By Mandy Rogers
Sometimes a tune will hit you in an instant with its brilliance, others may not be so obvious and require an incubation period on the playlist to develop your interest.
Usually I’m a pretty clear-cut type on what I do and don’t like, not so much falls into the pile of maybe’s. Danish band Shanghai has sat in my grey area for a short time though, but now the light has clicked on and I’ve come to appreciate their subtle electronica.
The Copenhagen based duo of Niels Brandt and Nicolai Kornerup have been fashioning their own brand, by their own description of – “arabesque pop” for the last couple of years, successfully bringing their broodingly emotive tracks to notice.
First off, I felt it necessary to step back from the new track release that I was given “Wet Summer” and cut into the preceding band archive to fully appreciate the efforts and grasp a better understanding of Shanghai. Findings from previous releases “Mine, Mine, Mine” and “Smoke and Mirrors” highlight pop of some intellect, spanning a waft of psychedelic glam flowing into the pool of new-wave experimentalism. All very tight and slick with the spirit of Hurts seeping out of them.
Enlightened from those findings, single release of the moment, "Wet Summer” came fully into picture. Mellow strands of electronica layered with esoteric vocal shimmer; create a modern day take on an old classic formula. What I had been striving to pick up on the intrinsic nature of this track be it unintentional or intentional was it’s elemental ambient similarities to “I’m Not In Love” by 10CC. Although, “Shanghai” can be looked upon as the new-wave indie pop version.
