Dean Smith brings you soulful and suneshiney tunes on Soulshare Radio. He spoke to us about his love of music and the numerous festivals he has been involved with.

Do you mind introducing yourself?

Hi, my name is Dean Smith – I’m a producer and DJ under the name Dean ‘Sunshine’ Smith, I run Soulshare Media which is a record label, stream service, DJ service, IT development, web design, and am also a media consultant.

I guess the ‘sunshine’ stems from my time playing sunsets and sharing happy sunny soul music over the years. Oh, and I like to think I’m a pleasant, happy-go-lucky chap.

How long have you been working in the music industry?

I have been a DJ for around 26 years now, working mainly in the UK and Europe.

I’ve also been promoting events for around 20 of those years.

I also worked in pop music for a while in and around Australia and Asia.

You also work with a lot of music festivals. Do you mind going into that a bit?

Over the years I have played at a whole bunch of festivals from little free gatherings in remote tropical areas, to established European festivals throughout the UK. For the last few years I have been fortunate enough to be resident DJ and involved with the Garden Productions team over in Croatia who run the Garden Festival. They also play host to a whole bunch of top European branded dance festivals like www.suncebeat.com, www.electricelephant.co.uk, www.soundwavecroatia.com, www.stopmakingsense.eu.

The Garden Festival was set up by some guys from Birmingham who opened a Garden Bar in Zadar. It is a slice of pure paradise and is held in July every year at a place called Tisno, with a private beach, a truly amzing outdoor club space ‘Barbarellas,’ and a whole bunch of epic Adriatic day/night boat parties. It all takes place in the most blissful Adriatic coastal surroundings and brings together people from across the globe under a Sunshine banner to celebrate and enjoy all that is great in today;s underground dance music scene.  So many of the world’s best DJs and artists have passed through and returned year to year.

As I mentioned above, the Garden Festival came from the Garden Bar which is based in Zadar, and the bar celebrates its 10th anniversary this year!  Again, it is a beautiful outdoor bar/cocktail space with plush garden surroundings and white loungers with quality music slections and a perfect view of the Zadar Harbour.

The festival is now in its 8th year. I have been fortunate to be involved as a resident DJ and IT streaming for a while now, and have seen it grow at a natural organic pace. This may sound corny, but it really is like one big family; in fact we call ourseves the garden family. Our ethos is simply to enjoy, to share, and to celebrate what we as a unit are trying to achieve. I guess the best way to show you what it’s all about is to point you in the direction of the site. It’s a pleasure to be involved – long may the garden bloom!

What does music mean to you? What do you hope your listeners get from it?

There is not enough room on the internet, let alone this response form to tell you what music means to me. I guess the single most important word I can derive from music is ‘soul’ – I play and share music from my soul, I play music that touches my soul. As long as the music has a feeling, has a connection with me, then regardless of year, genre, length – I will play it and share it – it is soul music!

I hope that whoever is listening has that connection too and for me music is, without question one, of life’s great remedies and a true life gift!

We absolutely think so, too! Why Spreaker? How did you find us?

Well my company, Soulshare Media, came from my love of not only music but the technology and the advancement of media in today’s age. I love music, film, art and technolgy, I enjoy beta testing the latest developments, and I also have a keen interest in testing my skills in coding, app development, and design. Basically, I enjoy solving problems and advancing the medium of music and my creative expression. I came across you guys having used and enjoyed other streaming platforms, but I looked at the  simplicity and embedding, sharing cross platform options, and was suitably impressed! Also I have found that talking with you guys your responses and communication have been wonderful. This is a big plus for me!

So yes, I just would like to thank Spreaker for a great product and long may you have success and growth. I look forward to our continued partnership and association, it’s great that we can spread the sound to people far and wide thorugh technology, it really keeps me focused and moving forward.

How have you built up your community of musicians and fans?

At present the growth of Soulshare Radio will be organic and will focus on Soulshare related events and live streams, featuring a whole bunch of UK and global established DJs, events, and artists.

The podcasts will take place throughout the summer as will a lot of the streams. We have a huge social network at our disposal so the word will spread very quickly amongst fans of our record label, festivals, events, and of course guest DJs and artists. I have been using several platforms for the last few years, but I’m confident in Spreaker being the one we stick with.

Thanks, Dean. Has broadcasting through Spreaker helped you personally or professionally?

I think this has been answered in some part above, but of course the simplicity and further development of Spreaker is going to help me spread the Soulshare message.

Anything else you’d like to share? 

Guess just to point you guys to some of my work, music, sites etc…

www.soulsharemedia.com

www.eventdeveloper.com

www.soundcloud.com/deansmith

www.mixcloud.com/deansmith

and once again continued success and growth to you! i look forward to future development and a long and lasting working relationship with you guys.

Thank you Dean, that was great!