Myon & Shane 54: Making Waves One Unique Trance Mashup at a Time
Előd Császár—known as Shane 54 of the infamous mashup trance duo Myon & Shane 54—could not be in a better mood. We’re posted up in his trailer at Nocturnal Wonderland, shooting the breeze before he takes the stage with his partner. His love and passion for this scene is palpable.
With early tracks being spun by DJs like Armin van Buuren, Myon & Shane 54 quickly rose up the ranks of the trance world, landing at #62 in the 2010 edition of DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll a mere two years after they started producing music together. With the very popular International Departures podcast to their name and a month left on their Summer of Love tour, Előd opened up about a number of topics, from their love of San Francisco to the distaste fans have for them in their home country of Hungary.
San Francisco is a really special place for us. It feels like what home should feel like when we were playing in Hungary.
Tell me a bit about what the scene is like in Hungary.
There was no scene growing up. I mean today, for what we do, we don’t really exist in Hungary. We don’t play there. They don’t really know us. They don’t really know what we are about. It is because they don’t really like us there. I don’t really know what the reason is for this, but they still treat us like some shitty hometown Hungarian DJs. There is a scene, and we have fantastic festivals over there; we just don’t play them.
What did you listen to when you were growing up?
We both come from a pop background. Because of that, our musical education wasn’t really what every DJ’s dream was. We were listening to pop music mostly—a lot of singer/songwriters and jazz music. So for us, we have completely different types of inspiration and completely different influences, which is why our music is so different. It is why we play a lot of mashups.
How did you guys meet each other?
About 10 years ago, I was DJing in Myon’s hometown. He was really young, and he came over after my set and had about 100,000 questions in, like, two minutes. We then started talking from time to time, and it all went from there.
I have to ask, where does the 54 come from?
It is from a film called 54. The main character is called Shane, and he is the bartender at Studio 54. So all these cars’ license plates in the movie say Shane 54, and I saw it and was like, “That is my name!”
What have you been working on recently?
Well, we have a new single coming out very soon that is called “Summer of Love,” which is also the name of our current tour. We are working on a bunch of new things. An album is in the works, but I can’t really say when we will be ready to release it. We have around 16 or 17 tracks in some shape or form, but it is still hard to tell when it might be ready.
What’s one of the craziest nights you’ve had out in San Francisco?
San Francisco is a really special place for us. It feels like what home should feel like when we were playing in Hungary. It is really weird. We are really two guys from the end of the world, and I have no idea what is so special about San Francisco. It was one of the first cities we ever played in the United States. They have a weird affinity for us, and we have a weird affinity toward San Francisco. I am sure our set there next week is going to be a really special event.
Is there a song that comes to mind that defines San Francisco to you.
It would probably have to be that old Global Deejays track “The Sound of San Francisco.” We did a mashup of it when we first played in San Francisco, and the crowd went nuts. It was so right. To me, San Francisco always has the most picturesque sunsets. I recorded [and edited] one with my camera, and it’s in one of our tour films. Because of this beauty, San Francisco will always have a special place in my heart. I can’t really define it. Growing up in Hungary back in the ’70s, it was the city to look up to.
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