Sally Shapiro - Somewhere Else - Printable Version +- Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com) +-- Forum: Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Alternative (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: Sally Shapiro - Somewhere Else (/showthread.php?tid=8252)

Sally Shapiro - Somewhere Else - Music Head - 03-03-2013 online listen dreamy vocals some club tracks only a couple like the clip 1.2 from me and a converted 2.4 from allmusic from the album - What Can I Do http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoGxKhvKl8g released Feb 26th, 2013 Bio - from allmusic In a sense, Sally Shapiro is both the recording pseudonym of an anonymous Swedish singer and also the name of a duo consisting of that singer and producer/writer Johan Agebjörn, who are together responsible for the music released under the moniker "Sally Shapiro." That music, combining Shapiro's delicate, silvery vocals with Agebjörn's vintage-styled synthesizer dance tracks, is a deliberate and meticulous replication of the sound of 1980s Italo disco, as well as a distillation of the melancholic yet hopeful sentimentality commonly associated with twee indie pop. The pair first met in 2001, working in an office together, but it wasn't until Christmas 2004 that Agebjörn, a lifelong Italo disco lover, noticed Shapiro's voice while they were singing carols at his piano. He told her she would make an excellent Italo-style singer, and as luck would have it she turned out to be a fan of the genre as well. Shapiro agreed to record vocals for a tune Agebjörn had penned in the style of Valerie Dore and Katy Gray (similarly pseudonymous singers who were backed by obscured writing/production teams), although when they finally got around to it in early 2006, she was so shy that Agebjörn had to leave the room while she sang her part. The resulting track, "I'll Be by Your Side," was almost instantaneously hailed as a modern classic on online disco forums; it was given a vinyl release on the Austrian label Diskokaine that July and was soon championed in such outlets as Pitchfork, Vice, and The Village Voice. The album Disco Romance followed on Diskokaine in December, containing that song and five more Shapiro/Agebjörn collaborations (one of them, the single "Anorak Christmas," a cover of the Swedish indie pop one-man band Nixon), two remixes, and an ambient Agebjörn instrumental. In October 2007, Canadian-based indie Paper Bag Records released Disco Romance in North America with a revised track listing including three new songs (two by Nixon's Roger Gunnarsson; one of them penned specifically for Shapiro) and the extended version of "I'll Be by Your Side." Shapiro's much-discussed shyness (she still refuses to record vocals while anyone is in the room) precluded her from music videos or making live appearances to promote the album, although she has given numerous interviews. The duo still managed to stay in the minds of critics and fans, however, by releasing two albums of remixes, Remix Romance, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 -- which included contributions from artists like Dntel, Holy ****, the Juan Maclean, Junior Boys, and the Russian Futurists -- in April and June of 2008, respectively. The duo followed up their first album with another that followed a similar format, 2009's My Guilty Pleasure, before taking a break to work on other projects. Shapiro added guest vocals to a song ("Don't Be Afraid") on Anoraak's 2010 album Wherever the Sun Sets while Agebjörn released the excellent Casablanca Nights album in 2011, with many tracks featuring vocals by Shapiro. The duo reconvened in 2011 to record a new album and the result was 2013's Somewhere Else. The album featured the return of Gunnarsson and collaborations with Le Prix and Electric Youth, as well as an alternate version of "Don't Be Afraid." Album Review - from allmusic After two albums of excellent, sad Italo-disco made by the team of Johan Agebjörn and the vocalist known as Sally Shapiro under the name Sally Shapiro, the duo must have realized it was time to adjust the formula just a bit in order to keep things sounding right. Both 2007's Disco Romance and 2009's My Guilty Pleasure successfully stuck very close to the template of placing cheap- and icy-sounding synths over somewhat corny electro-disco beats with Shapiro's sweet and nearly artless vocals on top singing painfully melancholy lyrics about heartbreak of all kinds. 2013's Somewhere Else doesn't stray far from their established sound -- the duo aren't crazy enough to ditch such a distinctive approach, and frequent collaborator Roger Gunnarsson is on hand to co-write four songs -- but they bring in some new ideas, new beats, and a handful of interesting collaborators to help make the album feel fresh. While tracks like "If It Doesn't Rain Tonight" and "Architectured Love" wouldn't have sounded out of place on the first two albums, the almost giddily funky "My Local Italo Disco DJ Has a Crush on Me" could have been on Madonna's first album; "What Can I Do" features guitars and has the feel of a classic Saint Etienne song; "I Dream with an Angel Tonight" has some nicely glitchy techno drum machine sounds, and "Sundown" has all the hallmarks of a '90s electro ballad, from the huge gated drum sound to the jazzy chord changes and the smarmy sax break. The duo must have been big fans of the Drive soundtrack because they brought in Bronwyn Griffin of Electric Youth to add vocals to "Starman," and Anoraak to co-write and produce "Don't Be Afraid." Both songs capture the late- night, rainy streets Drive aesthetic with Shapiro's voice fitting very well with the desolate mood. These stylistic shifts aren't seismic by any stretch, but they are all handled gracefully and add new dimension to the Sally Shapiro sound. They couldn't have kept on doing the same thing, as good as it was, much longer without the diminishing returns catching up with them. As it is, with the improvements, revamps, and overall more interesting arrangements, Somewhere Else manages to be the equal of Disco Romance, and the only reason it isn't better is that it lacks the surprise factor that made Sally Shapiro's debut so breathtaking. Track Listing 1. Prescript 2. I Dream with an Angel Tonight 3. All My Life 4. This Citys Local Italo Disco DJ Has a Crush on Me 5. What Can I Do 6. If It Doesnt Rain 7. Sundown 8. Starman 9. Lives Together 10. Dont Be Afraid (Alternative Version) 11. Architect of Love12. Postscript Sally Shapiro - Somewhere Else - CRAZY-HORSE - 04-03-2013 no thanks...