Shapov Explained

Shapov
Landscape:yes
Birth Name:Alexander Shapovalov
Birth Date:1989 1, df=y
Origin:Smolensk, Russia
Occupation:DJ, music producer
Years Active:2005 – present
Label:Axtone, Def Jam, Ultra, Armind, Armada
Associated Acts:Hard Rock Sofa
Website:shapovmusic.com

Alexander Shapovalov (Russian: Александр Шаповалов|link=no, ru|Aleksandr Shapovalov; born 28 January 1989, in Smolensk), better known by his stage name Shapov, is a Russian record producer and DJ. He is also a former member of the electronic project Hard Rock Sofa, and in his solo career has most notably collaborated with Axwell[1] and Armin van Buuren.[2] [3] [4]

Biography

Hard Rock Sofa

Alexander was interested in music from a young age and began experimenting with production when he was 16 years old. In 2005, he and another DJ and producer Denis Chepikov joined together to form the music project Hard Rock Sofa.

Shapov

In 2015, Alexander left Hard Rock Sofa and began his solo career under the stage name Shapov. In the same year he joined the British label Axtone Records, which was founded by Swedish House Mafia member Axwell.

On 23 February 2015, Shapov released an extended play on Axtone titled “Shapov EP”. On 5 October 2015, he released a second EP titled “Everybody”, with both songs on the EP being collaborations with duo Meg & Nerak.

A month later, Shapov released the track “Our World” featuring American singer and songwriter Justin Tranter. This composition was included in the anniversary album “Axtone Ten", which celebrated a decade since Axtone's formation. At the end of 2015, he was named as a “Breakthrough Artist of the Year"[5] in the EDM category by Beatport. Early in 2016, Shapov released the song “Future Rave”, which he debuted in a guest mix he recorded for the Diplo & Friends show on BBC Radio 1.[6]

In 2017, Shapov released a third EP titled "Four Corners", consisting of four tracks across both Axtone and Armada Music. Among the songs released on this EP were “Breathing Deeper”, which was another collaboration with duo Meg & Nerak, and “Some People”, which was written with Russian electronic group Beverly Pills. The next project in his career was the release of “The Way"[7] together with the trio Trouze.

In 2018 Shapov collaborated with Dutch trance DJ Armin van Buuren to release “The Last Dancer", accompanied by van Buuren inviting Shapov up to play their track together during van Buuren's mainstage set at Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Shortly afterwards, the pair released a new collaboration called “Our Origin”,[8] which van Buuren played to open his set at Tomorrowland that year. “Our Origin” was also used in the Tomorrowland 2018 festival aftermovie.

Near the end of 2019, a collaboration with Magnificence titled "Unboring the Future" released and was subsequently used in the promotional presentation video for the new generation of the Peugeot 208. In 2020, Shapov continued to experiment across genres such as psy-trance, leading to a collaboration with Vini Vici and Nervo for a song titled 'My World'.[9]

Tracks by Shapov under both his time in Hard Rock Sofa and his solo ventures have been featured in Hollywood movies and TV shows, such as Fast & Furious 6, The Lego Batman Movie, and Netflix series such as Quicksand,[10] Werewolf,[11] and The Last Days of American Crime.[12]

Discography

Extended plays

!Title!Details!Tracklist
Shapov
  1. Party People (with Meg & Nerak)
  2. Disco Tufli
Everybody
  • Released: 5 October 2015
  • Label: Axtone
  • Formats: Digital download
  1. Everybody (with Meg & Nerak)
  2. Dream About It (with Meg & Nerak)
Four Corners
  • Released: 10 February 2017
  • Label: Axtone, Armada
  • Formats: Digital download
  1. Breathing Deeper (with Meg & Nerak)
  2. Some People (with Beverly Pills)
  3. More Than Love (with Rookies)
  4. Analogue Soul
Trilogy
  • Released: 12 April 2019
  • Label: Armada, Armind
  • Formats: Digital download
  1. La Résistance de L'Amour (with Armin van Buuren)
  2. The Last Dancer (with Armin van Buuren)
  3. Our Origin (with Armin van Buuren)
Circles[13]
  • Released: 27 August 2021
  • Label: Armada
  • Formats: Digital download
  1. Vetra (with Nerak)
  2. Heaven (with Nerak)
  3. Illusion (with Nerak)
New Dimensions[14]
  • Released: 11 February 2022
  • Label: Armada
  • Formats: Digital download
  1. Resolution (with Sam Bagira)
  2. Dark in the Light (with Nerak)
  3. Cornerstone
  4. Inside the Rave

