Part 1

Name: The Shellers
Members: Lawaun Bernard (keys, production) Jamal Bucanon (vocals, songwriting)
Nationality: British
Current release: The Shellers' Long Live the Shellers EP is out now.
Recommendations:
[Lawaun] Mister Pip it’s a great read. I would recommend it to anyone who wants something new to read.
I would love for people to listen to Toots and the Maytails - “Take Me Home Country Road.” It’s a cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” which is a classic. Growing up in a Caribbean household listening to this song always makes me happy. So I’m hoping I’ve shared my happiness with some else today.
[Jamal] Artist - @kaili_smithart
Kaili is an incredible painter and photographer. If people havnt looked at his work then I’d highly recommend. He highlights the issues with the way the youth are pictured and makes the view see them as royalty.
Book - Failed It! By Erik Kessels. This is a book I often go back to. Really easy to read as a lot of it is filled with images. It’s all about how ‘failing’ can actually lead to be really good art.

If you enjoyed this The Shellers interview and would like to keep up to date with the band and their music, visit them on Instagram.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you’re listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

[Lawaun] When I listen to music I don't necessarily see colours or shapes. Instead, it's like I become a director, orchestrating scenes in my mind. The mood and vibe of the song can dictate what type of scene I envision. This method helps me gauge how connected I am with a song.

I don't always close my eyes when I listen to music. There are times when having my eyes open amplifies the experience, depending on my surroundings. For instance, during my recent trip to Malaga, I was staying at a resort with a beautiful view of the mountains. Listening to music while gazing at that type of scenery was an experience in itself. So I think it all depends on time, place and location for me.

[Jamal] It depends on where I am, if I’m out and about travelling around the city then my eyes will be open but I will go into a very deep daydream.

I usually imagine the music as a film in my head, especially if the music is really descriptive or reminds me of specific places.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

[Lawaun] I believe music is therapy. When listening to music the ability to find songs that can empower, uplift and motivate you is a beautiful thing.

Music is a vehicle that can take listeners to so many destinations. There are songs that I listen to that revert me back to my childhood. The power of music is a beautiful thing and as a music creator I feel empowered whenever I’m producing a song.

The biggest difference between being a listener and a creator is when I’m creating music I feel like I’m writing the pages and as a listener I feel like I’m reading them.

[Jamal] When I’m making music and writing lyrics I feel like I can exaggerate specific parts of my personality that in day to day life I’d usually have to hold back or tame.

It’s kind of like creating a character that is based on you but dates to say, do or feel the things you don’t want to deal with but sometimes it’s completely different and every word you write is completely true to what you feel or have gone through. Music is an escape and outlet for me.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

[Lawaun] My first steps in music were exciting. I made music every day. Experience helped my growth and development. I have always advocated trying different genres and collaborating with new artists. This not only expanded my palette of sound, it helped speed up my workflow.

When you start making music I think there's an essence of purity and freedom that is hard to find once you learn more.

[Jamal] My first steps in music were so fun! I think every different stage or chapter of my life I keep having first steps in music though.

I started writing when I was in primary school, I’d write little raps and the spit them in the playground with my friends. My next first step was producing, I was part of an outfit called ‘General Ignorance’ and that’s where I was first finding my feet in terms of production and singing.

And if we fast forward about 8 years until now I guess the growth has been massive, it’s hard to quantify it though, it’s more a feeling of certainty with the choices I make creatively.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

[Lawaun] When I was 13-16 music was my everything. I listened to music on my LG Cookie before and after school every day without fail. I grew up in North West London which exposed me to a lot of Grime and UK Rap. In hindsight, UK Rap was like our news. Everyone would be deconstructing these songs. It was crazy.

As I’ve gotten older I find myself listening to a much wider variety of music which has made me a better musician.

[Jamal] Music then was everything to me, it was what defined my identity and it’s what created my most meaningful friendships. At that age you when you don’t have real money or anything that you can really say is yours but music gives you ownership over something, no one could take my music taste away from me. I have the same relationship with music still to a degree.

I’ve noticed the biggest change in my relationship with music is that I like to re-listen to songs or projects that I want really in to when I was younger and see if I understand it or like it now and a lot of the time I do. My taste Is way bigger than it was when I was a teenager.

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument, tools or equipment?

[Lawaun] I couldn’t imagine creating music without playing keys. Which is funny because there was a time where I was creating chord progressions by drawing notes using a mouse. But I love being able to just tell a story on keys opposed to any other method. I also have made my best music sitting at a keyboard in my feelings.

[Jamal] It’s a casual one but very personal as well. It’s casual in the sense that I don’t put any pressure at all on myself to write new songs all the time or to make new beat ideas, I will sometimes go for weeks or even months without worrying about writing anything.

My point of view is that you need to live to be able to write. If you can’t write it’s because you need to do more living.

It’s a personal relationship as well because I’d hate for anyone to get hold of my notes app on my phone and read through ideas that I’ve written, it’s too close what’s on my mind to let anyone read!

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

[Lawaun] Art and personal relationships are my main source of inspiration. I’ve always reverted to creating music when I feel inspired or there's turbulence in my life. Before music, I studied art and wrote poetry. I wrote my best pieces of work when I was expressing my emotions in real-time. This is why I believe there's value in wearing your heart on your sleeve. I found with art it wasn’t always the art that inspired me, sometimes it was the story behind the art which inspired me.

[Jamal] Film is my biggest source of inspiration, also music and my day to day life. I love getting inspired by film, mainly through how characters speak to each other, you can usually pick up some good one liners that can set a whole song off. Other music inspires me to create when I hear something that really moves me, if it makes me want to dance, cry or if I just keep going back to it, it will give me the impulse to make something.

I think my day to day life / personal life is always going to play a part in my creativity, in order to be honest with what i create and true to myself then I have to talk about what I live through and what I’ve experienced and let that influence me entirely.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn’t or wouldn’t in your daily life? If so, which are these? What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music?

[Lawaun] Definitely, I think that's the beauty of music. It enables you to express yourself freely without having to suppress who you are. I go from Clark Kent to Superman.

[Jamal] I definitely let parts of my personality amplify through music. My music might have more attitude or be more confrontational and I enjoy it.

I can’t always have an attitude or be confrontational in ‘real life’ because you have to consider other peoples ‘feelings.’ But in music I don’t have to care about anyone or worry about what they think. It’s for me and if people like it then that’s amazing.