Bite Autumn 2012

bite new artist reviews

SHANGHAI’S MUSIC HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS DARK AND MOODY WITH INFLUENCES RANGING FROM THE NEW WAVE OF THE 1980S TO THE DARK CLASSICISM OF RAVEL AND FRANZ KAFKA. RACHEL JONES DELVES INTO THE DANISH DUO’S MOODY MELANCHOLIA MUSIC.

N ew Danish band Shanghai was formed in Copenhagen in 2009 by musicians and producers Niels Brandt and Nicolai Kornerup. Niels Brandt, the band’s guitarist and lead singer, comes from a Communist background, which has no doubt shaped his musical outlook. He was previously in a band called Airman, which in the mid 2000s was signed to RCA UK, and since then Brandt has worked with producers such as Guy Chambers, Fraser T. Smith, James Sanger, DimitriTokovoi, Martin Terefe, andYouth.

the late Kjeld Tolstrup. Gammeltoft and Tolstrup’s record label, Sound Of Copenhagen, promptly signed the band, through which their EP, The Priest, was released on 23 rd May last year. This year Shanghai was nominated for the award “Best New Act of the Year” at the TV2 Zulu Awards and has also received an award named in memory of Kjeld Tolstrup, which was recently founded to recognise new talent and

exceptional new artists. Shanghai released their latest single ‘ Wet Summer’ on the 2 nd July this year. It was produced by Ladytron

Nicolai Kornerup, meanwhile, is the band’s keyboardist. His musical background is a classical one and it was at the Danish Music Conservatory that he attained a Masters Degree in the piano. He divides his time between playing for Shanghai and playing the accordion for the Copenhagen band Mames Babegenush, a group that plays music in the traditional Jewish style of Klezmer. Brandt and Kornerup met in 2007, not long after Brandt had returned to Denmark after living in London for five years. Shanghai, a name derived from an image of “Michael Douglas in his fullWall Street attire looking out over Shanghai from his penthouse hotel room while listening to ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ on the hi-fi stereo”, is influenced by the likes of Tears For Fears, David Bowie, and Pink Floyd. The duo has described their

and Alessandro Cortini, a musician and producer who has worked in the past with Nine Inch Nails. ‘Wet Summer’ continues with the deliciously retro eighties influence, combined with eerie, hypnotic high vocals, presenting an ethereal alternative to the typical idea of a summer track. Shanghai’s debut album is currently in the pipeline and is expected to be released sometime in the beginning of 2013. It seems Shanghai have a prosperous future ahead, something that would be sincerely deserved to such a unique and inspiring act. Watch the video for ‘Wet Summer’ at: http://youtu.be/6-zdfn7RKsg and ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ at: http://youtu.be/lAyu3zZjwSg www.shanghaimusic.net

music as “Arabesque Pop”, so-called because it is, they claim, “…accessible music, with an intricate harmonic structure.” Listening to their first single, ‘Smoke And Mirrors’, the eighties Tears For Fears influence is instantly recognisable and makes for a very atmospheric track, which is retro and nostalgic yet futuristically modern. It is no surprise then that the original demo of the song experienced airplay on major radio stations, after capturing the attention of DJs Le Gammeltoft and

Images courtesy of Digital Rebel PR