Interviews
It is my honor to interview Colin and Justin Moreh, better known as the Progressive House icons Shiloh. They have been a part of the Tastyfresh community since it’s inception, and over the years they have become my favorite artists. Not only are they professional DJs and Producers, but they are some of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
CJ: How did you pick the name Shiloh, and what does it mean to you?
Colin: We had a dog named Shiloh when we were kids and it got hit by a car and died. We were all devastated and it just seemed fitting to name our band after him.
Justin: [Laughs] Nah man. That is actually a total fabrication. We're actually all cat people in our family. Although our Mom hates cats and so we couldn't have them growing up. Both Colin and I have awesome cats.
CJ: In a short period of time you’ve remixed Luke Chable’s “Melburn”, and DjKira & James Warren’s “Don’t Ask Me”, as well as released your own original tunes: Run Away, All That, Landmine Hopscotch, and Chords. How do you guys crank out quality music so fast, and when do you have time to eat, sleep, and spend time with your family?
Colin: Yeah, I guess we have done quite a few tracks over these past months I guess. Never really occurred to me because we've been so busy with other projects.
Justin: We often go through musical spurts and we just happened to hit a good one there that did pretty well for us.
CJ: What does Shiloh do in their "off time" for fun?
Colin: Every Thursday night we have Marvel's Ultimate Alliance 2 night--where Justin, our brother Tyler, our buddy Greg and I get together and play a group campaign on Xbox 360. We're also really into hanging with our families obviously. Next week, during spring break we're going to spending some time at an ocean-front cottage we rented. Other than that Justin and I play our guitars a lot and just like to hang out. Normal kinda stuff.
CJ: How does it feel to have people like Sasha, Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren, Marcus Schulz, Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto dropping your tunes regularly?
Justin: A few years ago... like 5 years ago... it was amazing. Kinda like a dream come true.
Colin: ... it's kinda like when you get into a really hot bath and it feels like your skin is melting off but once you're in there for a while it just seems normal I guess. Don't get me wrong we always appreciate that support and are truly thankful. But we've been in the scene for long time now and it's really a small world if you will.
Justin: Yeah, we're the old men of the scene now. Crazy to think about but producers and DJs come and go in and out of fashion at such a blinding rate--the turnover is ridiculously huge.
CJ: You guys have produced everything from Progressive House, to Tech House, to Breaks and I’ve heard super melodic tunes from you, and super banging ones. Is there one main style you like to stick to, or do you just flow with inspiration?
Justin: The short of it is that we make the music that we want to make. Sometimes we really feel something, are proud of it, but it's not a big seller. Other times we bang out a remix, don't really think much of it or feel it that much at all and it blows up. So, it's a bit of a strange one like that.
Colin: At the end of the day it's your own mug that you have to look at in the mirror so everyone has to follow their own artistic path. That said, we don't set out to make crap that will just rocket over everyone's head. I mean, if your message isn't relevant or relatable then you're really not communicating squat. And art is just another way of connecting with people.
CJ: What new musical projects and live events do you have brewing?
Colin: For live events not really anything. Just been sticking close to home. This summer will see us taking some trans oceanic excursions I'm sure but until then we're pretty much spending all our time on our EMPIRE project with Luke Chable.
Justin: Yeah, this summer when Luke was here for a month working on our Tracker stuff we just kinda got sidetracked. Colin had been bugging me about starting a proper rock band for a few years and all of sudden we found ourselves recording guitars and moving into an almost Oasis style rock song. EMPIRE was born. Luke is lead vocals and sounds amazing. Colin and I play guitars, etc... we currently have about 8 songs recorded and we play everything between us and Luke brilliantly engineers everything. We've met with 2 major labels and they've shown great interest. Anyway, we're just still recording and writing, polishing our demo, and seeing if there's that we can properly break into the "big" pond.
Colin: We've talked to Chris "Frenchie" Smith who produced and engineered the latest Jet album and he's keen to produce us. So anyway, no idea what the future holds but we're going to try out best to make this happen, God willing.
CJ: So are EMPIRE and Tracker the same thing?
Justin: Well, Tracker started out as an electronic project and then as it transitioned into a rock band we all felt that the band needed a name change. It took us a a long time to find a name that really fit and worked for all of us and we found that in EMPIRE. I'd say that, for the most part, Tracker is pretty much a dead project, as you've come to know it. It's all about the rock band now.
CJ: You guys have always been very open about your beliefs, so I feel pretty comfortable asking: Who is Jesus to you?
Colin: You hear people talk about being born again and being "saved" etc... I have to tell you I'm the poster boy for that. Without Jesus I'm a formula one car being driven by a drunk 2 year old. With Jesus I have purpose, hope and best of all peace in my life that I could never do justice in trying to explain. What does he mean to me?.. I mean, how much do you owe to somebody who takes a bullet for you so that you can live?.. pretty much everything I guess.
Justin: That question could be answered a million ways. In short--he's my raison d'être. He's given me everything and I'm just spending my life gladly trying to return the favour--if you can call that.
CJ: How does your faith impact your DJ and Producer careers?
Justin: Honestly, the same way it impacts the rest of our lives. It's intrinsically part of all we do.
Colin: Yeah, music is just part of what we do everyday--there's not really a specific compartment for it.
CJ: Have you had to make any tough decisions where it seemed that the two were at odds with each other?
Colin: Tough decisions?.. no not really. I think a lot of the time people find themselves in a tough spot because maybe there's a part of them that was kinda open to it in the first place. For instance, we're both married and we just only give off a vibe to girls like their our sisters so, guess what?.. no girls ever come up to us with any advances. And also, I think God won't put you on a path that you can't handle.
CJ: You guys have been very successful in your career so far, so what kind of advice could you offer aspiring DJs and Producers?
Colin: Here's my best advice... if you really like DJing, do it and have fun. Don't give up your proper life path and make sure that you're still moving forward whether it's with school or career or whatever--don't give that up. Treat it as a passionate hobby. If for some reason it turns into something someday then bonus, but don't count on anything. As far as making music is concerned: work on your music and make complete songs--not clips. It's important to experience the exercise of completing songs over and over and improving. If you get to a level where you're starting to get competent then send some of your stuff off to some bigger labels. But, and this is a big "but"... be willing to hear the feedback. If they say there's nothing there then realize that there isn't. It's still cool to make music for fun but be realistic about it. I've seen way too many people put their lives in a holding pattern and lose momentum because they have a pipe dream about DJing or producing. Honestly, most of the people who are successful it just kinda happens organically. They make tunes because it's fun and all of a sudden one day their stuff is just getting way too good to ignore. They get their stuff signed and it's off to the races. I don't think it's anything that should be forced or railroaded through. So, to nutshell... live your life properly, have fun, if life throws you an opportunity to be heard on a bigger scale then awesome. And my last advice, become a chiropractor. They get paid good money and can take holidays like no other profession.
Justin: Word
Carey would like to thank Shiloh for taking time out of their busy schedule to do the interview, and encourage you to check out their official website at http://www.shilohmusic.ca