Hailing from Walthamstow, East London, this guitar driven four-piece launched themselves with their debut single 'Run' in November 2016, following with last year's ‘Those Three Words’, ‘Tense’, ‘Night Tears’ and 'Swim' which saw the band selling out their debut headline show in London at The Social.
Who are you?
I’m James Heed (Shreddy Mercury/Shred Zeppelin/Judge Shred/Shreddy Kruger) and I play guitar with Shanghai Blues. Reece Ismael (Brown Bear/The Gull) plays the rest of the guitars. James Chalk (Ramen) is our dedicated frontman and 4-string slinger slappin’ up dem bass overtones, and Mike Stinton is CEO but also plays drums .
Tell us something about yourself and how you came to be where you are today?
We’re all from East London and have known each other since we were little kids. That history helps us work really well together. We got where we are today with dedication, ambition and aptly placed drunk decision-making. Ah, and we also got here with Chalk as our personal chauffeur. We don’t pay him well, but that is largely due to his poor chat and dangerous driving.
Give us an idea of your musical style and influences.
This is a real tough question for us because our influences are so varied. Growing up In London we were exposed to pretty much every type of music and the culture behind it. I think the main element we take from our pool of influence is the importance of really having a lot of fun making and playing your own music.
It usually starts with a small idea which develops and grows. We really appreciate carefully detailed layers in music and like to work this into our writing without over-complicating things. We normally have a lot of fun running ideas before a piece comes together. Following this we take a trip down to the seaside to visit our boy Oz Craggs (the George Best of Shanghai Blues) who helps turn our little indie songs into actual anthems.
Tell us a little about your new single.
'Fall' is a song for everyone that has ever had to let go of someone important in life. It started off as something pretty mellow and completely different to our usual style, but we felt it had potential so kept hammering away at it. Eventually we made it explode into something special and now we absolutely fucking love it. Playing it live sends us and the crowd nuts because of the pure energy it brings. We have loads more to give this year and we think this track really shows what we’re made of.
Can we catch up with you at any forthcoming live shows?
For sure! We’re supporting Y.O.U.N.G at Camden Assembly in London on March 4 and Manchester’s Deaf Institute, tye night after. Then we’re soon to announce a spring tour round the UK which we are absolutely buzzing to get stuck into.
How's the rest of the year looking, plans-wise?
It’s looking Grand Prix-huge. Touring, shows, shows, shows, new music, studio time, more shows - it's going to be cray. Holidays are out of the question, but our road trips are dope AF, my G.
Where can we hear more of your music?
We’re all over Spotify and Apple Music, and you can also head to YouTube and check out the video to our track 'Swim'!
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