Shura Plays Hollywood

Shura by Francesca Brazzo

Los Angeles – Last week at a “secret” club in the heart of the Fairfax District, United Kingdom-based songwriter and producer Shura showcased her dramatic electronic-based dream pop. The venue (which has no signage, but is known as Community and is a favorite of several high-profile Hollywood actors) was not exactly the ideal setting to experience her layered, emotional brand of pop. However, Shura and her two backing musicians made the most of the night, brilliantly performing several new songs as well as many of her earlier singles.

Despite years working in the music industry alongside producer/DJ Hiatus, Shura is just now beginning to make an impact on the mainstream music scene outside of the UK. In 2014 she released a handful of singles that include “Touch”, “Just Once”, and “Indecision”, and a short EP titled White Light was release in 2015. Between those dreamy singles and her captivating live show, Shura caught the attention of Polydor Records. The release of her debut full-length is imminent, and this appearance in Los Angeles was one of only a handful of North American dates.

Performing at an exclusive lounge in the heart of the Hollywood “scene” could be a discouraging or frustrating experience for some artists; it seemed as if a decent proportion of the audience was oblivious to the fact that there was a live band performing at the front of the venue. For Shura, it was quite the opposite. The trio of musicians energetically performed her best-known tracks, filling every corner of the unorthodox venue with soothingly smooth electro-pop.

Shura started the set off on a humorous note, greeting the audience with a simple “good morning”, referring to the extreme time difference between Los Angeles and her London home. The band then kicked into gear with churning guitars akin to Tycho, layers upon layers of humming synth sounds, and a pounding drum machine beat, all topped off with Shura’s sugary-sweet vocals. While some songs had a traditional mainstream pop sound, others featured extended soundscapes that sounded like a cover of the house band that is featured in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.

Speaking of covers, Shura managed to squeeze an unexpected-but-fitting cover of Fine Young Cannibal’s smash hit “She Drives Me Crazy” into her set. The band smartly forwent the original’s cheesy but instantly recognizable electric guitar riff; instead they opened the song with a bass synthesizer that slowly churned out the verse chords. This approach gave the song more depth and turned it from a slightly lighthearted 80’s hit into a dark, haunting, obsessive ballad.

Of her original work, the clear standouts of the night were the closing number, “White Light” and one of her earlier singles, “2Shy”. The former song stretched out over seven minutes, with Shura and company expanding and expounding on its strengths. The verse featured a sweet, intricately layered chorus that would have fit in perfectly with Twin Shadow’s break-out album Forget. Meanwhile, “2Shy” has slightly more mainstream sounds, musically fitting in the lineage of Prince and lyrically lamenting the narrator’s passivity in romance.

Shura heads back to Europe for most of August, with shows across the United Kingdom as well as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. Check her Facebook page for more information.

Photo of Shura by Francesca Brazzo

Matt Matasci

Matt Matasci

Perhaps it was years of listening to the eclectic and eccentric programming of KPIG-FM with his dad while growing up on the Central Coast of California, but Matt Matasci has always rebuffed mainstream music while seeking unique and under-the-radar artists.Like so many other Californian teenagers in the 90s and 00s, he first started exploring the alternative music world through Fat Wreck Chords skate-punk.This simplistic preference eventually matured into a more diverse range of tastes - from the spastic SST punk of Minutemen to the somber folk-tales of Damien Jurado, and even pulverizing hardcore from bands like Converge.He graduated from California Lutheran University with a BA in journalism.Matt enjoys spending his free time getting angry at the Carolina Panthers, digging through the dollar bin at Amoeba, and taking his baby daughter to see the Allah-Lahs at the Santa Monica Pier.
Matt Matasci