It's often mystery how simple moments will unfurl into the most positively unexpected. Marty and Jamie of Shake Loves You can attest to this. The duo out of Glasgow, Scotland did, after all, go from meeting as ski instructors to touring internationally.
And they've capitalized on this opportunity to bring the profound out of the simple under their Shaka Loves You moniker. From laying down funk, disco and soul on the decks to filling in the details with a rack of live percussion, Jamie and Marty have shown consistent intention to make it groovy, whatever 'it' is.
However, they do not rely on The Groove alone, but rather their relentless touring, tune making, curating and more to bring it all together. And their hard work hasn't gone unnoticed with BBC's renowned Funk & Soul personality Craig Charles regularly showcased their creative edits and originals to their non-stop summer festival schedule.
Today, they showcase one of the many flavors of a Shaka Loves You experience in this sweeping Stereofox mini mix. To accompany this, it's only fair we get a little 'year in review' from them in the interview below.
Tracklist:
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- Southpaw Chop - Funky Soul Brother
- Marlena Shaw - Remember Me (Jim Sharp Edit)
- Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke (Reflex 7" revision)
- DJ Shadow feat De La Soul - Rocket Fuel
- Chaka Khan - Like Sugar (The Funk Hunters edit)
- The Fatback Band - Are You Ready (Do the Bus Stop) (Joey Negro London Bus Stop Mix)
- Shaka Loves You - Gotta Dance
- Sister Sledge - He's the Greatest Dancer (Sam Redmore's Tropical Disco Mix)
- Sunlightsquare - I Believe in Miracles (Broken Party Animals Mix)
- Fred Wesley - House Party (Berry Juice Edit)
- Oh Yeah - Nothing But The Beat (Hot Toddy Dub Mix)
- Shaka Loves You - Disco Weapon
Hey guys, great to have you. What have you guys been up to the past days?
Hey man! So yeah, we've kinda been in recovery mode after finishing our final festival of the season last weekend. Having said that we have had to go straight into recording our next Soho radio show so no rest for the wicked yet!
This mix you guys put together for us is amazing. Tell me more about the selection.
Thanks very much. Well, basically it was snapshot of the type of set you would have heard from us over festival season. Lots of funk and disco with some familiar tracks in there too. Always harder to do a short mix like this but hopefully folk will get an idea of what it's like if they see us live.
And this summer… seemed to be absolutely jam-packed for you two. Lots of festivals and traveling… looking back on the past months, what were some highlights?
Yeah, this Summer has been great fun, one of our busiest yet I think. So many memories, but two that stand out were our sets at Shindig festival and Moovin' festival. Two completely different sets musically but they were both so much fun and we got a great response.
Last year, you put out a smash-out EP called Boogie. How was it received?
Yeah, it seemed to go down pretty well. The collab with Fullee Love from Jurassic 5 really helped our profile and people seemed to connect with that track in particular.
And your recent EP Tonight is a groovy one where you guys featured a vocalist on the title track complete with a music video. Tell me about this creation and what went into it
So that track was ages in the making, I originally started the beat back in Autumn 2017. We had other releases and projects lined up to come out first so it kept getting put on the back burner. When we decided to make it our next release we added our good friend Marco Cafolla on keys which totally gave the track a new lease of life. As Amunda's vocals were so strong we thought it deserved a music video to accompany the track so we did a 90's-esque, super-8 style video, all shot around Glasgow. Lots of time & effort for just one track but we think it was all worth it seeing the finished product.
And earlier this year, you guys curated the Disco Funkin’ compilation for Bombstrikes Records. Tell me more about how you put that together.
Again we wanted to try and capture the essence of one of our live shows with the compilation. We made a shortlist of around 30 tracks then Tim & Glenn at Bombstrikes were integral to helping us get some of the big names we got on the comp. We never thought we'd get folk like Dimitri from Paris and The Reflex so there so massive props to Bombstrikes for making it all come together.
You guys have a unique stage element of auxiliary percussion and decks, how did this performance element come together? Tell me the SLY story.
It all started when I first moved to Glasgow and came from a frustration of not having any proper gigs or residencies. We met each other working as ski/snowboard instructors and decided to put on our own night together. We thought having the percussion and visuals would set our night apart from other peoples but we had no intention then of becoming an 'act' back then. That kinda happened sort of by accident, I'd like to say it was all a master plan form the start but it definitely wasn't!
You guys also host a party in Glasgow called “Joints n’ Jams”. How’s it been curating your own events?
The joints n jams parties are always super fun. We're really lucky to work with a great venue at Nice n Sleazy that naturally pulls a crowd no matter what the day/week. It takes a lot of the stress out from putting on your own events. We've also had the chance to host some of our international DJ friends if they've been passing through town such as Fort Knox 5 & Everyman.
How hard does Glasgow get down?
Haha! Yeah, pretty hard! Us Scots love any excuse for a good party so when people go out they know how to have a good time. Some of our best shows have been to the hometown crowds.
If you guys could each choose someone, living or not, to have a DMC (deep meaningful conversation) with, who would it be and why?
Hmm, good question. Dead would probably be Prince, i'm still gutted I never got the chance to see him live before he passed away. Alive, maybe Questlove or Jazzy Jeff? We had the chance to meet Jeff briefly when we supported him in Glasgow but i'd love a proper chat with him about music & DJ'ing.
Guys, summer’s almost over, but The Groove never ends. What are the next moves for Shaka Loves You?
Now that we have a bit more time we're in full studio writing mode at the moment. We have our monthly radio show and we're playing some club shows around the UK in Autumn/Winter. We're also in the middle of planning a tour to the states and Canada for the new year so fingers crossed it all comes together!
Get all the latest form Shake Loves You on their website here.
Thumbnail artwork courtesy of Nathan Roach.
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