Canada’s favourite jazz-fusion band is back on the scene with a brand new album! Shuffle Demons is celebrating 40 years of music with their latest release, Are You Really Real, available now via Alma Records/Universal Music.
From busking on the streets of 1980s Toronto to bringing their high-energy sound across the world, the Shuffle Demons continue to do their thing while staying true to themselves and their eclectic sound of jazz, hip hop and funk. Are You Really Real is preceded by two singles, “X Marks the Spot” and “Money is My Only Religion.”
The current lineup includes original members Richard “Rich” Underhill (alto sax and vocals) and Stich Wynston (drums and vocals) along with Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan (tenor saxes and vocals) and Mike Downes (bass and vocals).
Rich Underhill joined Brad Barker for an exclusive interview to chat about the band’s legacy and their upcoming Live To Air at jazz.fm91 on March 14.
Are You Really Real is available now on CD, Streaming, Digital + Hi-Res Digital Platforms.
Brad Barker: Shuffle Demons were a visual, they were an attitude…they were a musically unique style in the jazz world. Was it fully realized, that concept? Or did it evolve out of the gate right here in Toronto?
Rich Underhill: It definitely evolved, I was playing music on the street, I invited Mike one day. The next time, he invited Stitch and Dave and then this thing started to happen. I used to dress in this funny way we used to look like The Blues Brothers in a way in the very beginning. Then we went to Europe on a busking trip back in 1985 and we met this guy called Gimme who was from Gambia who was a tailor…so he outfitted us in these traditional African clothes which was hilarious but we looked cool and different.
I saw Sun Ra when I was 16 at this place called the Squat Theatre when I was down in New York for my sister’s wedding. She was marrying a Beatnik and he took us to see Sun Ra and that kind of presentation really stuck with me so that’s what this [Shuffle Demons] kind of evolved to.
Brad: Was part of it the vibrancy of Queen West? There was so much serendipity going on at that point and a mish-mash of everything. Did that energy fuel where you all were going with it too?
Rich: Yeah there was a lot of people pushing the envelope in this alt-jazz world like Thing Man, Gotham City , Bill Groves Bands etc… So there was this cool, little community and then there was the Razerbacks, The Barenaked Ladies, there was a really vibe going on, it was a birth of something new and we were all trying to figure out what that was.
Snippets from this interview have been edited and condensed.
Tracklisting:
1. X Marks The Spot
2. Out To Sea
3. Are You Really Real
4. Bottom Dollar
5. Ride The Wave
6. Good Mourning
7. Money Is My Only Religion
8. Scala Rosa
9. Sunny Side Up
10. Prism
11. In The Air
12. Nice Signal
13. Run The World