Sishi Rosch
Though he's currently whipping up a storm on the underground house scene, as a youngster Sishi Rosch seemed destined to make a splash in the world of football. Born to an Italian mother and a German father in Guatemala, he emigrated to the United States where his skills on the soccer field stood him in good stead. However, a knee injury put an end to his dream and set him on a new path – namely music. Having been captivated by the world of house and techno, after being introduced to it by his older brothers, Sishi began collecting music and immersed himself in DJing to numb the pain of his football career coming to such an abrupt and tragic end.
Soon the distant shores of Europe were beckoning him over and he left the States to set up a new life in Barcelona. It was there, in the sunkissed Catalan city, that Sishi found his true calling. Having absorbed the business-savvy psyche of his mother and father, he attended business school – but also became heavily involved in the city's nightlife, picking up a residency at a tiny bar to begin with, and soon finding himself at the centre of a new underground movement. As the number of followers grew at his weekly residency, so too did the reputation of his legendary after-parties and, as we all know, it's at after-parties where some of the strongest bonds and most fruitful relationships are spawned. It was there he met both Diego Moreno and Miguel Puente, who he cites as friends and inspirations, and consequently started Digital Delight, the label he co-owns with Moreno. Buoyed by the success of his residency, the close ties with his comrades Diego, Miguel and Damian Uzabiaga and his background in business, he took to marketing the label with ease and began to work on establishing the label as a force to be reckoned with. The label helped propagate a new sound - dark, raw, murky and full of seductive funk.
Sishi's love of nineties hip-hop combined with his early forays into funky house and the influence of idols such as Steve Lawler spawned his sound, a lethal cocktail of contemporary underground house withwest coast gangster rap flavours. It wasn't long before some of the scene's elder statesman started to pay attention to what Sishi and his Digital Delight co-dees were creating, culminating in a collaboration with partner in crime Miguel Puente being signed to No.19's Social Experiment compilation, mixed by Soul Clap, in the early part of 2011. Serious Compassion marked a milestone in Sishi's career propeling him into the limelight and, soon after, another link-up with Puente was to become an anthem at the hallowed grounds of DC10 in Ibiza. This Feeling was played on a regular basis by some of the scene's most respected tastemakers, including Crosstown Rebels owner Damian Lazarus.
These two tracks helped define Sishi's career and put his name on the map, along with a standout performance at Sonar in 2011.
Before he knew it, Digital Delight, and his other outlet Sultry Vibes, had become established labels within the underground house music sphere and he was soon receiving a deluge of new music from artists all over the world inspired by his sound while signing his own tracks to labels such as One Records, Get The Curse, No.19, Lower East, Mr. Nice Guy, Exploited Records and Get Physical.
Ask Sishi who the greatest rapper of all time is and, quick as a flash, he'll tell you, “Eazy-E” - one of the originators of gangster rap. The gritty sounds that Eazy-E was responsible for back in the nineties permeates through Sishi's music, from Mr. Nice Guy release Deep In The Hood through to Booty Express on Mussen Project and his menacing Get The Curse EP, No More Hits. Seedy, rugged and hypnotic with plenty of brutish energy, there's no mistaking a Sishi Rosch production which is why he's been booked to play all around the world and continues to influence a whole new generation of producers.
There have been a few twists and turns on his journey up to this point but Sishi is finally living out his dreams, travelling the globe and playing his music to thousands of adoring fans. Even his mother has given him her blessing which, above all else, is the ultimate reward for the self-confessed workaholic.
Though he didn't become a professional football player, but thanks to his hard work, honest nature and natural flair Sishi is still hitting the back of the net on a regular basis...