That’s Entertainment (The Newcastle Post) – Putting her soul on line
Article published in The Newcastle Post.
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For Perth-based songstress Shameem, who has just released her stirring sophomore record Under One Sun after a relatively protracted period, the creative process is much like the miracle of childbirth.
“It’s such a relief to have the album out there and seeing it so well received,” Shameem told TE.
“It really was quite a long process. The writing began a very long time ago and, actually, some of the songs were written before my first [self-titled] album and it was all recorded in December last year, so it’s definitely a relief to have it out there.
I kind of felt like a pregnant woman carrying this album around with me.”
Shameem said that one of the reasons for the delay was that she didn’t want to rush into the “difficult second record” and wanted to delve into deeper sonic territory with producer Rob Agostini (Rai Thistlethwaite).
“Once we were in the studio, everything did come together quite quickly but we definitely took more time layering sounds and trying to make it as lush sounding as we possibly could.”
With strong soul and jazz influences, the album has caused music wags to draw comparisons to soul powerhouse Alicia Keys.
The follow-up to the album’s acclaimed first single, Beautiful Soul, Under One Sun was co-written with Grammy-winning UK-based producer James Bryan (Nelly Furtado, Olly Murs and James Morrison).
Under One Sun is a catchy soul-pop number that sticks with you long after the last chord rings out.
“We are all members of one human race, we all live on the same planet and receive life from the same sun in the sky,” Shameem said.
“I want people to think about why it is that we treat some people differently to others, when they are all equally our human brothers and sisters, no matter where they come from, what colour they are or what they believe.”
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