Shinedoe - Illogical Directions
A day in the life of Shinedoe, expect anything. With dance music currently exploding
into a multi coloured crossbreed it's tempting to take things as far as possible. And
that's exactly what this Amsterdam based DJ does on her long awaited third album.
Illogical Directions is about letting go, about an artist completely liberated in her studio,
making music by the heart and processing all her experiences into one impressive trip.
For sure, the third time's a charm.
Another lesson learned, to pigeonhole Shinedoe is merely impossible after listening to this
record. Unlike ten years ago, when she made her way to DJ stardom with the release of the
omnipresent club hit Dillema, soon followed by debut album Sound Travelling. It made her
one of the faces of the soon wildly popular minimal sound -techno music in a stripped but
extremely funky manner was a specialty reserved for a DJ like Shinedoe.
Stronger than the music itself, she kept reinventing herself. Techno and house music remained
her foundations, from there the Dutch notoriety took her grooves to a completely other level.
In 2010, sophomore album No Boundaries saw Shinedoe venture into more rooted genres like
jazz, funk and dub. Her true identity was emerging, things were getting even more interesting.
Illogical Directions
Now, four years later, precisely in the year Shinedoe will be celebrating the tenth birthday of
her renowned imprint Intacto Records*, she's made a journey further down that path. As if
she's completing a trilogy, the album Shinedoe has shaped is nothing less than the
culmination of everything she stands for. A tour de force of highly organic dance music
bringing together the euphoria of club music with moody, more introvert songs. Illogical
Directions is, simply put, exactly the album you'd want Shinedoe to make.
'When I produce music, it comes from my heart and soul', she explains. 'I don't want to
make rational choices, it's important the music can move in any direction, even if it doesn't
really make sense. It's the only way to completely feel free, to avoid getting trapped in some
sort of format. As a result, these new tracks all have their own feeling and identity, you can't
label them to one particular sound. It definitely was a challenge bringing them all together,
but it works!'
The most extraordinary about this, the typical Shinedoe sound is still intact, even when she
impressively demonstrates all her various sounds within the first couple of tracks. Kicking
things off with the slowed down, dubby track Release Yourself and the mechanical house tune
Essence, there's immediately a certain tension building up. The jazzy deephouse of Alto
Parisio takes things further, followed by the just as incredible Discourse My New Romance, a
dark and twisted dancefloor track featuring The Knife's Karin Dreijer.
From that moment on, anything can happen. Sleek deephouse (Panomanic, Fe-Male, the
beautiful anthem-like Not So Far), cool electro (Pressure Dome) as well as classic house with
a soulful touch (Circle Of Life featuring the infectious vocals of Miss Bunty). It's more
mesmerizing and melodic than ever, even though Shinedoe also enters a darker and more
gritty world with tracks like God's Love and Get Dirty -another uncharted terrain she's
familiarized herself with.
As said, Shinedoe has surpassed expectations. Illogical Directions takes you to loads of
unexpected sensations with a collection of music you rarely hear put together. But she's done
it, delivering an album that pulls you up and brings you back down again. So, whatever you
have in mind, get ready for one of 2014's most ingeniously crafted dance albums, presenting a
variety of emotions unusual in this particular genre. Some illogical directions indeed, but we
love it.
