Daily Inspiration: Meet Zander Shine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zander Shine.

Hi Zander, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
While growing up, music was a major part of my upbringing. I learned the guitar and piano as a child and always loved playing instruments. As I got older, my interest in sports prevailed, and my main focus in high school became football. I was recruited to The University of Alabama as a tight end, where we won a National Championship. However, I was soon ready for the next challenge and explored many interests after football to find my true passion. Ultimately I re-discovered my love of electronic music when I moved to Los Angeles. I started seriously learning production and touring with my friends, who established themselves in the music industry then. This allowed me to learn both the business and production with first-hand experience. I’ve been developing my vision for this project and my sound since we all returned home in 2020 and recently debuted my first release with Universal Music Group, a house track called ‘Don’t Hold On.’

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The initial years of making a name in music are not easy, and the road to where I am today has not been the most direct route. I’ve spent countless hours developing my production skills and working to define my unique sound. In the early stages, it was heart-wrenching to pour everything into a demo but receive no interest from labels. Each song I write and produce draws from experiences throughout my life and feels immensely personal. Through many grueling football practices, bucket list travel memories, and even at my lowest moments, my passion for music has always given me an outlet for joy, and I want to share that with the world. The unique path that led me to this career has given me the strength and confidence to face that inevitable rejection, refuse to settle, continue to believe in, and advocate for myself as a musician.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Music is all about the feeling you get from listening to it, and sound design is a major focus I lean into that sets my music apart. I’m all about blending acoustic elements into the mix and finding unique combinations of sounds that catch the listener’s attention. It is the most rewarding feeling to come up with that melody or unique sound to incorporate into the track, allowing you to see the idea’s potential. I am drawn to powerful lyrics with messaging that resonates highly and vocals that you can’t help but sing along to. I’m most proud of getting signed to UMG and the releases I have lined up for the year. I’m excited to build on the momentum ‘Don’t Hold On’ is creating.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was a shy kid utterly obsessed with marine biology. I went to a small school in Phoenix and often spent summers in San Diego or Hawaii with my family. I loved surfing, Pokemon, and family jam sessions. Music was a huge part of my relationship with my father growing up. George Benson or other iconic jazz was always playing throughout our house when we weren’t rocking out to Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones.

I got my first keyboard at 5, took up guitar a few years later, and by the time I got my first stereo system and discovered Daft Punk, Tiësto, & Tritonal, my passion for music was solidified. In middle school, I’d found Logic on my parent’s computer and loved that I could play around with the software used to make the tracks blaring from my boombox I had permanently set to XM Channel 51.

My love for music stemmed from these experiences at home, but I transitioned my main focus to football in high school. I was completely new to the sport as a freshman. Still, by senior year, I was an All-American athlete, our team won 3 consecutive state championships, and I was on a journey to play tight end for the University of Alabama, where we would go on to win a National Championship my first year there.

I had never considered a music career a possibility despite having a substantial interest in learning in my younger years. Still, after leaving football, I eventually found my way back to music. My style has mellowed out since my boombox days, but I often find myself returning to the core and starting a new idea with just a couple of piano or guitar chords. I also still love the saxophone and want to incorporate jazz elements into my music, my father plays sax, so I want to write something with him that would be special to me in the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zandershine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zandershine/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zandershinemusic/
• Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/zander-shine/1487244560
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/zandershine?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJhulPod9x7tv2dTVOeNUBA?app=desktop
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3BrRcxjO72qykq7gcCSxt6
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/zandershine
• Other: https://www.universal-music.de/zander-shine 

Image Credits
Tina Pelech, Richard Felix