Like, ‘Gay Agenda’ is not just about queerness, ‘Gay Agenda’ is about being yourself. “You kind of can apply it to literally anything. “I think anyone can relate to it on an empathetic level,” he notes. The result is ‘Heterosexuality’: an album that explicitly explores Shamir’s queerness, while also acknowledging trauma. Crucially however, though ‘Shamir’ received such positive reactions, the singer made sure not to crudely attempt a similarly itch-scratching follow-up, instead prioritising creating something “honest and truthful” above chasing that same reception. The pair have crafted a thrilling record that arrives seven years after Shamir made his debut with ‘Ratchet’, and two years since his critically-acclaimed self-titled LP. While he had no plans for new music at that moment, he kept the idea of the Baphomet aesthetic in the back of his head - “I just knew that I would look fucking sick in horns and hooves!” - and two days later producer Hollow Comet hit him up, in a moment Shamir describes as “divine intervention”. The vision of Baphomet (the occult deity worshipped by the Knights Templar) originally came to Shamir around three weeks after finishing up his 2020 self-titled seventh record, and resulted in a slight spiralling on Twitter. “They’re not negative, it’s kind of like a weird awe, like I’m an animal at the zoo.” “The stares that I got were not unlike the ones I get every day, without the horns and hooves,” he recalls.
That Shamir could shoot in a surprisingly full park in complete Baphomet get-up and not notice that much difference says it all. I often feel like people see me as if I’m half-animal, half-human.” “It’s a figure that is so easily and quickly demonised,” he explains, “and I feel like that in a lot of ways, just being in my Black queer body. Decked out in horns and hooves, the Philly-based, Vegas-born, genre-crushing artist appears as a modern-day Baphomet a figure, he admits, that he even sees a bit of himself in. We’ll see.One glance at the album cover for Shamir’s forthcoming eighth album ‘Heterosexuality’, and it’s hard not to be drawn in instantly. So after that, I tried analog pedals and they have been pretty good, but honestly I used to be a digital guy, so maybe I’ll go back to digital soon. Then I switched to a Boss ME-50, but sadly it got broken. ZB: I usually use a standard Fender Precision Bass with Aguilar Preamp for our live shows.īS: I used to have a Zoom G1X and I used it for three years in the band. Image: Press What are your main guitars and current rigs like? Any gear you’re particularly in love with? We may not be as good as we used to be, but we will try our best to create music that we love and see if anyone likes it. Our music changed a lot because of our different influences and backgrounds as musicians. When he left we figured we had nothing else to do but music, so we stayed together. Unique was our lead vocalist too, so him leaving almost made us all quit. When we were still a four-piece, he and Zild always wrote the songs, and my role was just to play guitar on top of them and put my own flavour on it. What was it like losing him, as a guitarist and songwriter? How do you think your music has changed?īS: Him leaving is the biggest “What now?” I have ever experienced. Unique Salonga left IV Of Spades last year. So yes, noodling is healthy and that solo was a product of consistent jamming and playing together. We have been playing that song for years, so it took a lot of time to ripen that song.
The first part never changed and I considered it a hook.
Blaster, do you lean towards noodling and soloing when jamming in the studio?īS: The guitar solo on Mundo was already set before it was even released officially. The guitar solo on Mundo has left an impression on listeners, and there are a few solos on the album. I think it’s just a compilation of our new and old songs, that’s why the sound is all over the place.
When I look at that album, I don’t really think it’s an appropriate album. It includes some old songs from a few years ago. ZB: CLAPCLAPCLAP! helped us to discover our creative flow as a trio.īS: CLAPCLAPCLAP! took about three months to record. How long did it take to make, and what was the atmosphere like in the studio? thank you for showing up.ĬLAPCLAPCLAP! broadens IV Of Spades’ sound a little.