SHAED are about to take the world by storm with their incredible new music. Today (30th of April), they dropped their brand-new single titled “Dizzy,” which is now available to stream on all major streaming platforms!
“Dizzy” is an extremely atmospheric track that you will be instantly addicted to. It has a unique, suspenseful hook to it that will leave you craving for more. You won’t be waiting too long to hear new music however. “Dizzy” is the last single that SHAED will be releasing ahead of their new album “High Dive” – due to be released just weeks away! This single is just part of the bands journey of exploring some dark and intense topics such as anxieties, depression, and insecurities. By tackling these issues in their craft, they have been able to dive deep into self discovery.
Alongside the release of “Dizzy,” the multi-platinum trio also dropped an eerie, yet beautiful music video which perfectly capitulates the story behind the song. The video is now available to view via YouTube below;
“High Dive” also sees their previous singles “Part Time Psycho,” “Osaka,” and “Trampoline.” The album was produced by some of the biggest producers in the industry including GRAMMY Award-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid (HAIM, Vampire Weekend, Charli XCX) and Josh Fountain (BENEE). They also had the help from FAME’s Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra – directed over Zoom by the band and composer Jherek Bischoff (Angel Olsen, Brian Eno), and of course features from Two Feet, Lewis Del Ma, and the wonderful ZAYN.
Check out what happened when we caught up with the band to talk about their new music, mental health, collaborations, and future plans!;
So, you have your album “High Dive” coming out on the 14thof May. Congratulations! Why don’t you start by telling us a bit about it? Could you describe the creative process you went through when making it?
When the pandemic began, we had an album’s worth of new music under our belts – a collection of songs we had written on the road over the years, mostly written with other songwriters. For the first time, we had a chance to take a serious look at all of the songs in front of us, and one thing was clear – they no longer told our truth. They didn’t feel genuine because we had lost sight of why we started making music together a decade ago – to create music that was honest and true to our own experience. So, we decided to scrap the entire album and start fresh. It took us a minute to start writing again given the current state of the world and the tremendous anxiety of not knowing what the future would hold, but once we got our bearings, music started flowing out of us. We wrote about every feeling we were experiencing – feeling depressed, getting drunk, feeling lost, finding confidence, feeling unhinged, mourning loss, and feeling hopeful. In this process we wrote the most honest music we have ever created. Our debut album “High Dive” is about the leap of faith we took together – scrapping one album and writing another during one of the most trying times in our lives.
You released “Osaka” not too long ago ahead of your new album – it is wonderfully eerie. What’s the meaning behind this track?
Osaka was inspired by our trip to Japan in 2019. We spent two glorious weeks hopping around the island, and playing two of the biggest festivals in Tokyo and Osaka. We instantly fell in love… We left Japan with a confidence we never knew existed within ourselves and this song is an expression of that feeling.
Another single you have released ahead of the album is “Part Time Psycho” which features Two Feet. How did this collaboration come about? What was it like working with him?
We were looking for a collaboration for Part Time Psycho and instantly thought of Two Feet. He’s a big inspiration for us and knew he would sound amazing on the track. We mostly worked together via emailing and texting back and forth but it was a blast.
Whilst we’re on the topic of collaborations, we just had to ask what it was like working with ZAYN for your past single “Trampoline”? This single will also be featured on the album. How did the two of you cross paths?
We were brainstorming collaborations for Trampoline in Japan and threw out Zayn as a joke just because we thought it would be IMPOSSIBLE. But our team reached out and to our surprise he sent an email shortly after with all his vocals. His voice was butter and the rest is history 🙂
“High Dive” was created throughout the disaster that was 2020. How were you able to keep motivated during those times?
In the beginning it was difficult to be creative. We were struggling mentally, emotionally, and physically and lost sight of what was important. After having our “ah ha” moment we threw every piece of ourselves into writing for this album. I think that helped keep us motivated and grounded during these crazy times.
You have teamed up with the mental health organisation Teen Line recently. What can you tell us about this charity? And what will you be doing in order to support them?
During the past year we have been on an intense emotional rollercoaster. We’ve tried to use our platform to discuss our own struggles with mental health and wanted to align ourselves with an incredible organization that promotes mental wellbeing. We teamed up with Teen Line for our Part Time Psycho release. Teen line is an incredible peer to peer helpline providing safe, non-judgemental space for young people to talk about their problems anonymously with a trained teen counsellor. We hosted a fundraiser on our social media accounts and donated a percentage of our merch pre-orders to Teen Line.
The three of you have already achieved so much before even releasing an album! As a band, what would you say is your biggest goal? Why is it important that you achieve this?
I think for us our biggest goal is to continue evolving creatively. We want to continue writing music together until we die because that makes us happiest.
Of course, artists haven’t been able to perform much lately! We want to know, if you were on a line-up for a festival in the future, what other musicians would you like to share the stage with?
The list is endless – Tame Impala, Yebba, SZA to name just a few.
What is the one question you wish someone would ask you in an interview, but nobody ever does? Please do answer the question you come up with!
What is your favorite thing to do together besides music?
We love to cook together. Every night we try to make time to cook a meal together and sit down to enjoy it. I generally do all the cooking and Max and Spencer do most of the wine drinking 🙂
Finally, of course you have the album coming out, but are there any other future plans that you can share with us?
We’re working hard to make our live show perfect. We’re hoping to get back on stage very soon!
“High Dive” is an album that you don’t want to miss out on! It is now available to pre-order here. For further updates on what SHAED are up to, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
So, what did you think of “Dizzy”? Are you excited for “High Dive”? Let us know your thoughts over on our Twitter! – @AboutThe_Noise