DJ White Shadow – Pac-Man Vs. DJ White Shadow

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) I’ve always tried to stay away from pigeonholing myself into one particular sound. I think there is a common thread to the stuff that I do that is aggression. I feel like when I make music I like to be emotional and that emotion turns a lot of times into aggression. I like songs that get you hyped up. I like beats that are really cutting and have some degree of anger in them.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) As a kid, I listened to a lot of hip-hop. I grew up on Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy and EPMD. From there, I went to Detroit techno; the original kind of techno. There are a lot of aggression in those so that’s probably why it comes out the way it does now. But I like everything. I like everything from old funk music to some country stuff. I’m not a big huge fan of jazz, but I think that jazz and opera are the only two types of music I don’t pop on right away.

Q) Your music was featured recently in a Super Bowl ad from Bud Light for their “Up For Whatever” campaign. How did that collaboration happen?

A) I wasn’t intended to be released at the beginning. I have a friend who does advertising stuff. He messaged me and asked if I wanted to do something wacky to hit him back up. He explained they were looking for a redo for a modern day version of the Pac-Man song or like a take on it. I whipped something up for him really quick and he said, “That’s the sound we’re looking for!” So, I think part of it was luck and part of it was that I love Pac-Man and love doing weird stuff. We did a couple revisions and I got to meet the guys who made Pac-Man. I got to put it in a commercial for the Super Bowl and I think part of it was just being lucky and it being the right time. The other part was I love making music and I loved Pac-Man as a kid. It was the best thing that could happen! A perfect storm of awesomeness.

Q) How does the commercial pair with the message of the song?

A) They had the idea for the commercial amongst other ideas. The commercial got shot after the song was already done. So, it was like we did the song, they had the idea and didn’t even tell me what they idea was. All I knew was they needed an updated version of Pac-Man. The sound is cool and technological sound. I wanted it to sound 80’s-ish and cool today. That was what we played. I kind of got to score it because I got to be on set while there was a dude who didn’t know he was going to be running through a maze was running through a maze. So, I think that it kind of just came together. It wasn’t an intentional thing where, “We have a guy running through a maze. Make a Pac-Man song that sounds like that.” They both kind of happened parallel to each other. It was cool because I got to go back after they had cut the pieces together and actually score the commercial. It was cool because I got to cut parts out, make some new parts and put them where they belonged in the commercial. They were made congruently.

Q) What was it like for you meeting the creators of Pac-Man?

A) It was cool! I consider myself to be a pretty big nerd. So, I like doing nerd stuff with nerd people. These guys are like ultimate nerds. They’re like nerd heroes. They were the nicest guys of all times. We got to have a lunch together and chitchat. They are going to use the song for some other Pac-Man stuff in the future. Maybe we will work on some other things for other games in the future. Everybody was really nice, even all the Bud Light people! It was really refreshing to work with that big of a production where everyone was on point and super duper nice. I loved it a lot!

Q) Can we expect some new music from you in the near future?

A) I’m working on some stuff, a solo project and with some artists I have signed. I’m in the process of working on their records. I have some stuff coming out with new artists like Evan Ross and hopefully Ciara and I will get back into the studio again pretty soon. I’m always working with Lady Gaga. She’s the best!

Q) You got a great shoutout by Lady Gaga for your Super Bowl ad. How did that make you feel?

A) It was cool! She is like my sister. I didn’t know she was going to write anything. Her dad called me two days before and asked, “Did I just see you on YouTube about a Super Bowl commercial for Pac-Man?” I was like, “Yep!” He said, “That’s pretty cool.” She’s the best! She’s actually a huge nerd, which is why we get along.

Q) How did you and Lady Gaga form a friendship?

A) I was DJing at this little tiny place in Hollywood called Hyde and I would play a bunch of old house music and electronic stuff. Her creative director said to send him some stuff. I didn’t even know he was her creative director. He just asked me to send him some stuff. It ended up in her hands and she called me to say she’d love to work together on some things. We have been hanging out ever since!

Q) Who would you most like to share a track with in the future?

A) I don’t know. I kind of let the universe hand me stuff. I don’t chase down too many things. I have a bunch of awesome projects coming out. Some of them I can talk about and some I can’t. I’m the Music Director for the W Hotel group now. So, we’re doing a lot of really cool projects. We’re doing some creations for supporting artists and creating music underneath the banner of the W Hotel brand, which is incredible for a corporation to have that much investment in music. I’m doing a couple other commercials this summer and then some artist sessions. I’m busy. 2015 is going to be a super duper fun year!

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) This is always a weird thing for me. I’m not like that kind of guy. I never wanted fans or thought of myself as someone who has fans. I talk to people like they are my friends. I went to the Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga show after The Grammys and a lot of people there I know of because I know their picture and have met a couple times in person. It’s just nice to be able to talk to somebody if they are having a problem. Maybe it is somebody in Colombia, Brazil or Japan and then I’ll run into them in real life. I think social media is a double edged sword though because you can say anything you want to someone without the repercussions of person to person interaction. But the other side of the coin is that when I was in grade school you used to have a penpal that you would write a letter to in Mexico or somewhere you had never been to. It was so cool to get a letter back. Now that stuff happens instantaneously and you end up making friends all around the world, which can only help serve society better by having people understand each other better. As far as me having fans, that’s such a weird concept for me still. I have never chased an artist’s career. I put out music because I like to put out weird stuff. I’m still struggling with the whole fan thing.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) I appreciate it. Let’s have a coffee sometime. I will keep trying to do cool stuff. I am really appreciative of all the gifts that I have been given in this lifetime thus far. It’s been a long weird journey. I’ll try and keep up what I have been doing.