Swedish synthpop duo Sally Shapiro share new track "Rent (NICOLAAS Remix) feat. Steve Moore". 12" via Italians Do It Better.
Swedish synthpop duo Sally Shapiro (made up of Sally Shapiro and Johan Agebjörn) release their new 12" 'Rent' co-mixed by Johnny Jewel, digitally now & physically Oct 6th via Italians Do It Better. To coincide with the announce, band are sharing a rework of their recent Pet Shop Boys cover with new track "Rent (NICOLAAS Remix) feat. Steve Moore".
For the remix, Canadian artist NICOLAAS, aka Rob Bakker, know for his previous releases on Kitsuné, Italians Do It Better and his own label Neon Legacy has taken a fresh funky take on the original cover alongside longtime Sally Shapiro collaborator Steve Moore on saxophone.
On how the remix came to be, NICOLAAS offered
"I’m a huge fan of Sally Shapiro and the Pet Shop Boys, so when I was asked to produce this remix I jumped at the opportunity! Anyone who knows me knows remixing is one of my favourite ways to make music, and this song is a perfect example.
I love how it turned out and I’m honoured to be a part of the release."
Johan of Sally Shapiro said
"I first heard of NICOLAAS when he remixed Mothermary's "Coming For You" for After Dark 4, that remix blew me away. His slick and funky take on "Rent" is great, and Steve Moore's saxophone solo became "the dot above the I", as we say in Sweden."
Johnny Jewel added
"Italians Do It Better labelmate NICOLAAS employs his signature slink for a hazy noire take on the remix. A solemn saxophone lands somewhere between Wham! & Hall & Oates, while a perforated bass bounces off the backbeat. Sally's voice is chopped into staccato shards like drops of rain on the cold
city streets."
17 years ago, Sally Shapiro shared their first song online. Blogs & record labels immediately took notice and Italians Do It Better’s introduction to the pair was I’ll Be By Your Side, a shimmering Italo Disco track with ethereal vocals that hypnotised everyone who heard it. Johan’s elegant production was years ahead of what anyone else was doing at the time, & the elusive falsetto of the dreamlike singer was unforgettable.
In 2007, their debut album, Disco Romance, was revered by the press. The album was given a spot in Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2007 & is even ranked as the best italo disco album of all time on rateyourmusic.com. Their sound was a unique take on the romantic club music of the mid 1980’s. At the time you could count the artists exploring this territory on one hand. Johnny Jewel began corresponding with Johan later that year resulting in Johan's remix of Glass Candy’s “The Chameleon“.
Their debut album saw remixes by other likeminded producers like Lindstrøm, Tensnake, Junior Boys, CFCF, & Juan MacLean. In 2009, My Guilty Pleasure, picks up where Disco Romance left off. They collaborated with Electric Youth (known from the ”Drive” soundtrack) on their third album Somewhere Else in 2013.
Johan is a fixture on European dance floors collaborating with Lindstrøm, Glass Candy, Annie, Wolfram, Hercules & Love Affair, & more. In 2018 he produced the addictive Samantha Fox single “Hot Boy”. Sally is notoriously shy, remaining shrouded in anonymity. To this day she insists on recording her vocals alone in the studio & refuses to perform her songs live. In 2016, the duo went underground & released what was thought to have been their final single. Working in deep seclusion over the last half decade, they released “Sad Cities”, an incredible collection out in 2022 via Italians Do It Better, to critical acclaim. They also appeared on Italians Do It Better’s Madonna cover compilation (with ”Holiday”) and on last year’s After Dark 4.
'Rent' will also feature on Sally Shapiro's new album, which is currently in the works.
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