SHAKALAK
SHAKALAK
Words: Tymon Galka & Matthew Madigan
Shakalak’s music, according to their Bandcamp, is meant to highlight, uplift, and inspire. Their lyrics break down the border between audience and performer. Four years after they launched their self-titled debut their sophomore album, Kulture Bikki, is finally out and we love it.
This is an album you can't pin down, can't name, can't quantify. At no point does it get tiring, at no point does it impose itself onto you and try to prove something it can't. It works in its favour, not against itself. The project, in its scope, sets out to take you on a rollercoaster with no safety equipment. This is the kind of album that you can drive down the French Riviera to, before taking a late-night flight to Tuscany, and continuing your grand European tour through the countryside by the sea as the sun rises just above the crashing waves. With that, it's also an album that would feel alive in NYC and feel at home in Coolock. When speaking to the band, we were told that the album doesn’t consciously write within certain genres. Atmosphere always comes before genre, and John directly said: “I don’t like that word; there’s music, and there’s not music; it’s good, or it’s not good”. They start with a vibe, an idea that every member brings forth at the beginning of writing a new song. They’re “five very individual people”, considering themselves an “eclectic” bunch. John Cummins told us that he feels he often imagines where a narrator is physically before writing lyrics, as he is always composing, as he's sitting with family or travelling, walking the streets or having a coffee, these influence the instrumentation much more than any genre.
The band argued that the most difficult part of writing new material is not overplaying and knowing when something is finished. It’s a balancing act of making sure music, poetry, and dance are all in check. Nobody’s ego becomes precious; if someone doesn't like an idea, “it’s gone”. They record every jam on their phone, whether it's 5 or 15 minutes long. Even if the jam is only polished months later into a song, everyone’s opinion is counted in and stays relevant. The band attributes this to everyone being fantastic songwriters individually; they could all record their own song.
When asked about influences, a landslide of references rolled through. “Concrete” intentionally references John Carpenter’s synth sound, and a Kurt Russell sample can be found in the album. As for musicians, they told us influences are rarely copied directly; they are treated as starting points. From Underworld to Massive Attack, the type of production explored through Dub, and their dream collab- Neil Hannon, the band takes inspiration from wherever they can find it. The band said that John rarely writes autobiographically, opting for social commentary. Like Paul Weller, he writes from an observer's perspective rather than focusing on personal relationships, and the other members clearly admire his writing.
We caught up with John post gig for a few words.
How excited are you for the people to hear Kulture Bikki?
On which scale? The Richter scale, haha? Very excited, obviously. Excitement is a nice emotion to feel. So, you know, best of luck; it’s out there now.
With so many genres and musical elements fused into one, who were your biggest influences for this project?
That’s a good question. Speaking for myself, Faithless and Massive Attack - people like that. Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. It’s difficult to say; I can’t speak for everyone else in the band.
What’s one Irish artist you think more people should know about?
What about someone who’s a bit more established? Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Myles O'Reily, I think they’re making absolutely beautiful, beautiful stuff. I know people are already listening to it, but we’ll go with that.
Many rap acts would stray from the Irish accent. How important is it for you to incorporate that into Shakalaks’ music?
That’s another interesting one. With voices and accents, it takes time for people to find their voice. You have your true voice, inner voice, your natural voice. We mimic others, of course. There’s so much previous evidence that we have a beautiful way with the English language. All across the country, I love all accents.
Kulture Bikki is out now. Get the 2x LP housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves, pressed on 180g classic black vinyl from Spindizzy or bandcamp.com/shakalak
https://open.spotify.com/album/2qr0BFuQK6aChbJik3UDMg?si=qh81csLSQF2V7L9XqTGB7A