SHANGHAI
STARRING:
Luis Rojas - Guitar, Voice & Theremin
Nick Sands - Drums, Backing Vocals
Alan Esquivel - Bass, Backing Vocals
Davin McPherson - Alto Sax, Clarinet
Grant Robinson - Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax & Flute
Chris Rojas - Percussion
Chantel Bann - Keys & Voice
Paul Murchison - Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn
Riley Perry - Guitar, Bass
Shanghai, the eclectic and lively collection of oddballs provide a crazy musical zapping of tangling brass, cinematic nostalgic moods and cartoon delusions. Purveyors of the film-rock-mutant-metal-jumpcut-cabaret styling that has something for everyone, Shanghai ignite drama, humour, and confuse their audience’s dancing shoes.
Formed by musical director Luis Rojas (winner of the 2004 National MusicOz Award for Best Rock Artist with his band The Locus Scene) in the mid 90’s, Shanghai is a nine piece avant garde experimental progressive art rock band from Sydney, Australia…which has been said to reside in the same musical world inhabited by the likes of Frank Zappa, Naked City (John Zorn), Ennio Morricone, The Residents and Mr Bungle. After regular live appearances around Sydney and releasing the debut EP Esoterica in the early 2000’s, the band took a hiatus for the first half of the decade as band members travelled globally and focused on other projects. Spurred by continuing interest and national radio airplay on Triple J, the band reconvened in 2007 to continue their absurd journey into the fringes of musical pastiche.
In 2010, Shanghai released their homage to the classic mixtape, The Battle for Mount Analogue, which offered up a collection of eclectic 80’s nostalgia. Covering tunes from a wide range of sources including a classic tv show, a cartoon, a computer game, a musical, a film as well as a reinterpretation of an obscure, Japanese electronic piece, The Battle for Mount Analogue was a limited release on state-of-the-art, high definition cassette tape.
Shanghai signed with Bird’s Robe Records in 2014 to release the first single Caveat Emptor from their upcoming full length album, The Ultraviolent. The album was recorded over a period of 5 long years, and shows Shanghai painstakingly assemble and craft their most intricate and multi layered work to date. The full band lineup is complemented by the addition of a string section in an ambitious attempt to interpret Shanghai’s already dense compositions at an orchestral level. The Ultraviolent will be available as a digital download, CD digipak and double vinyl, and is set to be released on 8 September 2015.
Shanghai have performed alongside a host of varied artists including Neil Hamburger (US), Vampillia (Japan), Ruins (JPN), The Protomen (US), Dead Letter Circus, The Snowdroppers, The Red Paintings, The Art and Umlaut, as well as participating in festivals such as Dead of Winter (QLD), This is Not Art (Newcastle), Progfest, Featherfest and Menagerie.