Shura unveils a new track, “the stage,” from her forthcoming album forevher, out on Secretly Canadian on August 16th. Intimate, unorthodox and affecting, “the stage” switches between sensual, Minie Ripperton and Prince-inspired disco to ecstatic electronics that capture the tension of a potential new love. Shura drew inspiration from her first date with current girlfriend.
“I had travelled to NYC to go on it, so I was a little bit nervous as this was definitely THE most high stakes date I’d ever been on,” says Shura. “I DM’d my friends MUNA who were playing a show the night that I arrived and asked them if they could get us both in, and they loved the concept of a first date at a MUNA gig. I wasn’t sure how the date was going until she took my hand whilst trying to lead me to a spot where I could see them play (i.e. basically nowhere in the venue as I’m too short!). Then I knew it was all going to be OK.”
Written primarily about Shura’s relationship with her girlfriend and their long-distance conception, forevher traces everything from the initial pull of desire to that first IRL meeting (“the stage”), before recognizing when the connection develops into something scarily meaningful. It’s a classic NYC-to-London love-story, but one told through the totally modern filter of dating apps, unanswered texts, Skype chats…and MUNA gigs.
Co-produced alongside Joel Pott – with musical turns from Jona Ma (from Jagwar Ma), Will Miller (Whitney), T-E-E-D and additional vocals from Rosie Lowe, Kerry Leatham, Reva from Nimmo – Shura describes forevher as “a soul record, sung by someone who doesn’t have a traditional soul voice. And I quite enjoy the antagonism of that.” A passionate, tactile album about connection in times of distance, that unmistakable feeling is apparent from just a glance at the album’s artwork, which reworks ‘Rodin’s: The Kiss’ to feature two woman bathed in an all-encompassing blue. “I wanted to create something that people could look at, in the way that you look at The Kiss, and think: I recognise that. Or I want that, or I crave that, or I miss that. I wanted to make something that was specific to my experience of being a queer woman that anyone of any gender or sexuality could look at and think ‘yeah, I understand’ or ‘that’s beautiful.’ Because that’s all love is.”
Listen to “the stage” –
https://youtu.be/zDCPai9kWLQ
Watch Video for “religion (u lay your hands on me) –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHI_WpVLT1g
Stream “BKLYNLDN” –
https://shura.ffm.to/bklynldn
Stream “BKLYNLDN” (i_vu London Dub) –
https://youtu.be/kAxprvn2IGI
Shura Tour Dates:
Thu. June 27 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
Sat. June 29 – Worthy Farm, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
Thu. Sept 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
Fri. Sept. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
Sat. Sept. 28 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Mon. Sept. 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Independent
Wed.. Oct. 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Thu. Oct. 3 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Wed. Oct. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Thu. Oct. 17 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement
Fri. Oct. 18 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
Sat. Oct. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Sun. Oct. 20 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Tue. Oct. 22 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Wed. Oct. 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Mon. Nov. 4 – Paris, FR @ Café de la Danse
Tue. Nov. 5 – Cologne, DE @ Luxor
Wed. Nov. 6 – Munich, DE @ Ampere
Thu. Nov. 7 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
Fri. Nov. 8 – Hamburg, DE @ Mojo
Sun. Nov. 10 – Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil
Tue. Nov. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
Wed. Nov. 13 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique Orangerie
Thu. Nov. 14 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
Sat. Nov. 16 – Dublin, IE @ Academy
Sun. Nov. 17 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
Mon. Nov. 18 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz Manchester
Pre-order forevher –
https://shura.ffm.to/forevher
Keep your mind open.
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