The Shakers make the perfect indie pop, their tunes emit a feeling of joy that is barely matched in the music world. Their tunes can be related to those of bands such as The Orielles or with the production of Jungle. The London-based 5-piece have been growing and growing at such a pace that it wouldn't be ridiculous to see them doing arena tours within the next few years! I had the chance to catch up with the band to chat about their incessantly catchy new single "Get Me Down" which will definitely get your toe tapping faster with every listen. Read the full interview below:
Question. Hey guys, How has it been releasing your new single, "Get Me Down", into the world?
The Shakers: It has been amazing. This one has been a pretty long time in the making so not only is it really exciting to see people’s reactions to the song it has been a huge build up for us personally so it is awesome to see it out there and start getting some nice reactions.
Q. Post-release is there anything about the song you'd change?
The Shakers: I don’t think so, regret leads to the dark side.
Q. I feel like it's a lot closer to rock than your previous releases, was this a conscious decision?
The Shakers: We had a pretty different studio process this time around. This song is the first record that we recorded, mixed and produced on our own so it was always in the backs of our mind to do something that was pretty recognisable from here on out, whilst at the same time trying to capture the energy and elements of our live set.
Q. It's a personal favourite song of mine that you've released thus far, is it yours?
The Shakers: For sure, although it always ends up that our newest song is always the favourite. Get Me Down has so many things in it that makes it stand out to us, but at the same time, we are already getting into the business end of our mixing our next single so I can already sense a new favourite coming hot on it’s heels
Q. How much do you feel that your music is evolving and developing whilst in the studio?
The Shakers: This times around things changed a lot, and as a result I think our recorded sound is pretty different. We recorded the songs a little while ago and when we recorded Get Me Down we hadn’t really even finished the song, that way, when we started mixing in earnest we really were writing different parts as we needed them. It was a tricky process that took a while, but it was pretty exciting to be able to listen to what we had, and then
Q. A melting pot of genres is what makes your music so enticing to me, what do you think people enjoy most about your tunes?
The Shakers: We try and keep an underlying groove on everything. If anyone has been to any of our live shows you’ll know that it involves a lot of dancing. This is important to us. We started off wanting to be a straight funk band, but with so many different influences for each band member it was always going to be moulded into something different. We just want to make good time music, whether that’s disco, rock, indie, or somewhere in between doesn’t matter, as long as it can help people enjoy themselves then we’re happy.
Q. "White Leather" was the first song of yours I heard, it's also your most listened on Spotify. What was it like to break through that 100K listen mark?
The Shakers: It was a pretty special feeling really. We work pretty hard to keep the music going and to get it out to people, so to have a positive reaction and a figure to prove that people really are listening is awesome.
Q. Which song gets the best reaction at gigs?
The Shakers: White Leather is our Mum’s favourite. It has a section that in the live set involves a lot of triangle, that bit always gets a good reaction. Quickly behind is probably the introduction that our friend Seb always gives before we come on stage. They are pretty spectacular to behold and always gets people going before the music. Seb is the man.
Q. It was also pressed onto vinyl by Hurd, how did that come about?
The Shakers: We were in contact with Music Glue and they let us know about Hurd, we applied and ended up winning which was great. The whole company is amazing and we ended up being able to ship out some amazing pink records with some art prints and a little Shakers magazine along with them.
Q. Are there any plans to release any more of your music onto vinyl in the near future?
The Shakers: That would always be a lovely thing. Unfortunately it’s a pretty expensive thing to do off your own back, that’s why something like Hurd and Flying Vinyl is so great. If the opportunity is there it’s always something we’d do, but until then, we’ll continue to look for any opportunity we can to get The Shakers pressed to wax for less than the price of our rent...
Q. Which artists inspiring you the most at the minute?
The Shakers: We’re into a heap of stuff at the moment, but as ever the most inspiring musicians are always our friends. ISLAND, Otzeki, Minke, Yukon, Margot, Sugardaddies and Kate Lomas are all totally smashing it at the moment and make some massive tunes.
Q. What lies in the future for The Shakers?
The Shakers: Lot’s really, we have some new music coming out before the end of the year and a couple of exciting shows dotted around London on the horizon too. At the moment we’re just trying to keep things going and make as much music as possible, so that is the plan for now. The World is our lobster and it’s just a matter of opening the clam.