Joseph Shabason
Joseph Shabason | |
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![]() Shabason playing with Destroyer in 2011 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | Jazz, Ambient, Experimental, Indie rock, Synth-pop |
Instruments | Saxophone, flute, clarinet, keyboard[1] |
Labels | Western Vinyl |
Associated acts | DIANA, Destroyer, The War on Drugs |
Website | https://www.josephshabason.com |
Joseph Shabason is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer.[1] He is best known for playing the saxophone.[2][3][4] As a band member and session musician, Shabason has contributed to bands such as DIANA, Destroyer and The War on Drugs.[3]
As a solo project, he has released experimental ambient jazz albums under his own name.[3]
Life and education[]
Shabason grew up in Brampton, Ontario.[5] He began playing jazz music at 10 years old.[6] After first learning to play the guitar, he took an interest in the saxophone when he enrolled in a jazz program at Humber College as a child.[7] His father was a jazz pianist.[8]
In 2006, he graduated from University of Toronto in jazz performance.[1]
His musical focus shifted from jazz to pop in his twenties.[7]
Collaborations[]
DIANA[]
Shabason is one of three members of DIANA, a Toronto synth-pop band.[4] It formed after another project fell through involving Shabason and Kieran Adams, who met during university.[9]
Its first album, Perpetual Surrender (2013)[10] was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. It was followed by Familiar Touch (2016).[4]
Destroyer[]
The first Destroyer album to feature Shabason was Kaputt (2010), which was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Having toured with Destroyer in an opening band, Shabason contacted Destroyer front-man Dan Bejar in 2010 while in Vancouver. This led to Shabason improvising a few hours on the saxophone for the album. His involvement "could not have been more casual," according to Shabason.[7]
Shabason went on to play on Poison Season (2015) and ken (2017), Destroyer's next two albums after Kaputt.[1][11]
He has toured as a member of Destroyer.[3]
The War on Drugs[]
Shabason played an important role in Lost in the Dream (2014) by The War on Drugs.[2]
Other[]
As a session musician, Shabason has recorded for many singers and bands — including Born Ruffians, Hannah Georgas, Jill Barber, Matt Barber, Dragonette, The Operators, Allie X, Peter Elkas, The Fembots and Fucked Up.[1][3]
In 2019, he released an experimental ambient album titled Muldrew with Ben Gunning.[12]
Around 2008, Shabason and a friend started a rock band, Everything All the Time. He played keyboard and sang backup vocals.[6]
Another band he played in was Bass Groove.[6]
He collaborated with Nicholas Krgovich and on the 2020 album Philadelphia,[13] which was a longlisted nominee for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.[14]
Solo work[]
Aytche[]
Aytche (2017) — pronounced like the letter "H" — was his first solo album.[15] It was inspired by composers such as Jon Hassel and Gigi Masin.[3]
After the album was finished, Shabason realized that the album reflected the impact that Parkinson's was having in his personal life — his father-in-law was suffering from it and his mother was recently diagnosed.[3]
Only "Westmeath" has vocals. The song features clips from an archival interview from a son of a Holocaust survivor.[3] (Shabason's grandparent were survivors.)[2] A music video of "Westmeath" was directed by Maxwell McCabe-Lokos.[16]
Though Shabason voiced some dissatisfaction with the album, suggesting there was "a lack of vision,"[3] it received positive reviews. On Metacritic, the album rated 82 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim."[17]
The album was funded from a grant by the Ontario Arts Council.[1]
Anne and Anne, EP[]
Anne (2018), Shabason's second album, is named after his mother. Focusing on his mother's Parkinson's illness, the album includes audio clips from interviews with his mother.[3]
Shabason was determined that the album not be overly sentimental or exploitative; in his own words, "the challenge becomes how do you take that [interview] and weave it into the fabric of the composition and extract the essence of it without beating people over the head with it."[18] His mother was pleased with the result, calling it a "beautiful album."[18]
Critical reception was positive. On Metacritic, the album is rated 77 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[19] Music critic Miles Bowe of Pitchfork "gorgeous and empathetic ambient music."[2]
Anne, EP has five songs and was released May 10, 2019.[20] The record label describes it as an "afterword" to Anne.[21] Its song "I Don't Want to Be Your Love" — previously a bonus track for Anne — features vocals by Destroyer's Dan Bejar.[2]
The Fellowship[]
Shabason's third album was released April 30, 2021.[22]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f "About Joseph Shabason". Joseph Shabason. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- ^ a b c d e Bowe, Miles. "Joseph Shabason: Anne". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Beedham, Tom. "Joseph Shabason Makes Peace With His Mother's Parkinson's on 'Anne'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Vincent, Melissa. "DIANA Is The Canadian Indie Supergroup Making Healing Pop Music". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Monroe, Jazz (August 26, 2013). "DIANA Subvert Familiarity". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Poliakov, Rita (February 4, 2010). "Pop Rockers Aim for Music that Gets "Stuck in Your Head"" (PDF). The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Bowe, Miles (2017-11-29). "Destroyer and War On Drugs collaborator Joseph Shabason is an ambient saxophone genius". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Joseph Shabason | The Family Interviews". The Family Reviews. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
- ^ "DIANA Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pagnani, Renato. "DIANA: Perpetual Surrender". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Destroyer (4) - ken". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ^ Mikhaylova, Sofie (July 4, 2019). "Joseph Shabason / Ben Gunning: Muldrew". Exlaim!. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Stuart Berman, "Shabason, Krgovich & Harris: Philadelphia". Pitchfork, November 11, 2020.
- ^ David Friend, "Daniel Lanois, Savannah Ré, Charlotte Cardin make long list of Polaris Music Prize". The Globe and Mail, June 16, 2021.
- ^ Robertson, Kate (2017-08-10). "Joseph Shabason breaks down jazz for beginners". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- ^ Flanagan, Andrew (October 25, 2017). "Joseph Shabason's 'Westmeath' Confronts The Hardest Decision". NPR All Songs Considered. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Aytche by Joseph Shabason". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Rayner, Ben (2019-01-04). "Toronto Musician Turns His Mother's Reflection on Her Parkinson's Disease into New Album". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Anne by Joseph Shabason". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Anne, EP, by Joseph Shabason". Bandcamp. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Joseph Shabason Anne EP". Western Vinyl. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Fellowship, by Joseph Shabason". Joseph Shabason. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
External links[]
- Living people
- Canadian multi-instrumentalists
- Canadian saxophonists
- Canadian ambient musicians
- University of Toronto alumni
- Western Vinyl artists
- Canadian session musicians