​SHÆLIN

​Weaving unique sonic masterpieces from an array of musical references, the group are inspired by the richness of African-American music (RnB, soul, hip hop, jazz, gospel) but also by musical horizons ranging to the traditional sensibilities of Reunion Music and Steve Reich. SHÆLIN represents the mixing of genres and traditions; offering a contemporary and soulful sound which breathes the joy of life and generosity. For the outfits’ six members, their diversity is a richness and their cross-pollination of culture and lifestyle, a celebration of love. Through music, words and dance, SHÆLIN carry a message of hope and unconditional faith; a humanistic and spiritual message that invites their listeners to (re)connect to our great world, to other beings, and to themselves.

“Don’t mind me. I’m from another planet. I always see horizons where you draw borders.” : ​ Frida Kahlo

The roots of the collective stretch from Mozambique to Martinique, passing through Italy, Cameroon, Reunion Island and Vietnam. Representing different origins, ages and backgrounds, they met in the city of Tours, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Together, they create universal and unifying music. This crossbreeding is highlighted in the music videos produced and directed by SHÆLIN, and in the writing of their compositions, in which we hear English and Reunionese Creole.
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 SHÆLIN ​
Phacemag Interview

Thanks so much for chatting with us today. First off, I’d love to hear a little more about SHÆLIN as a group and when your musical journey started? 
​
It’s a pleasure for us! Thank YOU!
 
We’re based in France, in Tours to be exact.
The collective's roots extend from Mozambique to Martinique via Italy, Cameroon, Reunion Island andVietnam… We are from all around the world! 
Tours, in Loire Valley, is a creative city where you can meet a lot of musicians and artists. 
SHÆLIN was born in January 2017, between two rehearsals of contemporary gospel - we used to sing together in different choirs for years. 
One day, Dahlie brought us a song, it was “Miracles”. We recorded the track and made a video clip for it! Olivier Linglet heard about us. He signed us really quickly to become our manager/editor. It was a good surprise because we didn’t expect anything of this first release, “Miracles” was just a creative impulsion. 
 
How did the members of SHÆLIN meet and what was the first song you all wrote together? 

We've known each other for a very long time, but playing together in SHÆLIN has brought us much closer together, we've become an artistic and spiritual community sharing the same values and looking in the same direction. 
Our relationship is very fulfilling. We have our own planet!
“Don’t mind me. I’m from another planet. I always see horizons where you draw borders.” 
                                                       Frida Kahlo

You released your ‘Ana Hata’ EP last year which received a lot of positive feedback from across the globe, how long did it all take to put together and were there any specific messages you wanted to put across?

Anahata is the fourth chakra of the human body, the heart chakra. 
Our EP is about unconditional love. We wrote about our passion for the music, the romantic relationships between all humans, self-love, body positivism, love and respect of nature and the animal rule, we talk about our crew, our SHÆLIN family… Love is the cure, the link,  thelung of our planet.
We started to record “Ana Hata” before the pandemic, the lockdown prevented us from playing but our life went on at a distance and we were able to finalize this EP in our dens with the studio equipment that each of us has. 
It was more difficult because we couldn't rehearse the new songs of the EP before recording it but we did it and we are very proud of our work. 

We love your neo-soul sound, from the lyrics all the way down to the harmonies and production. What’s the process of making music like for you as a group?

Thank you so much! Everybody composes in the band, Jean-Marc the keyboard player often works on the arrangements, the recording and the pre-mix of each track.  Then we send our tracks to Nicolas Miljeu from Nomad Studio and the mastering is done by Luis Calderon from Martyrs studio.
An album is always a long and exciting process. Each EP that we recorded was an incredible adventure which led us to surpass ourselves. We delighted in every step. 
The joy we can feel when a SHÆLIN member shares his/her new song with us, the hours of rehearsals, of studio time, the first listens of results, the experiences of filming clips, our collaborations with other artists… It’s just so precious to us.

You followed up last year’s EP with the ‘Ana Hata Extended’ compilation, recently, which featured remixes from some very cool producers. Can you tell us how you chose these artists to be part of the project and what it likes hearing another artist but their spin on your music?

We chose these artists because they are talented and also because most of them already work with our editor Olivier Linglet from Grand Blanc. We were already watching from afar what each of them were doing and we had met them. Some of them are even friends of ours like Ténéré and DJ Phantom. 
We are delighted that each of them could express his vision of our music, it's surprising to discover the remixes and exciting at the same time! It's another way to collaborate with quality artists and we love it!

What’s next up for SHÆLIN? Any more releases or shows we should keep our ears out for?

New releases, of course! We have a live session to share with you in June!!  (Quite a few new tracks are in the works, if you want to hear them, you have to come see us live!)

We'd Love that!

We are also about to release a great EPK to introduce our philosophy and music to the world. We want to share our vision of the world, our philosophy in a poetic and authentic way, the image and the music are our biggest means of expression, we consider ourselves lucky to be able to express ourselves freely in this way. 

Do you have any dream venues or festivals that you’d love to perform at in the future?

We dream about of playing  all over the world, travel, meet, exchange, spread our vibe as much as possible. 

The music industry can be quite a cold and competitive environment, how do you overcome these difficulties and what advice would you give to artists who are just beginning their journey?

Your vibe attracts your tribe.  (great line) We are fortunate to have attracted the right people to us as far as our professional entourage is concerned. They share our values and respect us artistically. We are extremely grateful because we know that other artists are not fortunate enough to have the right support. 
The most important thing for us is to evolve and create in serenity. We communicate a lot, we always make sure to maintain healthy and intelligent relationships with each other, we all have a lot of respect for each other and it works! 
The music business seems difficult but we have the ability to see beyond that reality. We assume that if we are going to be heard, if our words are authentic and resonate with people, then our music will be played; we don't put pressure on ourselves. We create because that's what we do best and we work with passion and magic to touch people's hearts. 

Thanks so much for this, to repeat above, we love your sound - vibe - tribe! We'll try and see you soon!

Thank you for reading and listening to us! We will continue to do our part as hummingbirds to help make the world a better place. 
Have a great day!
SHÆLIN
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