Sounds So Beautiful – Shameem – Live And Learn, Knowing That Time Does Not Reverse
Another write-up from French blog Sounds So Beautiful, this time reviewing the entire the Time Does Not Reverse EP. Click on the image below to read the full article.
The Music – EP review: Time Does Not Reverse
Another review of my EP, this time from The Music.
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Shameem offers up an electro soul concoction for Time Does Not Reverse.
With a generous sprinkle of synth and a handful of harmonies, the key ingredient here is the lead vocals. There’s some hot ad-libbing that would be elevated by some live instrumentation, rather than the generally electronic approach which dominates the majority of this release. Just A Show is a standout, with some cool chord choices to pull the melody in unexpected directions and colourful guitar fills to add a bit more texture. This is closely followed by I Love You, But with a chorus that’ll be on rotation in your head for hours.
– Natasha Pinto
Southern Gazette – Giving Voice to Issues
Just a little something from the Southern Gazette a few weeks ago…
SoulandJazzandFunk – NO REVERSE!
An honest review of my EP from boutique UK blog SoulandJazzandFunk – these guys are soul purists!
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SHAMEEM (TAHERI-LEE) is an Australian soul singer/songwriter based in Perth. She impressed the soul world with her 2014 long player, ‘The Second City’. Connoisseurs grew particularly fond of her Alicia Keys-flavoured ‘Beautiful Soul’.
Shameem is now set to follow that up with a four track EP, ‘Time Does Not Reverse’ that wins release at the end of July. The lead single, ‘I Love You But’ has just become available and if you can get past the odd electro intro you’ll discover a fine contemporary soul tune with great lyrics about loving, but not liking someone!
The EP’s other tracks are the lazy, jazzy ‘Just A Show’, a quirky ‘Moderation’ and ‘Pass It On’ – a lovely, simple, sweet. old school pop-soul ballad with a killer hook in the chorus.
Shameem launches her EP with a show in Perth on July 29th. People in the rest of the world can learn more @ www.shameemmusic.com
The Music – Channeling The Facts Of Life Into Her Craft
Nice write up from an interview that I did with premier Aussie music blog, The Music, where I talk about the background to my new EP.
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Shameem Taheri-Lee tells Louis Costello of her band’s latest EP while addressing her ongoing efforts to hone in her craft.
Like anyone venturing closer to their 30s and further away from the acceptable age to make poor decisions under the guise of being ‘young and naive’, Shameem Taheri-Lee has felt the downward pull of adulthood. However unlike most of us, Taheri-Lee was able to channel that feeling and transform it into her band’s latest release, Time Does Not Reverse.
“The EP comes from a place of reaching my late 20s, feeling a bit jaded about a few things with my life, but still clinging to hope and optimism for the future,” Taheri-Lee explains, adding that, “The songs are in order from the least profound, to the socially conscious, to the most inspired.”
Post newspaper – Shameem shares her soul
Nice little write up in the Post newspaper this week.
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Just a Show – inspiration
The lyrics for “Just a Show” are here.
I love being a performer; I love playing music for a living. I love that every day my job is different to the day before: no two gigs are ever the same. The venue will be different, the audience will be different, the weather and mood will be different. I love being able to share a bit of my soul with everyone through the medium of music. I love the kick that I get when I see people smiling, singing along, tapping a toe, nodding to the beat, dancing, or even tearing up. I love being able to touch and reach people in that magical way that only music can. I love performing with amazing musicians, and I love it when we push each other onstage to create never-again-to-be-experienced moments that are unique to the art of live music. I love, love, love my job.
But MAN, there are parts of my job that stink. Read more
Just a Show – lyrics
Columns and posters of glamour
Bright neon lights from the fast food chain
Glittering eyelids, luxurious lashes
Here we go again
High heels precariously perching
Ripped off with relief when the night is done
The feathers, the finery, fantastic fiasco
The battle’s lost and won
Chorus:
It’s just a show
Give them what they came for
Make them all smile and send them all home
Where they’ll sit in the TV glow
Right now they will never know
It’s just a show
Pass It On – inspiration
The lyrics for “Pass It On” are here.
My uncle King Toh was the initial catalyst behind this song. He very generously donated to a crowdfunding campaign for my last album, and his reward was for me to write a song on his topic of choice. Several other people were also recipients of this same reward; most of them got me to write a love song for their partner/ spouse, or a jingle for their business. But Uncle Toh asked me to write a song about the concept of “pay it forward”: doing something good without any thought of reward. This really sparked my imagination, as service to the community is a big part of my life, and I’m a firm believer in the concept that you can only become a better and nicer person if you reach out and give of yourself generously to others. I’m also a firm believer that the world is not too far gone: the smallest actions that we make do make a difference, and the betterment of the world can be achieved through the sincere and good deeds of everyday people. What’s more, I believe that it doesn’t matter how talented (or not talented), how smart (or not smart), how strong (or weak) or rich (or poor) you are: everybody on this earth has something that they can offer that will be of benefit to someone else. The most important thing I think is the motivation for our actions, which is what “pay it forward” is all about: we don’t do a good thing because it will in any way come back and benefit us. We just do it because it’s a good thing to do.