shura

thought i'd start a thread on shura who seems poised to become a noteworthy name in 2015. she's a UK artist who's done guest vocal work for a producer named hiatus and has stepped out with her own solo work. earlier in the year she came out with a song called "touch" which has managed to gather a few million views on youtube. it's a slow, soft 80s synth-pop track about heartache and yearning (aka everything i want in music) and it's one of my favorite songs of the year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2AOjb9HW2E

she also has 2 other singles: "just once" https://soundcloud.com/shura/shura-just-once

and "indecision" https://soundcloud.com/shura/sets/shura-indecision-mastered

I've been following her as well. "Touch" is great. Not in love with the other two, but I'll be interested to hear more from her.

shura just got longlisted for the sound of 2015 poll whoop!

i don't know if this is crass of me to mention here, but i wrote about "touch" over on the jukebox: http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=14710

Very nice!

There's a new track premiering on Annie Mac tonight.

!!!

Ooh, it popped up on soundcloud beforehand.

https://soundcloud.com/shura/2shy

Saw her at SXSW. "Touch" sounded immense. I was a little disappointed when I listened to the studio version for the first time afterward, but it's growing on me.

When I first heard "Touch," it reminded me of some other song just a little bit. Now that I've heard it as much as I have, though, I don't remember what the other song could be. Score one for worsening memory!

xp- It wasn't "Touch", it was this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stsv8ppOwYI

Audio quality is terrible on this clip, but it sounded incredible live. I can't find any other version on the internets. But I hope she releases it soon.

I like that.

Been listening to Touch consistently this entire year, and "2shy" is pretty good too. Relistened to her other two tracks and they are definite growers. Very excited for the upcoming album.

Can't believe that one Jukebox reviewer thought that the line in "Touch" was "I only want you to be French with me."

"White Light"

Still don't know what to make of it. I think I like it, but it's quite different and not as powerful as the live version, IMO. But then that may just be that I've listened to the live clip so many times that I was expecting the studio version to be an exact copy in HQ.

I only streamed the youtube once the day you posted it, so I'm basically hearing it fresh today (and I love it!).

I gotta stop obsessively listening to live clips before official studio versions. I invariably end up disappointed to some degree.

okay earlier songs were kind of boring to me but this is AMAZING

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02x4pp0

http://www.hasshurafinishedheralbumyet.com/

"Touch" and "2 Shy" did little for me, but "White Light" is storming up my personal charts. The video for the extended version is quite good, too.

an ep of all her released songs would likely be in my top 5 of the year

https://soundcloud.com/muramasamusic/love-for-that

Collab with mura masa.

Shura debut album announced: Nothing’s Real

http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/02/shura-announces-debut-album-shares-new-version-of-touch-featuring-talib-kweli-listen/

Nothing’s Real and expected this spring (Wikipedia lists April 30th as a tentative date) through Interscope/Polydor.

Great!

Touch remix w/Talib Kweli very unnecessary though.

Still my favorite Shura track. Also, I still love Talib Kweli, but not here. Why???

So, "The Space Tapes"… didn't see that coming.

http://pitchfork-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/content/ShuraNothing.jpg

yeah "the space tapes" is wacky

er uh

http://pitchfork-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/content/ShuraNothing.jpg

the space tapes is fantastic!

Fourtet remix of "Touch" seems a little tossed off, like he just threw a sped up version of the vocal over a housier version of the music. It's alright though.

looking forward to the 10 minute version of White Light on the album

Grades remix is better, four tet remix is a bit dissapointing.

Space Tapes might be an extra track? Is there an error here or is the album version of white light really 10+ mins long?

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/nothings-real/id1091921046

Seems overkill to have two 9 mins+ songs at the end there in a pop album and I'm not sure if White Light could benefit from tripling its length.

here for a

er, here for a 10 minute white light, sounds sick as fuck

Original White Light is 7 minutes. If you've only heard the 3 min version you've been listening to the radio edit.

i believe "the space tapes" is a bonus track, which makes the idea of a 10-minute "white light" closing the album fuckin awesome

youtube for the space tapes in case anyone wants/needs it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZusCosPdvds

yea i was already p sure i liked this girl then she makes a 9+ min song & samples bob durst? luv her

this is very pretty

Just read that Greg Kurstin's involved in two of the tracks. This is officially my most anticipated album of 2016, now.

its still weird to me that her co-writer/producer on the initial singles was the guy from Athlete of all things

Glad "Indecision" made the album, it was a bit of a sleeper for me. I went from dismissing it to playing it as much as the other singles.

New track! The most (musically) upbeat thing she's done. I like it.

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2016/05/shura-whats-it-gonna-be/

For some reason it reminded me of Jane Wiedlin's "Rush Hour".

That's a pretty clever comparison, and a right one.

i like this too

Just read that Greg Kurstin produced this one, which totally makes sense given how much it also sounds like recent Tegan and Sara.

