Alexander Shapovalov, better known by his stage nameShapov, is a Russian record producer and DJ. He is also a former member of the electronic project Hard Rock Sofa. The collaborations with Axwell entitled “Belong” and with Armin van Buuren called “The Last Dancer”, “Our Origin”, “La Résistance De L'Amour” and are considered to be the most famous works of the producer.
Biography
Hard Rock Sofa Alexander started experimenting with sound when was 16. In the autumn of 2005 he and other DJ and producer Denis Chepikov formed the music project “Hard Rock Sofa”. Later vocalist Sergey Zuev joined them. During his participation in the project, Alexander composed many tracks, some of which became hits. The most popular tracks “Here We Go”, “Quasar” and “Rasputin” were played by the legendary trio Swedish House Mafia. As a part of the project, Alexander performed at the largest music festivals such as Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland, Electric Daisy Carnival, Sensation, Electric Zoo, Global Gathering. Shapov In 2015, Alexander left the project Hard Rock Sofa and began his solo career under the stage name Shapov. In the same year he joined the world's famous British label Axtone Records, which is headed by Axwell. On 23 February 2015 Shapov released the extended play on Axtone Records called “Shapov EP”, which included track “Disco Tufli” and collaboration with Meg & Nerak “Party People”. Radio hostDanny Howard supported the track “Party People” on «BBC Radio 1» during the three-hour Back 2 Back mix with David Guetta. On 25 April 2015 Shapov presented his solo project at the Gold Club in Smolensk. The producer was supported by his friends and colleagues such as Swanky Tunes, Hard Rock Sofa, Matisse & Sadko, Meg & Nerak and Skidka. Later Shapov collaborated with the Russian producer Amersy on “Vavilon” and then released the single “Runic” on Axtone Records. On 5 October 2015 came out the second EP titled “Everybody”. A month later, Shapov released the track “Our World” featuring the Americansinger and songwriterJustin Tranter. This composition was included in the anniversary album “Axtone Ten”, dedicated to the decade of the existence of the label Axtone Records. According to the Beatport portal, Shapov became the “Breakthrough of the year 2015” in the EDM style. Early in 2016 Shapov presented the track “Future Rave”, performed in the guest mix recorded for the Diplo & Friends show on BBC Radio 1. Later the composition was released on Axtone Records. That same year, on Axtone Records and Ultra Records labels was released one of the most significant works in the Shapov's career which was his collaboration called “Belong” with Axwell, a member of the Swedish House Mafia trio. In 2017 took place the release of the third EP "Four Corners" consisting of 4 tracks on the labels Axtone Records and Armada. The first track “Breathing Deeper” was a collaboration with producers Meg & Nerak. The second track “Some People” was written with the participation of the Russian electronic project “Beverly Pills”. The third work is a single "More Than Love" featuring a group “Rookies“. The solo track "Analogue Soul" completed the "Four Corners". The next project in his career was the release of “The Way” together with the trio Trouze. In 2018 Shapov collaborated with Dutch Trance music legend Armin van Buuren on “The Last Dancer”. DJs played their track together on the main stage of the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Soon took place a release of a new collaboration called “Our Origin”, which Armin van Buuren presented at the beginning of his set on Tomorrowland. Then “Our Origin” was used as a soundtrack for the festival aftermovie. Both tracks were released on the :ru:Armind|Armind. At the end of 2019, a joint release with Magnificence is coming out, which becomes the official track for the promotional presentation video of the new generation of Peugeot 208. Peugeot brand confidently enters the era of 'energy transition', offering its vision of the future in collaboration with 'Unboring the Future'.
