SHINNIE

Iran-born DJ and music producer Afshin Mohammadi, better known by his monikers SHINNIE and United Rockstars, has performed at major events such as Sensation Black Moscow, Stereosonics Australia, Future Music Festival Malaysia, and the F1 After Party in Singapore. He has shared the stage with notable artists like The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Ace Ventura, Tall Paul, Scot Project, and Cosmic Gate at events across Australia, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Since 2008, he has released over 200 records, including singles, 12 EPs, and 4 studio albums, through his own imprints Tripbox, Machines Don't Dream, and Echoing Emi. In addition to spending time in music studios in Istanbul, Yerevan, and Tbilisi to craft his ever-evolving art form, he is dedicated to mentoring emerging artists through his forward-thinking music company, OXYTOXY, all while remaining true to his global dance-floor communication system: trance music.

Details

• Based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

• Sponsors: Danzka, Belvedere, Möet & Chandon, ARS Co.

• Residencies: The Pool Kuala Lumpur, The End Istanbul, Dark Room Istanbul, Room No.33 Istanbul

• Club Gigs: Temple Istanbul, Zouk Kuala Lumpur, Rootz Kuala Lumpur, Zouk Singapore, Bassiani Tbilisi, Leftbank Tbilisi, Poligraf Yerevan, Sky Garden Bali, Potato Head Bali

• Festivals: Sepang F1, Future Music, Stereosonic, Sensation Black

• Record Labels: Tripbox, Machines Don't Dream, Echoing Emi

• Touring Countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Türkiye, Czech Republic, Serbia, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Slovakia, U.A.E.

Biography

Iran-born Afshin Mohammadi started his music career in Tehran in the early 2000s, during the global rise of dance music. He became a flagship artist for a generation that aimed to establish Iranian musicians on major platforms in the music industry. His passion for artistry began as a teenager, playing lead guitar for a local rock band, while also programming beats for underground rappers and assisting in family-owned recording studios.

Born on October 1, 1989, Afshin's talent in the arts was noticeable from an early age. His art-loving family invested in sports, arts, and linguistics from a young age, paving the way for the expression of his gifts. Dreaming of becoming a historian and even a handgun designer, he spoke a foreign language by age five, wrote poetry by age seven, and read books beyond his age in the following years.

His first public performance was in primary school, where he sang the morning ritual; a remix of the national anthem on guitar for an Independence Day celebration in junior high school, which got him in trouble. From obtaining a Taekwondo black belt (Dan-5) in 2001 and becoming the youngest Sabum in Iran, these were all early signs of a young man aiming for success.

In 2000, upon entering high school, he was gifted an electric guitar, which led to a group performance paying tribute to rock guitar anthems, accompanied by his guitar instructor Shahriar Tvakkoli and Reza Tajbaksh at Niavaran Palace in 2001. Later, he joined Shokoufa Film and Hamed Razi as a sound mixing and editing assistant for the award-winning television broadcasts "Khatt-e-Ghermez" (2003) and "Mosafiri Az Hend" (2004), while learning to generate revenue from beat-making and collaborating with upcoming musical artists in lesser-known recording studios.

In mid-2006, amid a wave of social change and a lack of domestic growth platforms, Afshin and many local artists moved out of Iran to pursue a professional music career. Moving to Malaysia for academic studies, he was introduced to the art of DJing by the likes of Xes Xes Loveseat, Raysoo, and Terrence C.

In 2008, a group of college friends, including DJ Afshin Mohammadi, partnered to monetize TH3RAPY Session, which operated as a residency/organization in the only electronic venue in the city at the time, Studio Bar. This ultimately brought massive exposure to the organizing crew and established the city of Cyberjaya as a party zone for students from nearby universities. Through this organization, he obtained DJ gigs and was offered events sponsored by LUCT Malaysia, marking him as a talent and representative of the Sound & Music Academy. He evolved to perform for Hitz.FM, Pavilion, Estée Lauder Malaysia, and a 45-minute DJ set for Limkokwing Fashion Club at Malaysia's largest student event, alongside local heroes Joe Flizzow, Roshan Jamrock, K-Town Clan, and Nadine Ann Thomas.

In 2009, after the split of the original TH3RAPY Session members, he formed his in-house event management company, Simple A Music, collaborating with Malaysia's top venues, brands, and partner companies. From 2009 to 2013, Simple A Music and Afshin Mohammadi worked with numerous local and international brands such as Menara Kuala Lumpur, Zouk, The Pool, Ministry of Sound Sunway Lagoon, Heineken Green Room, Danzka, Belvedere, Johnny Walker, Sander Kleinenberg, Eddie Halliwell, Judge Jules, Tall Paul, Timo Maas, Tataloo, DJ Femme, DJ Fuzz, Roen Cian, and DJ Ctoo. (Learn more about "Simple A Music" here.) In 2012, Afshin produced the official soundtrack for the Malaysian TV show "Astro Spin Master."

Taking a break from music and club life in 2013, he joined the Iranian Air Force to serve in military service. After completing his duty toward the end of 2015, he was offered a course leadership position at Tehran Conservatory of Music. In the summer of 2016, with the help of the conservatory management, he worked to establish a two-year university-grade course offering credits in musicianship, recording arts, sound design, music production, and digital mixing and mastering for electronic music enthusiasts.

At the beginning of 2017, hopeful for exposure in the film industry, he joined a crew of filmmakers to work as a director of music, sound mixing, and editing; however, due to unknown circumstances, the movie was never released. Devastated by losing a year's worth of work, he decided to leave Iran once again and relocate to a new country that was less familiar to him.

2017 marked the beginning of a new journey in sound. By moving to Istanbul, Turkey, and shifting from the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets to the European scene, he saw new opportunities in closer-to-European platforms. He was offered his first gigs upon arrival at the former Neverland Hostel, where he produced a series of successful underground parties. Later that year, he gained club residencies in most local clubs, playing over 200 gigs in a span of 1.5 years until mid-2019. With the outbreak of the coronavirus and the shutdown of nightlife venues, an enduring idea took shape: the establishment of his long-awaited personal imprint, Tripbox Records.

In 2019, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, he released the first single track via Tripbox Records and has been continuously releasing music on digital streaming platforms to this day. With a strong musical background and having played in major venues in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Europe and Caucasus region, SHINNIE is set to take a major leap on bigger stages in more known music festival and dancefloors worldwide. With the vision of releasing music on key record labels, he is working on music daily within his monikers SHINNIE and United Rockstars.

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