"Liked" on Twitter by both Shura and the weekly farmers' market round the corner from my flat. Probably a first.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjdUfFxUkAATuk3.jpg

…given how much it also sounds like recent Tegan and Sara

Let's bring them together shall we?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLmlty5IQvAl1hcslbhSo2_pt-R6O0NGiO&v=VTgCcARNGyY

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ4uBdmnKds

^ Would make a great plot for a teen romcom

love this video so much

There's just one line of this song—the first of the repeated "I don't want to be that girl" couplet—where everything is a dead ringer for vintage Madonna. Cool trick.

Do we know yet if the Kweli version of "Touch" is the "Touch" that's going to be on the LP? I hope not.

the original solo version is on the LP

*heart eyes emoji*

https://soundcloud.com/shura/make-it-up

The chorus is a little weak, but otherwise another excellent track!

great, but there basically won't be anything new on the album at this point right?

Right. Just a couple of tracks at this point... plus the highly anticipated ~3 extra minutes of "White Light".

The video for "What's It Gonna Be" is my favourite film of the year so far.

album is great, love the new version of indecision. the space tapes is a weird way to end it though

is the space tapes a bonus track or the proper closer?

I thought it was the proper closer but seems like it's a digital only bonus track actually. The new hidden track at the end of White Light is definitely a much better way to end it.

"Tongue Tied"!!!!

this album rules

^ What he said.

"kidz n stuff" is ruining my life

lol 'Relationshit' is a great title!

http://i.imgur.com/KVDSdiO.png

lolll

Endless fun to be had with the vinyl edition - colouring book, front cover sticker quote, working title etched into the run out groove...

I've done a complete 180 since ILM EOY 2015 on Shura btw. Title track is my favourite discovery of the new material.

On first listen this album is amazing and fullfills all expectations. Upgrade in production and confidence too---the audacious title track almost sounds like a different artist than the one who did "Touch."

i think my favourite moment of the album is the way she sings "no i'm no child but i don't feel grown up" like she's thrashing her hair around from side to side

"tongue tied" is also great. "make it up" might've been more interesting in HAIM's hands. i'm mildly disappointed that the extra 3 minutes of "white light" aren't an extension of the guitar coda but whatever she's tacked on at the end there is perfectly pleasant.

I was starting to think nothing was going to challenge We Are King for album of the year but Nothing's Real is just as perfect. I only knew Touch and 2Shy so most of the album is new to me. I'm blown away by these songs. It's going to help with this long wait for the second Haim album too.

"What's It Gonna Be" is one of the year's best singles but this hews too closely to that Greg Kurstin '80s revanchism. Gonna keep listening though.

i love this record. some of it blends together (i know it's been out for a while but i find it hard to remember anything about "indecision") but i think the second half is particularly strong in setting up subtle contrasts. the two kurstin songs are incredible but i still feel like the best part of this record is "2shy" -> "white light" even though i've heard them a million times

This album is so good! Even the previously released songs seem better somehow.

"Touch" is blowing me away and I never cared for it before.

yeah the previously released singles are v much enhanced by the environment

the title track reminds me of Metro Area

aaaa this is better than I expected/hoped

one venue in mpls (a bar) used to have a decent model...which was a bit different because they were set up with 2 separate rooms - one for a band and one that was an old dive bar part, but anyway it was free to get in but all the money from the back bar in the band room went to the band...i think everyone won because people would be more willing to check out new local bands, the bar payout usually was more than you'd get with less people showing up and paying a $5 cover of which you probably didn't get all of it, and the bar won because if it filled up and lots of people would end up going to the main bar anyway if the band room bar was too busy

Just saw her live in Boston, she played the entire album (including interludes) but sans Space Tapes, and she was great. No merch, but crowd was singing along to pretty much every song, which she was a bit blow away by.

She stayed afterwards and gave hugs/took selfies with fans. I asked her if the line in "What happened to us" was actually "I was never ready / f**k your love," because that's how I kept hearing it. She said she does sing it that way live, but "officially" the line is "I was never ready / for your love" in order to be more airplay/streaming friendly.

that's interesting. the explicit version would convey a very different sentiment to the clean imo

this album is really good.

Not sure how the last Tegan & Sara album and the Haim debut got so much AOTY love while this has flown almost completely under the radar. Wonderful, breezy listen. Hard to pick a favorite track.

this is way better than the tegan and sara record

Yep. It's by far the strongest of the eighties-indebted quasi-pop records. There hasn't been a week since July when I haven't hummed the synth hook from "Tongue Tied." It took almost that long to realize it reminded me of Toto's "Africa."

Pretty sure this album will not fly under the radar come ILX poll time. It's excellent.

Although to be honest over the half of the album is made up of singles and tracks previously released over the past 2 years.

pic.twitter.com/HEOtXv3Nrw

— shura (@weareshura) March 6, 2019

seems like she's starting to tease album 2

Gorgeous new single

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn5jKPA35Zo

that was great. the pivot!

Yeah, that moment is really special. So nice to have her back!

