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His unruly locks may be the first thing audiences notice about Something Wicked talent Tommy Trash, but it his seemingly list of electrifying hits that keep fans fist pumping all night long and coming back for more.

Born Thomas Olsen in Queensland, Australia, Tommy Trash’s addiction to dance music began during university when he first started discovering clubs like Monastery in Brisbane. The love of the music made him switch out the classical sound he was studying and start making club banging tunes instead. Always experimenting, Tommy found inspiration from a variety of sources. “I went through a few different phases. In the early days, I was really into Felix Da Housecat’s Kittenz And Thee Glitz album. I had that shit on repeat! I’d go out and party all weekend, then I’d spend the week recovering with Felix’s album on repeat. After that, the Swedes started coming up. I really liked the early Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso remixes along with Axwell’s stuff. I loved Eric Prydz’ stuff, and the stuff Prydz did with Angello like Bedtime Stories. I was really inspired by that track. I think my sound now is really an extension of what Angello and Ingrosso were doing. If you listen to the ‘Buy Now For Sale’ record and compare it to my tracks, you can definitely hear the influences.”

Though Tommy made his debut in 2006 when he paired up with Goodwill for their remix of Sugiurumn’s track “Star Baby,” his breakout year would be in 2007 when Tommy released his first single “It’s a Swede Thing.” Signed to Ministry of Sound Australia, he released quite a handful of singles. Some of the releases were collaborations with Goodwill or with Tom Piper, and others were remixed tracks of Green Velvet, the Veronicas, and Armand Van Helden. As his career began to pick up speed, he started receiving some much deserved recognition for his bangin’ beats. Quickly given the title as one of Australia’s newest rising talents, Tommy’s nomination at the ARIA Music Awards in 2009 helped flag him as one of dance music’s biggest promises.

That nomination was spot on in fact, and a few years later, Tommy produced his biggest single to date. Released in 2011, “The End” garnered attention from some major heavy-weights like Tiësto, David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Afrojack, and Laidback Luke. Always mastering the art of in-your-face tunes, Tommy’s sound is the perfect combination of progressive and electro, incorporating cliff hanger drops and gritty synths.

Tommy has also been making a name for himself by his steady stream of high-profile remixes for the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki and Zedd among others. With three successive Beatport #1’s and even a spot on Billboard Hot Dance chart, it is no wonder that Rolling Stone and MTV have marked him as “One To Watch.”

With a host of incredible tracks soon to drop, a residency at the brand new Hakkasan nightclub in Las Vegas and main-stage performances at some of the world’s biggest festivals, 2013 is looking like Tommy’s biggest year yet. Still buzzing from the success of his latest single, “Monkey in Love,” Tommy Trash is getting ready to embark on the co-headlining Hounds of Hell tour with Wicked talent, Wolfgang Gartner. You’ll get to witness a little sample of the impending tour when you join us for Something Wicked 2013 on October 26th. Buy your tickets today!

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Naming himself after the Japanese word for ‘warrior,’ Something Wicked talent Shogun has definitely soldiered on todays’s dance music scene. Though American-born, Taiwanese artist Shogun had been familiar with elements of electronic music from listening to bands like Nine Inch Nails, it would take a few years before he would have his interests piqued by the sounds of trance, “I really liked industrial. So a lot of the harder, darker stuff like Nine Inch Nails, Prodigy, Filter, even like Ministry. So pretty underground. These guys were big influences on me because you got the very dark, very heavy industrial music, but you also have the soulful elements to it. It has some emotional elements to it if you listen very carefully. So I was like, hey, why don’t they have stuff like this but focusing on more beautiful elements? And then I heard about Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren’s ‘Communication,’ so I was like, wow this in on a whole different level. It is like industrial music but with beautiful melodies. That is how I feel in love with trance.”

That fateful hearing of Armin Van Buuren’s “Communication” in 2002 led Shogun to become completely submersed in trance music and its culture. “I bought a VHS tape called the Invisible Scratch Pickles, and taught myself how to DJ on turntables from it. When my parents saw I was serious, they bought me a computer so I could start playing around on Fruity Loops and I eventually graduated college with a degree in audio engineering. After that, I went full time into producing my own music and DJing as Shogun. He began playing at local clubs, making a name for himself at his two year residency at Taiwan’s Ministry of Sound, warming up for DJs like Tiësto and Paul Oakenfold.

Often spending 12 hours in the studio, Shogun produced around 200 tracks in three years. His first single was signed by S107, sub-label to Armin van Buuren’s Armada, making him the first Asian-American to be signed to the prestigious imprint. “I got very lucky to be discovered and signed by Armin van Buuren and Armada, it was a dream come true. Now I’m working with some of my favorite producers who only a couple of years ago I was looking up to. It’s been quite a ride and there are some good things in store for the future.”

His songs continued to gain attention with support by the likes of Above & Beyond, Ferry Corsten, and Markus Schulz. And it wouldn’t take long before “Imprisoned,” “Save Me,” “Run To My Rescue,” and “Skyfire” would become anthems and cement Shogun’s name in the catalogue of other heavyweights. More recently, originals “UFO,” “Amplify,” “Lotus” and remix of BT, Arty and Nadia Ali’s “Must Be The Love” have all smashed the charts and been championed by some of the world’s top trance DJs.

Amplify your night with Shogun at Something Wicked 2013. Buy your tickets today!

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