With debut single ‘Aurora’, released autumn 2019, SHAAM LAREIN opened a door into abysmal darkness and gave us a tantalizing taste of the upcoming debut album ‘Sculpture’. We’re now getting another sample of what’s to come with the second single ‘Traveler’ released January 17, 2020.
Stream ‘Traveller’ here The Orchard
Shaam explains:
“There are two voices through the song, the one who tells the story and the one who is stuck in it. What they have in common is a memory of the traveler that were trying to survive. A story that has become a part of the everyday life.
– Hear all these voices, no one dares to step forward. Traveler is a story of a lost battle, a cry for help that ends with tragedy.”
The music on ‘Sculpture’ is written with three strong female voices in focus and this choir is-allowed-to command as much space as the lead vocal. It is dark and barren but with a beauty that shines like a beacon through the desperation. The upcoming album is full of emotional contrasts; stripped, heavy rock and dragging guitar melodies interwoven with theatrical song delivery.
Shaam says: “my inspiration comes from a wide range of artist, the sombre and gloomy as well as the lucent and dazzling. Sculpture have become a pit of many expressions, where I have created freely. Since I come from the Middle East myself, it becomes quite obvious in my creation that that touch comes in and mixes with the heavy rock we play. It may not be so obvious to all listeners, but it usually falls into place for those who knows the Middle Eastern sound. The scales are pretty clear in the songs.”
Shaam was brought up on stage, acting in her father’s travelling theatre. Together they traveled performing his works while Shaam found her own voice. She spent a couple of years singing jazz in her early 20’s but the subsequent years of silence were the catalyst to create the music that takes shape within ‘Sculpture’. Her blood streams from the Middle East but she was brought up in the cumulative scenery of art and music in Stockholm. ‘Sculpture’ is the coalescence of these two worlds.
She is walking the streets with PJ Harvey singing in her ears, has a little love for the life of Carmela Soprano, and Billie Holiday wakes her up with coffee in the morning.
Knowing that she is only in the beginning of her artistic life lead her to gather a posse of inspiring artists to help her create the visual world of her music. This world came to realization with many integral parts: The art of the album cover is created by Pelle Åhman, picturing the very feeling of what’s inside her mind. The layout is pieced together by Erik Danielsson. The cover of debut single ‘Aurora’ and the upcoming single ‘Traveler’ were conceived by Luciana Lupe Vasconcelos; picturing the female presence in a perfect act of the Goddess. The first video to be made is crafted by Gottfrid Åhman, visualizing the core of her creation. An esoteric and estetic universe of like-minded artists coming together, fleshing out and giving shape to the power and grace of Shaam’s first gift to the world of music.
The debut album ‘Sculpture‘ from Shaam Larein will be released January 31st on Icons Creating Evil Art (CD / LP / digital).
Great post😀