Producer Dave Shears explores new sound on his latest project, Strangelands
Have a First Listen to 3 new singles from Strangelands
St. John's music producer Dave Shears has worked as part of a band in the past, and is ready to bring and his own sounds and skill to the province's music scene.
Before beginning his newest project, Strangelands, Shears was a founding member of RocketRocketShip, an East Coast Music Award-nominated pop band from St. John's. His new work goes in a different direction, powered by a Top 40 sound and computer-generated instruments three years in the making.
"The thing that I really like about this project is when you're in a band, there's a lot more compromise involved. There's a lot more voices at the table," Shears told CBC Radio's Weekend AM. "This project where it's a solo project, I get a lot of help, but at the end of the day the ideas are mine and the direction I want to take this in is totally mine."
Shears said he aspires to work in a similar vein to DJ and producer Mark Ronson, creating music with artists from many different genres. His work with with local artists has already started; he has recently released new collaborations with Rachel Cousins, Xander Duffy and former bandmate Tyrone MacNeil.
LISTEN | Hear three new singles from Strangelands as Dave Shears speaks with the CBC's Paula Gale:
Shears said he was scrolling through Instagram one day when he came across Duffy.
"Up until after the song was released we never met in person. I would do a voice note and send it over to him, and then he would do one and send it back. We collaborated entirely online, and that's how the whole song came together."
Rather than producing an album or a physical release, Shears said his music will likely remain focused on singles released on streaming platforms.
"For me, it's totally single-driven," he said. "There's enough material for an album, but where I kind of do this all on my own I kind of just do it one song at a time."
Shears says says the focus on singles is due to the impact on the music industry of streaming platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud, where creators often share their own beats or sample other tracks in their work.
"I think it's been growing everywhere. If you do listen to Top 40 radio, it's a lot of samples," he said.
"I also like a lot of electronic elements. They're aren't too many 'real instruments' in the music I make."
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With files from Weekend AM