LILA (2023)

Award winning Austrian Band Shake Stew combine hypnotic grooves and their trademark high-energy style with a more subtle and deeply spiritual vibe on their sixth album Lila. Working with spoken word artist Precious Nnebedum and producer Marco Kleebauer for the first time, the album offers 5 previously unreleased songs as well as a pulsating live session. The band’s unusual configuration of 2 drummers, 2 bass players and 3 horns remains, as does the line up of Johannes Schleiermacher, Mario Rom and Astrid Wiesinger make up the wind section with Nikolaus Dolp and Herbert Pirker on drums and Lukas Kranzelbinder and Oliver Potratz on bass.

‘Lila’ sees Kranzelbinder fulfill a long-held ambition to work with Viennese producer Marco Kleebauer (Bilderbuch, Sharktank, Leyya). Like Kranzelbinder, he is a key figure in the Austrian music scene and although their musical paths have been very different the collaboration just clicked. On several tracks we hear Kranzelbinder's now familiar multi-layered compositions supplemented by Kleebauer’s sound layers pushing the door wide open to a new musical chapter of Shake Stew, but not at the sacrifice of band’s trademark sound. Another exciting collaboration is that with spoken word artist Precious Nnebedum, who grew up between Nigeria and Austria and features on ‘Not Water But Rest’. On ‘Shasta Fey’ – one of 3 live tracks – the hypnotic grooves and trance-like passages associated with the band jump to the fore. On a repetitively rippling carpet of drums and guembri, bassist Potratz is given seemingly endless space to fully unfold with his Bass VI. The title reflects the strong influence of the film world on Kranzelbinder's music, as Shasta Fey is a character from Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice and the track ‘Detroit’ is an homage to a scene in Jim Jarmusch's film Only Lovers Left Alive. Both films have already served as inspiration for several pieces. The title track and first single ‘Lila’, takes a gentler path showcasing Kranzelbinder's instinct for melody and instrumentation and is the band's shortest – but perhaps also most concise – piece to date. ‘Detroit’ captivates with a dialogue between the kalimba and drums until Kranzelbinder also dives in with his guembri (Moroccan bass lute). The track also forms the transition to a more playful part of the album and the three live tracks, ‘Heat’, ‘Shasta Fey’ and ‘Breathe’. Recorded in a small venue in Vienna last year they capture the excitement and thrill of the band’s now legendary live shows with ‘Breathe’ ending the album with a collective exhale.

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HEAT (2022)

Heat is the fifth album since Shake Stew's formation in 2016 and delivers probably the most diverse overall impression of their musical range to date. For the first time in the band's history, there was a personnel change in the horn section at the beginning of 2021, where the Austrian alto saxophonist Astrid Wiesinger took over the position from Clemens Salesny. The addition of Wiesinger has given the band an injection of new energy and we can hear the electricity buzzing on each track.

Its genesis also reflects a decisive characteristic that has accompanied the band from the beginning: since the first note played together, the septet's music has been forging its way, unceasingly bringing forth new facets - no matter how adverse the circumstances. As Heat's seven compositions took on more and more concrete form towards the end of 2020, it quickly became clear that this music had to be recorded as soon as possible and sent out into the world. At the same time society was moving from one lockdown to the next and rehearsals between the partly Austrian and partly German musicians* could only be realised under difficult conditions. Therefore, the decision was made that a large-scale project was needed to get the band out of the daily routine of the pandemic and into an environment where they could fully ignite the fire that had arisen in the new line-up and capture it on record. The Cicaleto Studio in Arezzo (Tuscany, Italy) was chosen as perfect location and with great logistical effort (travelling up to 18 hours by various trains to keep the ecological footprint as small as possible) Shake Stew managed to work and make music together in this enclave for five days. Already on the first evening, everyone was aware of how valuable this coming together is in times of interpersonal isolation, and the intense energy and joy of playing during these studio sessions can be sensed on Heat after only a few moments.

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Single: I Wear My Heart On The Outside (2021)

After recently being awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis in the category "Band of the Year - International" Shake Stew release their first ever track without Drums and introduce a new band member: Astrid Wiesinger joins the group with her unique sound and spirit and immediately takes the spotlight in this acoustic setting. Recorded in an 18th century hall "I Wear My Heart On The Outside" is the first glimpse into a new studio album which will be released early next year. It combines the bands core elements of repetitive patterns with a highly emotional lyricism, that draws the listener into its soft but intense movement.

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(A)live! (2020)

We present this album at a most challenging point in time, when we are all feeling the loss of social interaction in many aspects of life. We are deeply convinced that everything we create and play is meant to exist in relation with the presence of other people, who influence the direction the music takes. The spirit behind this album is to emphasize the existential need for our music to be performed live, and the fact that it can only live and thrive as a collective phenomenon in an organic exchange with the audience. The emotions and sounds created in these moments are never private. Each and every person in the audience contributes to the process, in a constant interaction with the musicians. Therefore, we cannot simply execute our music on stage; we strive, with the help of everyone present, to bring it to life. Time and time again. This is why we play.

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GRIS GRIS (2019)

"Hypnotic Afrobeats power Austrian septet's expansive third album! Able to blind you into a trance and make you dance down to your knees, Gris Gris twists, blisters and burns  like a fevered dream...read more (MOJO)

"From the get-go, ‘I Can Feel the Heat Closing In’ demonstrates Shake Stew’s sense of control: their control of pace, their control of complex rhythms as well as their complete control of textures, all of which combine to create a powerful wall of sound. Throughout Gris Gris, Shake Stew maintain these elements and so much more, as the group...read more (Jazz Revelations)

"Ungeheurer Drive jetzt, das geht nur mit Disziplin, wie im Funk. Und da ist dieses so überlegte, unterhaltende und mitunter lustvoll dem Jazz in den Arsch tretende Album...read more (Der Spiegel Online)

"Ne se contentant pas de faire les choses à moitié (leur single durait 19 minutes), “Gris Gris” de la révélation autrichienne Shake Stew est un double album emballant. Afrobeat hypnotique, débauche d’énergie et grooves jazz pour un “something else” rafraîchissant...read more (France Musique)

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RISE AND RISE AGAIN (2018)

"Their new album Rise and Rise Again is a wild trip in itself. Dramatic film score soundscapes develop into anthemic jubilation, thundering drums and bass propel saxophones and trumpet to dizzying heights. Meditative repetition brings a spiritual feeling to the music, both gospel and eastern traditions sounding...read more (KNKX - The New Cool)

„In places a high-octane mix of fiery jazz and hypnotic Afrobeat, elsewhere a more lyrical display, it‘s an uplifting album to listen to, probably even better live...read more (Jazz Journal)

“Shamanic smears of sound, a fusillade of colossal, architectural beats, and snaking, energy-drunk horn lines – vast, cinematic music!" (Wiener Zeitung)

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THE GOLDEN FANG (2017)

"Style is a thing of the past – transformation and diversity are the new genre! Let the good vibrations flow! The Golden Fang is an intergalactic road movie for your ears.” (Kurier)

„This could already be the album of the year!“ (Jazzthetik Magazine)

"The 28-year-old writes sublime pieces, using the unusual instrumentation – three horn players, two basses and two drummers – to excellent advantage. Cleverly placed breaks make way for inspired solos: Clemens Salesny’s and Johannes Schleiermacher’s saxophones sound great; Mario Rom’s trumpet shines. Judging by this example of the younger generation, Austrian jazz is in excellent health." (OÖN)

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