No Pressure for St Christoph & Shaade
Today is a big day for St Christoph & Shaade, with the release of their debut EP, ‘No Pressure’, and from the sneak preview reviews it’s gonna be big. The duo who are traveling in ‘their own lane’ have taken a collaborative approach to produce a sound that crosses through ‘hip hop, RnB, Neo soul, G funk and even some downtempo French house’ and lands on this EP. We talked to the very humble Shaade about the EP and its making, celebrating with burgers and their prospects of touring in the future.
You have been described as 'Creating a lane of their own and focused on a collaborative approach' with your music. Is that a correct assessment, how do you describe your sound?
Haha that’s fair. I think we’re trying to be true to the music that we love and the actual songs themselves. We try to make sure each song sits in a world of its own. We’re definitely not trying to chase what’s cool or the “sound” right now. There’s obviously a very big throwback element but really just taking the energy of the stuff that we love, that has shaped our musical taste and use that. So I do think that that puts us in our own lane here right now.
Tell us about your new song First Time?
First time is the ultimate feel good track for us. Even in the creation of the song it felt quite instant. Soon as we locked down the hook.
What does the song mean to you?
Well the sentiment to the song is making things feel like the first time. When you think of your first time it's something that’s memorable and special. Love, sex, drinking, crushing on someone, listening to a song for the first time, your favourite album for the first time. So for this song we really wanted it to be reminiscent of that. Content wise in a relationship but also sonically to evoke that feeling.
The EP was recorded at Studios 301 and released by Be Rich Records, both big supporters of original sound and independent artists, do the lines ever get blurry between fan/artist/owner?
It's the music industry. The lines are constantly blurred because everyone is wearing so many hats and doing so much.
The way that I look at it is that we're all one big dysfunctional family so it's actually really great to be doing things as long as everyone is on the same page and doing it for the right reasons.
With the release of your debut EP 'No Pressure', what can fans expect? Do you have a Favourite track?
It’s a very big effort for us to make a cohesive body of work with a clear intention. They can expect a feel good record end to end with us pushing the influences of hip hop, RnB, Neo soul, G funk and even some downtempo french house.
“You're Ready” and “Cant seem to let go” are easy favourites.
How did you celebrate the release?
We had a sneaky listening event earlier this month to celebrate with our collaborators and community. Burgers, always burgers to celebrate.
Your previous single 'Pressin' , also from the new EP, received a bunch of support from the legends at Triple J and commercial Radio Station 'The Edge' . What sort of an impact does radio rotation have on getting a song and your name out there? especially in the age of streaming services?
This EP it’s been great to see people supporting us and our music. Radio play and people championing what we do has felt really good. Even us talking to you is a win. I think the age of streaming and using numbers to validate your project can be misleading sometimes but there’s nothing like building an actual community of people who know you and your music. People reaching out on socials, in the DMs. In short the impact has been a pleasant surprise.
What is your opinion on streaming services and its place in the music industry? is it a benefit or a hindrance compared to the traditional delivery and purchasing methods?
I think everything has its place. Like I said the hard part is depending on streaming to validate you as an artist. That's the biggest trap. I know lots of artists who are doing really well and living off what they do that don’t have big streaming numbers. It’s just one piece of the puzzle. Obviously it sucks that we’re not selling boxes of CDs for $30 a pop but no one is.
“I know lots of artists who are doing really well and living off what they do that don’t have big streaming numbers. It’s just one piece of the puzzle.”
Are there plans for a 'No Pressure' tour?
We’re talking about that right now going up and down the coast to * some shows next year. That would actually be amazing. We’re actually dropping a little “live session” that we recorded on the 3rd of Dec. Which is stripped back live versions of the ep.
Australia now has a few high profile Rap/HipHop/RnB festivals. Will we see you hitting that circuit in the future?
Well see if our first set of shows resonate with people. We’d love that.
How far do you get involved in the production and distribution side of your music? Do you hand over control completely or are you involved up to a point?
It’s moving more end to end now. We obviously have an amazing label in Be Rich who give us this outlet but we're literally doing as much as we can.
Where was your first show as St Christoph & Shaade? Was it a success or flop?
We’ve only done curated shows to small audiences so far. Our first actual big gig was new years last year at the Opera Bar but that ended up being cancelled via the Northern Beaches Covid cluster. So it’s still coming!!!
Dead or Alive, who would * your ultimate Collab Partner be?
Pharrell hands down.
What has been the highlight in your partnership so far? And why?
The highlight is literally the creative process and seeing it all come to life. Our relationship on that side is fairly push-pull but it’s the friction that drives the magic.
“Our relationship on that side is fairly push-pull but it’s the friction that drives the magic.”
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
Oh our label boss Buster! He’s the man that believed in this and continues to facilitate it being a reality. He sees the vision 100%. Also the 2 guys that help drive this project with all the visuals, videos , photos and more Frace & Eric. These guys are basically members of the band! I actually like to think of this project as one massive collaboration with our community, we're just the outlet and face of it.
What's next for the dynamic duo that is St Christoph & Shaade? What can we expect with 2022 approaching?
Once we finish this cycle we're back in album mode. We’d love to get on the road with some gigs and tours, maybe even some curated STXSH nights here in Sydney at a venue. The ultimate goal for us next year is to build our brand to be an outlet for further collaborations and creatives. Just more good music.
