With a whopping 8.5 million monthly Spotify listeners, it's safe to say that Preston duo Shouse are one of Melbourne's biggest music exports at the moment.
Love Tonight dropped in 2017, and Shouse has continued to ride high on its success. More recently, they released the highly acclaimed Won’t Forget You, bolstered by high-profile remixes from the likes of David Guetta, Vintage Culture, and Marcel Dettmann. This ongoing success highlights their staying power and ability to evolve in the dynamic music landscape.
Shouse’s enduring appeal can be attributed to their diverse musical acumen. They seamlessly blend disco, soul, and classic pop into their electronic framework, creating a sound that straddles the line between nostalgic and forward-thinking effortlessly. This unique style has cemented their status as one of Melbourne’s premier electronic acts.
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Communitas
Given their prominence, it was no surprise that RISING enlisted Shouse as one of its star attractions, for a performance titled Communitas (a Latin term, loosely referring to “an unstructured state in which all members of a community are equal”.
What was unexpected, however, was the choice of venue: the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Love Tonight owes much of its success to its anthemic chorus of voices, creating a communal and uplifting atmosphere that resonates with audiences worldwide. St. Paul’s Cathedral, with its breathtaking architecture and spiritual significance, provided the perfect backdrop for such a performance. But it wasn’t Love Tonight on the setlist – instead, a a rapturous mass-musicking event, with many people, many voices, many hands, coming together to make spontaneous music
This wasn’t the first time Melbourne’s iconic cathedral hosted live music. Melbourne Music Week famously turned the building into a rave venue years ago for a set by DJ Hell. Despite the irony, St. Paul’s is a notably progressive congregation that reflects Melbourne’s inclusive spirit. Giant banners welcoming refugees and accepting the Uluru Statement reinforce this notion. While St. Paul’s has previously hosted events for RISING, Shouse’s Communitas was a step up.
Organising roughly a thousand people—many of whom had attended training workshops, while others had no idea what to expect—for such a spectacular array of singing and choreography was a monumental achievement.
There was no formal introduction on the day, just passionate performers dressed in white leading by example. The audience, ranging from toddlers to 90-year-olds, transformed into an all-dancing, all-singing choir reminiscent of a scene from The Blues Brothers.
Children played xylophones on one side, a grand piano stood on the other, and a myriad of fascinating musicians spread across an epic band below the altar, with a roving horn section adding to the grandeur.
Overhead, a spectacle of lights swung giant red and yellow circles around the cathedral as natural light poured in from the stained glass above. Purple and blue smoke enveloped the dancing crowd, who were constantly beckoned to throw their arms high above them, hands swirling in passionate unity not to God, but to love.
Shouse’s performance at such an extraordinary venue was a remarkable honor, and they fully lived up to the lofty expectations. Massive credit goes to RISING for making it all possible. More info here.
