Deeprhythms

I met Shane Crosland, known as Shane.MOV, last summer and was immediately struck by his friendly and creative personality. Shane is a multi-talented artist with a rich background in film and music. For nearly a decade, he’s been performing at festivals, clubs, and events, captivating audiences with his dynamic sets. Shane has launched SONIK-INO, a visionary arts, film, and music label dedicated to inclusivity and collaboration. From founding the immersive art-meets-music event Kino Grande to releasing vibrant house and techno tracks like “Lullaby For Georges” and “Count Forwards To White,” Shane continues to push boundaries creating vibrant sets that reflect his deep connection to the underground electronic scene.

Hi there, how’s things? Can you introduce yourself briefly to our listeners?

My name is Shane Crosland, also known as Shane.MOV, and I am a filmmaker, drummer, DJ/Producer, head of SONIK-INO, as well as Expressions events currently based in Byron Bay and Sydney, Australia, originally from the US.

What’s been keeping you busy of late – you’re both a DJ and a producer?

Things have been pretty busy recently. I’ve just gotten back from a bit of time playing over in Indonesia and Vietnam as well as visiting some friends. Currently I am in the middle of writing a few film scripts and am releasing my first EP, ‘Habits (Like Glue)’ in mid November featuring remixes from Pootchy (AU), Nachtbraker (NL), and Minor Circuit (UK/AU). I am also in the middle of rebranding our previous event series, Kino Grande, into Expressions creating interactive spaces of free expression of music, art, and self. 

I have just released two singles that are part of the EP which are now available on all streaming platforms and for download on Bandcamp. The remaining will follow suit when the full EP is released. 

SONIK-INO is not just a music label, but it also acts as a creative film production company and curation for events across anything art. SONIK-INO also runs a mix series titled ‘Kino Tapes’ giving artist a voice and a platform for their sounds to a worldwide audience. (Timo’s note: thanks for having me on as a guest in the series!)

Do you have any fond musical memories from your childhood?

Plenty, but the best moments would always be listening to classical music and early Jazz with my father during road trips in the US, which in return later had a huge effect on how I use theory from these genres for film and music. 

What drove you to electronic music in the first place?

I would say living in Colorado during my years at university. I have always liked to say that Colorado is kind of like the UK of the US. There’s such a similarity in the scenes such as my early love for dubstep, bass music, and drum and bass.

What got me into dance music, however, was the ever expanding scene of jam bands in Colorado and the US. These bands are able to create high energy sets which can be quite similar to house and techno DJs in the sense of keeping a constant dance beat, but with live instruments, and giving each other proper space as musicians. 

What about DJ’ing, and how did you get started?

I started getting into DJing at university just starting at parties playing hip hop and other throwback tunes. I wasn’t really taking it seriously at the time as I was way more into drums and focused on creating film and visual art. By the time I got to Australia, after living in Thailand for a brief time, in 2016, I started to take a love toward house and techno, which opened up a gateway to a whole other universe. I hadn’t really ever gotten into it before, but the more and more I went to clubs and experienced the beauty of the culture surrounding it, I wanted more of it.

I love history, especially music history, so I think I got highly addicted to dance music from learning about the history and the exchanges of intercontinental culture within the scene and how it has developed into what we see today. 

Name a few records or songs that had a big impact on you in your early days and why?

Kolsch – Opa

This has always been a huge favourite of mine. While I was living in Thailand in Koh Phangan, I’ll never forget the energy that the crowd brought while at Eden when this came on. This track started to lean me toward leftfield music and more experimental driven tones. 

DJ Dozia – Pop Culture (KiNK Remix)

There used to be a club here in Byron Bay called Locura (RIP), which was curated by Jono Ma (Jagwar Ma) who revolutionised the scene in Byron Bay bringing many big names to our small coastal town. The club still holds my fondest memories of what made a community through dance music. Lower BPMs, deep deep sounds, a long rectangular dancefloor, and lots of lots of smoke. My friend, Oli Wright, was on the decks that night and played this tune. Something just hits hard about a heaving dance floor shadowed in smoke, and deep driving acidy bass. 

Do you have any memorable experiences to share from your early days as a DJ?

Of course. When I first arrived to Byron Bay, I guess I would consider myself still a backpacker at that time. I made friends with many internationals that were also traveling and we created a group where we would throw bush doofs fort nightly or monthly. It was an amazing year being able to share so many memories with friends in music from Berlin, Montreal, Belgium, France, and Colorado. 

As a DJ, you’re known for your extensive knowledge of music – ranging from Jazz to techno to trance and everything in between. How has your collection expanded over the years – is your approach systematic or organic?

It has ranged all over the place. I usually just like to select music based on what my gut tells me I like. Sometimes, I find myself having a super particular taste, while other times, I’m quite open. It has ranged from Chicago and Detroit sounds to start, furthering more into euphoric worldwide selections, and accumulating more and more world fusion tunes. 

When you select records for your sets, what’s your approach like?

I always love to push and pull with the crowd. Inspired by jazz, I find it very important to give space to breathe in order to keep the crowd engaged. 

Name three to five secret weapons that you almost every time carry in your bag?

