Welcome to Shanghai...

Formed by musical director Luis Rojas (winner of the 2004 National MusicOz Award for Best Rock Artist with his band the Locus Scene) in the mid 90s, Shanghai is a seven piece experimental outfit which has been said to reside in the same musical world inhabited by the likes of Frank Zappa, Naked City (John Zorn), The Residents and Mr Bungle.

Characterised by unconventional song structures, regular musical genre changes within songs, uncommon instrumentation (including marimba, theremin and skin flute) and quirky samples, Shanghai still manage to remain accessible and adaptable to the live music scene with regular collages of rock/metal and recognisable elements of film and television music genres: film-noir, crime, espionage, sci-fi and western.

The influence of film and television music is also apparent in the choice of obscure live covers by composers including Peter Thomas (Raumpatrouille (Space Patrol)) and Johnny Mandel (I Want To Live).

After regular live appearances in Sydney and Wollongong in the late 90’s and recording the debut EP Esoterica in 2000, the band took a hiatus for the first half of this decade as band members traveled globally and focused on other projects. Spurred by continuing interest and achieving national radio airplay on Triple J multiple times, the band reconvened in 2007 to continue their absurd journey into the fringes of musical pastiche.

With band members currently based in Sydney, Wollongong and Brisbane, Shanghai are now set to amuse, abuse and confuse listeners up and down Australia’s East Coast.

Luis Rojas - Musical Director, Guitar, Voice & Theremin
Nick Sands -Drums
Alan Esquivel - Bass
Davin McPherson - Alto Sax
Grant Robinson - Tenor Sax, Flute
Chris Rojas - Percussion
Chantel Bann - Keys, Voice
SHANGHAI live at Sly Fox 29 August 2008