Debjit Das and Andrew Parpart are intentional about every detail of their immersive concerts, from the openers they choose to even re-tuning a venue's layout. At Zodiac Hause, that meant bringing the stage to the center of the room, evoking warehouse raves in which audiences are moving around the performers rather than just standing in front of them.
"That made it a little interesting, too," says Das, "because I don't think it's that often that you see the artists also playing event producer and designer and all that as well for the entire night."
While Shae District concerts up to that point had been front-facing, "for this one, we wanted to be a little different and go for more of a classic warehouse rave," Das adds. "We leaned into that as best we could. ... There was a four-point sound system around the room, so that way you don't have to face in any one direction — you could experience it from everywhere. The underlying thing that we were going toward was this idea of keeping it as immersive as possible."
And with incense burning throughout the room, striking lighting and plush furnishings, the concert definitely hit all the senses. Das, who works as the events and operations director for Invisible City, was able to put the show together quickly. It helps that he has experience working big events: He's done operations for such large-scale productions as Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas and Okeechobee.
It was a big night for the duo, and a proper send-off as Das and Parpart prepare to pass several milestones this summer, including performing at Electric Forest before heading back to Denver to play the Underground Music Showcase. The two musicians met at the University of Illinois during their freshman year, and "neither of us really had any exposure to electronic music," says Parpart. "I always tell people the music project started with us playing Fall Out Boy covers on our electric guitars in the basement."
But, he continues, "as we moved through college, our tastes evolved over time, and we started deejaying some of the bars. We organically evolved one step at a time." A year into Shae District, Das and Parpart got their first big break, touring as an opener with Jai Wolf in 2017. "It's an ongoing process of figuring out who you are creatively and sonically, but we were really at the fledgling stages," Parpart recalls. "It was amazing to be gifted that opportunity at this really pivotal moment in both of our lives, where we were kind of valuable coming right out of school. It was a moment where we were like: 'All right, well, we're either going to dig down and do this, or just go get an engineering job like everybody else.' Deb studied electrical engineering, and I was in physics."
Since then, Shae District has grown its following while refining its sound across three EPs and many concerts. A year after the Jai Wolf tour, the two musicians moved to Denver after weighing their options. "The idea of doing Denver popped up because the music scene has been growing so fast here for the last couple decades, and historically the bass scene," Parpart says. "It seemed like a good opportunity for us to have a big market to grow into without being swallowed up by L.A. or New York. And we've definitely found that to be true. Denver's been really kind to us as far as networking and being able to immerse ourselves in the culture here. It's a really good balance of accessibility and growth opportunity."
That journey of self-discovery brought Shae District from a "pure production project," as Das puts it, to now including Das's vocals and piano while Parpart handles synth and sequencing. The duo's headlining show at Larimer Lounge last summer saw a more "live-instrument-oriented" iteration, Das says, which put the artists on the path to being more comfortable as engaging performers. "From that time to now, really quickly we've gotten our legs on performance and how to have stage presence," he notes. "All of a sudden we went from feeling like we were two dudes deejaying just like everyone and their moms in Denver to 'Hey, we're actual artists that are performing with a certain vision.'
"Things are moving a lot faster than they ever have before," he adds, "and I think other people are seeing that, as well."
They've already had many prospective managers and PR reps reaching out to them, and booking slots at big fests like Electric Forest indicates the duo is on the right track artistically. With so many DJs in the city, they discovered a way to stand out, and they're reaping the rewards. "There's a lot more clarity, a lot more purpose, a lot more intention in everything that we're doing," Das emphasizes.
While the Zodiac Hause set was DJ-oriented — though Das did belt out vocals — he says that upcoming shows will underscore more of a balance between lyricism and electronic production. The goal, Das notes, is "offering that band-like, sing-along aspect to it, but still have it be rooted in dance culture."
Scottie Shambo Semko
After being in Denver for more than five years, Shae District's "roots are really starting to take hold and grab people's attention," Das adds.
"We were so in love with the electronic influences we had at the time," Das says, "and it's easy to look back now and say we weren't doing something so special. But the confidence came from finding out who we are."
"We were so in love with the electronic influences we had at the time," Das says, "and it's easy to look back now and say we weren't doing something so special. But the confidence came from finding out who we are."
Follow @shaedistrict to keep up to date on upcoming shows.