Plantastik – Artifacts

Dome Patrol – Cutting Edge

E-Dancer – Banjo

Jonny L – Make Me Work (Turn Me Round) (Vocal Excitement Mix)

The 2 – We Is 1 

Do you have a comfort record, one you can put on that makes you feel good no matter what?

Fela Kuti – Water No Get Enemy from Best Of The Black President Compilation

Name five tracks or releases that are currently on heavy rotation?

Christian AB – Infinite Resonance

Reload – Peschi

Dean Grenier – Sweet Dreams

Pollaar – Yeah Left

Perm – Brablank

Who are the artists and DJ’s you think deserve more attention than they get currently?

Minor Circuit aka Iain Yes (SCO/AU)
Donald Pump (AU)
Timo Deeprhythms
Dita (Bali)
Ezza (Gili Air)
Ari Craike (Lombok)
Felix (Brisbane)

Honestly every artist in SE Asia. The scene there is really taking it to new levels and is extremely open arms to everyone. There is some incredible incredible stuff coming out of there, especially Hanoi. 

Did DJing eventually turn your attention into making music or was it always there right from the beginning?

Making music has always been there from the beginning but I have been more savvy in Logic rather than Ableton before this EP that I am putting out, which my good friend, Donald Pump (Zach Panepinto) helped me produce and show me the more in depths ins and outs of Ableton. I started off playing in orchestra/symphony when I was young as Cello, then Trumpet which eventually evolved into drumline and percussion then into drumset,. 

How have you evolved as a producer? 

Being open minded to many releases and genres coming out internationally that I can relate to my taste. I think it’s a bit closed minded to yourself to not open up a bit to trying new things in productions and just sticking to a perpetual one style. 

Are there any new tools or musicians or artists who have recently inspired you?

Shanti Celeste
Daisy Moon
Piri & Tommy
Alex Kassian
Baldo
DJ Bone
Nachtbraker

Out of your own releases, which do you have the strongest bond with and why is that?

I think the first single I have released from my forthcoming EP which is the title track, ‘Habits (Like Glue)’. I wanted to give back to my roots of live music and was really into breakbeat/garage soul at the time. It’s a fun one not necessarily made for dance floors but could sneak itself out there. This isn’t the typically the style of music I play at all, but it’s always fun to challenge all aspects of yourself as an artist. 

What does the coming 12 months hold for you in regards of releases, collaborations etc.?

Habits (Like Glue) EP featuring remixes by Nachtbraker, Minor Circuit, and Pootchy will be out and about in the world late November (Nov 22). I am also planning a collaboration EP with my good friend Donald Pump, dipping into some more deep euphoria. 

SONIK-INO is your label – tell us about your vision for the label and what’s in the pipeline?

SONIK-INO is the label, which still acts as our film production name as well. Everything into one. 

The vision for the label is to give artists a voice that wouldn’t normally have access to do so, remaining inclusive. We want to try new things and new sounds that are breaking outside the box rules through a range of genres but mostly targeting alternative and leftfield sounds. 

Pick one release out of the catalogue and tell us a story behind it, please?

I think my favourite release to this day is SOKI001 which is exclusively available on Bandcamp featuring an 8 track compilation from artists all located in the Northern Rivers area of Australia. It was our first release and really encompassed all aspects of sounds that I think the label represents. 

Where do you find the music and the artists for the label? 

We are still new and growing, but our goal is to find artists that are really contributing to the music industry in total. We aren’t just looking for electronic dance artists, but are also targeting electronic bands and neo-jazz/soul. 

What’s your take on the current state of electronic music?

I think it’s more vibrant than ever which is amazing. There is so so much music coming out every day now making it so hard to choose from, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I think it’s an amazing genre and scene for the younger generation to step foot into. With the growing tech industry and communication growing faster and faster by the day, I think it goes hand in hand with creating music that is now so accessible by just downloading a production software to get you started. It definitely has become part of the main entities in the music industry as a whole and I think it’s so fascinating to be seeing artists old and new collaborating on productions and releases. 

I do, however, think that governments need to realise this and allow relaxed laws around clubs and noise levels. This has become quite restricting around events, which is damaging the music industry as a whole, leading to many different factors which assist in closing down promoters, clubs, and festivals. 

Can you name a few local acts, events or locations that should be on people’s radar?

Byron Bay Artists:

Frumosul
LouLou
Cakkou
Donald Pump
Minor Circuit
Central Sonics
Steady Eddie

Marcel Manzoni

Byron Bay Events/Clubs/Record Stores/Promoters

Expressions
Underworld Byron Bay
Twang Town
Northern Rhythms
Therapy
Ma Presents
Flo Records

So the mix, can you tell us a little something about that? 

So I’ve been in and out of Southeast and Eastern Asia a lot this year and the end of last year and as mentioned before, the music I have heard coming out of there has definitely been an eye opening experience, showcasing sounds that are quite rare. This mix is comprised of a lot of sounds I’ve heard coming from friends and peers in these areas from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Japan. 

Many thanks, anything else?

Thanks for having me on Timo! It was an absolute pleasure to meet you at Love International last year in 2023 (Timo’s note: absolutely, hope to see you again soon!) and hopefully I’ll get to make it back in 2025 and see you on European soil!