Интервью: Shook о пиратстве, гамбургерах и новом альбоме
Earlier this month Shook released his debut album, full of cool synths and melodies. A culmination of his road, as he told us. So, we decided to speak a little bit with him about his album, ideas and plans. Just hit play and read.
Some time ago I discovered your music for myself, and I really loved it from the first seconds. The style and a special sound, that is definitely your own signature. So, who was your inspiration?
Thank you, that’s good to hear! I listen to a lot of stuff actually. I do have a love for the 70’s/ 80’s funk and disco music. Big fan of legendary musicians like Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ahmad Jamal and many others and because the way they created their music and sound in an era with much less possibilities than now is simply amazing. But I get inspiration from a lot of things, it doesn’t even have to be music. It can be anything, as long as it triggers a certain feeling inside of me that makes me want to sit behind my piano and just play.
Your debut album just came out. That is a pretty exciting moment for you and all the fans, how can you describe your album? What should we expect from it?
It’s hard for me to describe it because the only real way is to listen to it, but I’ll give it a go. I think the album represents where I am now as a musician. It’s the culmination of my road so far. It’s definitely characterized by my usual sound (lots of synths and keys), but it has evolved from my earlier work into what it is now. It’s definitely a Shook-album. Everything is played and recorded live and mixed into the end result. I consider myself very lucky to have fans that really appreciate the musicality behind my sound, and that’s what I wanted to focus on, because that’s precisely what I’m about.
Have you ever thought about creating a full band, with guitars, drums and playing everything live?
Funny you should ask that, because I am actually right in the process of creating an entirely new LIVE-set, incorporating more live musical elements, with accompanying musicians. I’m really excited about it, because in the end, what I love to do most is just play music! It’s really cool that I have the opportunity to build around the core of what made me kinda popular and create something totally new, combining club music and live music. I’m very psyched about it!
What do you think about online piracy, and the way how blogs share your music?
Man, I don’t know what I would do WITHOUT the blogs! They are a huge part of where I am today, BECAUSE they share my music with the world! I couldn’t be more thankful for that.
Piracy, I don’t really think too much about that actually. You can’t stop people from sharing, and I’m not sure if I would even want to. Music should be listened to. You can complain all day about how people don’t pay you for your music while they should, but you can also look at it the other way around, and feel honoured that people are even listening to your music. You can’t stop it anyhow.
Everything new is actually well-forgotten old. Vinyl becomes more and more popular every day. So, what do you prefer more, vinyl or digital storage? Btw, will you release your album on vinyl?
Yes, my album will release on Vinyl as well in a couple of weeks. I wanted to do something really special, so the first 500 orders get a limited edition Crystal Clear record of the highest quality. I’ve just seen the samples and it looks great. Im so proud haha. I am a bit of a vinyl-nut myself. I just like the physical package, the cover art on the paper sleeve, and a good, heavy record. It’s something special and it’s just a nice thing to have in your possession. That being said, the digital era is something that revolutionized so many aspects of the way we make and approach music, it’s something that you almost HAVE to appreciate. I definitely can’t imagine a world without digital storage. My room would be so LOADED with tapes, I’d have to sleep in my car.
If you’d have a chance to select a special ability, what it would be?
Oh my god, this is so difficult. There a so many good ones to choose from! If I had to choose, it would be: shoot webs like Spider-Man and fly around buildings and land on taxi-cabs.
Could you please name three favourite tunes?
That’s a very difficult question I love so many songs, but on the top of my head and in no particular order: ‘Summer’ by Joe Hisaishi, ‘, ‘A waltz for Debby’ by Bill Evans and ‘Just Around The Corner’ by Herbie Hancock.
[mp3t title=”Joe Hisaishi – Summer” track=”http://dl.soundowl.com/5r01.mp3″]
[mp3t title=”Bill Evans – Waltz For Debby” track=”http://dl.soundowl.com/5r02.mp3″]
[mp3t title=”Herbie Hancock – Just around the corner” track=”http://dl.soundowl.com/5r03.mp3″]
Tell us a little bit about your daily schedule, what do you usually do outside of the studio?
Eat hamburgers. I love hamburgers.
You travel a lot, what are your favourite places to perform?
Basically all places with a musically open minded audience. I have a special connection with France, because that’s basically where it all started. I also love LA. It’s just great to look into the audience and see people with their eyes closed just listening and grooving to the music. Never been to Moldavia though
What should we expect from you this year? A tour? A musical video?
I will be doing a fall-tour in the US. Also I will be going back to Asia for a bit, and of course schedule in shows across Europe. Really excited about the new live set we are currently rehearsing. Man, there’s so much stuff going on right now, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m just so thankful to be in this position, and I’ll just let everything flood over me and take it all in.
Shook’s Debut Album is out now:
iTunes / Spotify / Juno Download / Pre-order Limited vinyl
Follow Shook:
SoundCloud / Website / Twitter / Facebook