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Kygo Cloud Nine
Artist – OMG how do you even narrow that down, there’s too many
Movie – Dirty Dancing
Place to visit – Greece
Venue to play – Seadeck
Food – Japanese 
Drink –VMargarita
Person in History –  My mum
Tattoo – I dont have one! But I have always wanted a small music symbol on the outside of my wrist, or behind my ear

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Check out SHIRALEE COLEMAN below
instagram – facebook

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Press Release 12th March 2021 below

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AMNPLIFY – DB