Singles and collaborations

YearTitleArtistLabel
2015VavilonShapov, AmersyAxtone
2015RunicShapovAxtone
2015Our WorldShapov, Justin TranterAxtone
2016Future RaveShapovAxtone
2016BelongShapov, AxwellAxtone, Ultra
2016Beats Do WorkShapovMonomark
2017The WayShapov, TrouzeAxtone
2018AlternateShapov, Sam BagiraAxtone
2018The Last DancerShapov, Armin van BuurenArmind
2018Our OriginShapov, Armin van BuurenArmind
2020My WorldShapov, Vini Vici, NervoAlteza
2020Chasing ShadowsShapov, CalArmada
2021Inside The RaveShapovArmada
2021HeavenShapov, NerakArmada, Armind
2021Illusion[15] Shapov, NerakArmada, Armind
2021Light up the World[16] Shapov, Avian Grays, KiFiArmada
2021Cornerstone[17] ShapovArmada
2021Dark in the Light[18] Shapov and NerakArmada

Remixes

YearTitleOriginal artist(s)Label
2015Paradigm (Shapov Remix)CamelPhat, A*M*EAxtone
2015SummerThing! (Shapov vs M.E.G. & N.E.R.A.K. Remix)Afrojack, Mike TaylorDef Jam
2016Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time (Shapov Remix)Panic! At the DiscoFree download
2017We Are Stars (Shapov Remix)Callum Beattie3 Beat

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hear Axwell & Years' Long-Teased Remode of Shapov Collab 'Belong:' Exclusive. Billboard. 2018-12-17.
  2. Web site: Armin van Buuren drops new video ‘The Last Dancer’: Watch. 2018-06-21. DJMag.com. 2018-12-17.
  3. Web site: Armin van Buuren premiered a brand new song at Tomorrowland: Listen. 2018-07-24. DJMag.com. 2018-12-17.
  4. Web site: Armin van Buuren shares new track, ‘La Résistance De L’Amour’: Listen. 2019-04-12. DJMag.com. 2019-04-13.
  5. Web site: Breakthrough Artists of 2015: EDM: Tracks on Beatport. www.beatport.com. 2018-12-17.
  6. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - Diplo and Friends, Herobust and Shapov, Shapov on Diplo and Friends. BBC. en-GB. 2018-12-17.
  7. Web site: Shapov & Trouze - The Way. 2017-11-03. Dancing Astronaut. en-US. 2018-12-18.
  8. Web site: Armin van Buuren and Shapov go back to where it all began with 'Our Origin'. Andry Bosk. 2018-07-26. Rave Jungle. en-US. 2018-12-18.
  9. Web site: 2020-02-21. Vini Vici, Shapov and NERVO – My World. 2021-05-20. We Rave You. en-US.
  10. Web site: Music from Teen Wolf S3E01. 2021-05-20. Tunefind.
  11. Web site: Music from Teen Wolf S3E01. 2021-05-20. Tunefind.
  12. Web site: Music from The Last Days of American Crime. 2021-05-20. Tunefind.
  13. Web site: Circles - Single by Shapov & Nerak on Apple Music . Apple Music . 2021-09-11.
  14. Web site: Chiang . Nina . 2022-02-11 . Shapov stuns with future rave New Dimensions EP . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214181421/https://www.edmtunes.com/2022/02/shapov-stuns-with-future-rave-new-dimensions-ep/ . 2022-02-14 . 2022-03-22 . EDM Tunes.
  15. Web site: Gomez . Nancy . 2021-06-19 . Shapov & Nerak- 'Illusion' . https://web.archive.org/web/20210803182643/https://www.edmtunes.com/2021/06/shapov-nerak-illusion/ . 2021-08-03 . 2021-08-04 . EDM Tunes.
  16. Web site: Light up the World (feat. KiFi) - Single by Shapov & Avian Grays on Apple Music . Apple Music . 2021-10-02.
  17. Web site: Cornerstone - Single by Shapov on Apple Music . Apple Music . 2022-03-22.
  18. Web site: Gomez . Nancy . 2021-11-27 . Shapov & Nerak join together again for 'Dark In The Light' . https://web.archive.org/web/20220322134725/https://www.edmtunes.com/2021/11/shapov-nerak-dark-in-the-light/ . 2022-03-22 . 2022-03-22 . EDM Tunes.