This reminds me of Rhye's album from last year.

wasn't at all expecting something so neo-soul from her but it's lovely, especially the coda

album is called forevher apparently

"We could take the subway to the beach where there's a breeze/Cause we're in America" is my favourite lyric of the year so far. Reminds me of the first couple of times I visited friends in NYC and everything was exciting.

wow new single is a knockout.
she's v underrated imo

this is her best ever song. feels like bathing in heaven

new song! new video! shura as the Hot Priest!

https://youtu.be/HHI_WpVLT1g

album out august 16

Love the new single and the video is great too. She's such a star!

not as transcendent as BKLYNLDN but still very nice, super excited for the album

this could've been on the natalie prass record. i love it

I didn't care for BKLYNLDN but this single gives me hope!

I think I still prefer the old (synthier) Shura, though.

This absolutely kills, thought it would be getting more love around here. Giving me Jenny Lewis/ Natalie Prass Vibes.

https://youtu.be/zDCPai9kWLQ

It is like Jenny Lewis in that the drums are mixed so dry and loud that it fucks up the whole mood.

oh i love this

the drums are wonderful

yeah very similar vibes to the last Natalie Prass album, which is great

That is fantastic

Anyone heard the new record?

Yeah, I've had it a while and really like it. The second half is very ballad heavy but I think she pulls it off well. She seems to have stripped away a lot of the big 80s pop from Nothing's Real and gone more in a 70s singer songwriter direction. Some of the ballads remind me of Todd Rundgren or Hall & Oates for some reason (maybe the production?) Definitely not as immediate as the debut. I think it's probably going to divide people on here, Charly Bliss style.

i only made it through to "the stage" on my commute this morning but "side effects" had me swooning

it's very good! it's a change in sound, sure, but she's still great working in a somewhat different style. i'm not sure if it reaches quite the same highs as the debut but i'm not disappointed at all.

I wish this was more like the debut, but she's such a beguiling performer that I want to spend more time with it than I normally would with this sort of thing

This is precious @weareshura just popped into our @hmvWestfield store to buy her new album #forevher with her mum.
Little birdie tells us that she signed a couple of copies too.#Shura pic.twitter.com/TWb1Xlld3Y

— hmv (@hmvtweets) August 16, 2019

this girl is insanely talented

the title track is just perfect

i need to spend more time with the “tommy” -> “princess leia” section but otherwise everything about this record sounded perfect to me

it feels v neo-soul to me in spirit and atmosphere

ok yeah after two listens: way better than the debut, so beautiful

yeah it's all very neo-soul which isn't what i expected after the debut but she's pulled it off very well. really like the garbled vocals and background chaos on "skyline, be mine"

not to second guess anyone's taste but i could see this being alfred's album of the year

This album really hit me hard yesterday. The second half in particular. It's definitely on the same level as Nothing's Real for me now.

Press play on #forevher now and I'll tell you some stories about it as we go. Any questions just throw them my way and I'll try to answer some of those too. Big Love. 💙https://t.co/fTqu3MfZ7a pic.twitter.com/57511ug6EV

— shura (@weareshura) August 18, 2019

Epic thread

That's a great thread. Learning that it's Peter Gordon playing sax on BKLYNLDN makes me love it even more.

I haven't quite yet bonded with the album the way you lot have, but I'm getting there. "skyline, be mine" reminds me of a different kind of 90s style, the big spacey album closer like "Galaxy of Emptiness".

enjoying the way "the stage" basically turns into a tame impala song in its second half

i cant stop listening to tommy its just beautiful

What a surprise that this album feels like part of a broader pattern embracing albums from Meerna and Emily King: sonically engrossing soft rock / r&b hybridism.

“Tommy” and the closer in particular are fantastic.

Yeah, Skyline, Be Mine is great and works so well at the end of the album. With that and White Light closing Nothing's Real, she really knows how to nail those last songs.

shu fly

I really got into the first album about a year ago. Didn't think I'd like this one so much from the singles. But damn what a gorgeous album, all of it.

Funny what kp said about the last songs. "White Light" ended the first album proper, but then "the Space Tapes" is tacked on. I kept thinking she was going to drop the "(game) over" sample (from "Nothing's Real") into "skyline be mine" like in the space tape that ends the first album...'s streaming version. It's got that same vibe, which is about the only time the two records sound anything alike.

i dont stan for genuis.com but i loved learning this bckground info tweets in the sidebar

https://genius.com/Shura-tommy-lyrics

prob what jeff w posted upthread

Wasn’t sure how I would feel about the neo-soul turn, but this album is great!The allmusic review called it “triumphantly romantic” and I fully agree.

Pristine, wonderful album.

Any good remixes yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65X3F-uRlrM

Uh oh, shura’s got the Space Tape out of the drawer again 😀
https://open.spotify.com/track/4I1HWbgxMMlQDqKIxI1A5L?si=ZZv3RvcGRhieUsPoTN-3tg

i don't wanna give you up
i don't wanna let you love somebody else but me
so what's it gonna be

Used so well in Heartstopper.