‘Piece Of Me’ is Simon Shackleton’s first album in over a decade, and is the first full-length release under his own name with his new sound.
Renowned for his award winning eclectic and bass heavy style as Elite Force, he recently started producing under his real name, and took a few steps back from making music specifically for the dance floor. Simon’s latest incarnation is a much more soulful and lyrical venture. Rich and varied, it it ranges from driving Chemical Brothers-esque techno to indie-infused rock-tronica with comparisons that range from Pink Floyd to Underworld. The result is a defiantly independent and unique album which is just as likely to win over listeners from the indie world as it is from the electronic one.
All the programming, live performance (vocals/guitars), engineering, photographic manipulations and production are done by Simon, and with the making of this album mirroring massive changes in his personal life it’s created an emotional connection with the music. ‘Piece Of Me’ is the perfect title for a body of work that is just that. It’s electronic music, with a heart and soul.
Simon Shackleton began his music industry career 25 years ago when he graduated from Exeter University with a Masters in Classical Composition. He’s played and recorded in bands such as The Headless Chickens (which also featured Radiohead’s Thom Yorke), and DJd alongside Felix Buxton (Basement Jaxx) during the early 90s Acid House revolution. Since that time he’s had a successful career under the guises of Elite Force, Lunatic Calm, and Zodiac Cartel, winning several prestigious awards along the way. His music has been featured in over 40 movies (including the original ‘Matrix’), dozens of TV shows and adverts, and a plethora of game soundtracks including Shockwave, which he co-wrote with multiple Oscar-winner, Klaus Badelt.
‘Piece Of Me’ will be released “unbundled”, starting with the title track on 30th May. One track will be unveiled every week thereafter until the full album, in its entirety, is released in physical format on 8th August. In tandem, there will be a Pledge Music campaign, which started yesterday 9th May and will culminate with the official full album release, as a means of sharing the journey, passion, and ownership of the ‘Piece of Me’ project with Simon’s highly engaged and supportive fan-base. Pledgers will be entitled to a whole host of exclusives including Simon’s own dance floor friendly remixes, video updates, making of content, and pre-releases of the individual tracks as the campaign unfolds.
Currently, Simon is working on combining his budding photographic career with his musical one as demonstrated in the official video for ‘Piece of Me’, and across all of the album’s artwork. He is also developing a cutting edge live-show that will blend those two facets in a multi-media style, which he will launch towards the end of 2016. His ‘One Series’ events, a musical journey on a truly epic scale with a 6 to 7-hour DJ set (One DJ, One Room, All Night) epitomise his passionate and community orientated spirit, continuing to cultivate a devoted following of participants and creative collaborators all over the world.
