After taking people by surprise last month by releasing ‘Out of Touch,’the first brand-new song since 2018, Canadian rapper Shad is at it again and today unveils a punchy new track and its video titled ‘Work’, as premiered by Complex.
Shad tells us: “Like ‘Out of Touch’, ‘Work’ was another song written pre-pandemic that is (sadly) even more timely now. I knew I wanted to write a song specifically about two aspects of work: One, the way so many of our jobs are disconnected from a sense of meaning and purpose, and from the people and places they impact. And two, just the increasing precarity and scarcity of work. Also as with ‘Out of Touch”, I wanted the song to hold both the irony/humour and heaviness of our situation.” Produced by and featuring Skratch Bastid, this track was built on a blistering sample from art-rockers We Are The City and mixes old and new influences, taking Shad’s flexible flows into exciting new territory. Justin Broadbent who directed the video shares his inspiration behind the images: “I tried to make a classic, in-studio, rap video (think Rakim) but accidentally took an off-ramp, and it became way more grainy punk. As always, Shad delivers on the clever, collaged, comments – so I tried to do the same with the visuals. Watch it loud!”
The last single ‘Out of Touch‘ received an overwhelmingly positive response by media and fans alike and was picked up by Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim!, Strombo, KEXP, American Songwriter and many more. The single also saw Shad landing on billboards and playlist covers across streaming platforms. In addition, last month the renowned Brooklyn-based DJ J. Period released ‘Globetrottin’, a brand-new song featuring Shad and Masego. ‘Globetrottin’ is a playful storytelling track on J. Period’s EP, which also features Black Thought, Dave Chappelle, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a host of others.
Shad is one of Canada’s most revered rappers, a peerless wordsmith who embodies hip-hop’s power to entertain and educate. Since releasing his DIY debut in 2005, the Toronto-based MC has pushed his style of socially conscious yet infectiously playful hip-hop across five increasingly ambitious albums that have received widespread critical acclaim and coverage in outlets like Rolling Stone, Complex, The Ringer, Fader, NPR, and more. To date, Shad has racked up over 30 million streams, a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year (for 2010’s TSOL), and four placements on Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize shortlist, most recently for his 2018 concept-album opus, A Short Story About a War. His music has also been heard on TV shows like Snowpiercer, The Murders, Tall Boyz and more. His mission to inspire and inform goes beyond his own music: a former host of CBC Radio’s flagship arts and culture program q, Shad can currently be seen talking shop with the legends of rap on the Emmy/Peabody Award-winning Netflix Original docuseries, Hip-Hop Evolution.
“two slow-burn songwriters who sound like they compounded each other’s daring on their first single, ‘Anything at All’…the track continually builds and bristles, starting with a skulking bass line and peaking with an onslaught of frenetic guitars.” – The New York Times
“The songs combine vivid imagery rooted in intimacy and desire with a gnawing fear of climate change and walking alone at night, among other things. The relationship between ambient anxiety and warm, immediate comfort provides the album’s central tension, in its own way a reminder of why it’s nice to have a friend when everything else seems to be crumbling.” – Pitchfork
“‘Anything At All’ an expertly designed piece of indie rock: a tasteful bass bump anchors the track, while guitars, synths, and pianos flicker anxiously during the verses before a big guitar hook that’s all carom and crunch, like a tidal wave on repeat.” – Rolling Stone
“A groovy ballad all about unrequited, queer love, the sound feels fresh and new for both artists” – Billboard
“highlight the duality between restraint and release…Bachelor appears to be a push for both Kempner and Duterte into a more eerie, post-punk direction that doesn’t compromise on intimacy.” – them.
“a sparkling mix of both artist’s distinctive sounds.” –NYLON
“an explosive new team-up dripping with fuzz…’Stay in the Car’ careens wildly, thrillingly, and full of feverish promise.” – MTV
“When two indie rockers beloved in their own right team up for a collaborative project, you know you’re in for a treat.” – UPROXX
Bachelor — the collaborative project of Palehound’s Ellen Kempner and Jay Som’s Melina Duterte — release their highly-anticipated debut album, Doomin’ Sun, via Milk! Records / Remote Control Records! With an ominous eye to extreme fandom, the duo has also released their new ‘Back Of My Hand‘video, directed by Ellen Kempner.
The band shares: “For the “Back Of My Hand” video, we wanted more than anything to make something fun given the limited time and options available due to the current pandemic. Ultimately deciding to put Ellen in the director’s chair as well as film at her home with a skeleton crew. Our final single is about the dark side of fandom and we wanted to exaggerate that as much as possible in our video concept. When it came to choosing an artist to obsess over we quickly chose Harry Styles as we both are truly big fans!”
With early support from the likes of Pitchfork, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR Music and more, Doomin’ Sun is a record steeped in friendship. Written and recorded in Topanga, CA over the course of two weeks in January of 2020, pre-pandemic, Doomin’ Sun finds Kempner and Duterte hybridizing their individual songwriting talents, producing a collection that slips between moods with ease and showcases their lyrical prowess. While the album features collaborations with the likes of Big Thief’s Buck Meek and James Krivchenia, as well as Duterte’s partner and Routine-counterpart Annie Truscott of Chastity Belt, the record was largely made by the two musicians in isolation as a fitting precursor to the forthcoming year. Creating the space to explore significant themes from queerness to climate change, the collection also finds Bachelor experiencing pure, unadulterated joy: the kind of joy that can only come from creating, laughing, and having a ridiculous amount of fun with a close friend.
To celebrate the album release they have also announced Doomin’ Sun Fest, a massive, free/donation-based livestream festival + telethon to benefit and uplift Seeding Sovereignty. The festival will take place onFriday 11th June from 8AM AEST, and features the likes of Tegan & Sara, Courtney Barnett, Benjamin Gibbard, Sylvan Esso, Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief), Jeff Tweedy, Japanese Breakfast, Julien Baker, Tank And The Bangas and more.
