Shameless Post “Victim of Data” Video
If you want to suppress a population, take away free access to information. The notion that Shameless‘ new single, “Victim of Data,” is about the high cost of data plans in the band’s native South Africa, but the truth is that issue goes right to deeper infrastructure issues. Corporate, capitalist greed, lack of investment in public goods and services — these things should be familiar to people in many places of the world.
With its punk-metal bookends repeating the title-line, swapping between pronouncing it day-ta and dah-ta, which is kind of fun, a hook is cast forth in the three-minute track with a bruiser’s subtlety. The idea here is brash. ‘Get up’ as conveyed through rhythmic urging, and with the social message underpinning, it seems clear the trio are trying to shake things up, to fight complacency, apathy. Doing so may sometimes be like throwing rocks at a mountain, but the aim is noble and every little bit counts.
And while the front and back are heavier, with a noise rock riff that reminds of Helmet circa 1991, and the visuals are suitably in-your-face, “Victim of Data” also breaks in its midsection to a stretch of dub guitar and cymbals. It soon enough circles back around to the distortion, crunch and urgent shove, but that momentary departure does a lot of work in conveying the multi-tiered style of the band, and especially as a quick sampling ahead of a to-be-revealed debut release, every little bit counts there too.
“Victim of Data” follows here, with copious PR wire background beneath.
Please enjoy:
Shameless, “Victim of Data” official video
Shameless are a trio from Soweto, South Africa, where they are one of a few rock/alternative bands. Their music is influenced by the music they grew up with, they have dubbed their sound Nkabi Rock / I Rock Yase Kasi (Assassin Rock / Rock from The Township, in isiZulu).
They describe their sound as “an extension of rock” which fuses metal, blues, kwaito, mbaqanga, isigxaxa and a smattering of jazz. On the first of September they will release the first single from their upcoming album (to be officially announced soon).
Victim of Data begins with the hook & chorus line “I am a Victim of Data!” as the band explode into action at full tempo. The song is characterised by Musa’s screeching guitars, Thabang’s intricate and groove-filled bass, and Rock’s thundering drums.
It is a multi-genre song with its roots in punk & heavy-rock, complimented by a controlled breakdown in the middle of the song which acts as a mood-setter for a manic guitar. All this is made more impressive by the fact that the band recorded the song live in a single take.
The inspiration for Victim of Data came during the pandemic’s extended lockdowns in South Africa. When the world moved online, it became very clear that lower income communities were excluded because of the cost of data which results in low internet access rates.
According to Musa “We have the most expensive data plans in the whole of Africa so when we wrote the song, we really felt victimised by the cost of information.” The result is an undeniably political statement and song; to which Musa adds “Just like when the Sex Pistols sang “God Save the Queen”.
Similarly to their sound, the recording process was far from conventional. It was done at DiscovrTV’s studios in Johannesburg with owner Julian von Plato and his team filming the sessions, and producer Hugh Davidson recording the audio. All instrument were recorded together, live, which gives the song their massive energy.
While the band felt some pressure with the cameras in and the sweat from the South African summer pouring down their faces. The band thought they were doing a warm-up take – little did they know Hugh and Julian were rolling. And just like that, in one take the song was recorded. One and done, as they say.
At the end of the recording you can hear some laughter from the band as they found out that the practice take was not for practicing, and that the song was done. The footage (of this recording session and all others for the album) will be released in various projects, music videos and BTS clips as the release-cycle continues.
“We have come a long way as a band – from not believing one bit that what we do is unique or even good, to playing 78 shows in one year” – Musa Zwane
The single is accompanied by a music video, directed by Julian von Plato and shot at DiscovrTV’s studios, it is a frantic play-through styled video with visual glitches and spasms. These visual tropes make the viewer feel like they can’t quite see the full picture – not dissimilar to the feeling many South Africans get when they are excluded from the online world because of the price of data.
The band have come a long way since their very DIY beginnings; recording their debut EP “Impicabadala” and playing every small stage or room that they could find. They have now signed an exclusive deal with von Plato’s DiscovrMe (DiscovrTV’s indie label) which is underwritten by Tic Tic Bang.
The combination of these two organisations and the producer means that three big fans of the band – Hugh Davidson, Finn MacKinnon and Julian von Plato – have stepped into management, production and label roles with the combined goal of growing Shameless’ audience both in South Africa and in international territories.
According to Musa “This year was a year of getting our shit together. We’re slowly getting there and looking forward to getting back on stage to celebrate the release of the new music.” Their first show after the release of “Victim of Data” is Boogy Central’s “That Spring Fest” at Sognage on September the 9th.
Tags: DiscovrMe, Shameless, South Africa, Soweto
