Shake – Tananas
Tananas
I often wonder how musicians come up with names for instrumental pieces. I suppose it’s a bit like modern artists who put a few blobs of paint on a canvas and call it ‘Ash on a Moonscape’ or something equally bizarre. It is sometimes more about the feel of the painting that the artist wants to put over rather than what the actual visuals show. Similarly, the titles of instrumentals are about the feel that the musician has for the song.
That said, I am at a bit of loss as to why those Tananas dudes called this track ‘Shake’. To me it’s more thwacks and pops and bubbles and bangs and crashes than something that would make one shake in a ‘Shake Rattle And Roll’ sense. It is also earthy and funky and a little chilled to be make one shake in a ‘shaking in my shoes’ kind of way. Perhaps it is the sort of bubbling rolling sound that Steve Newman manges to extract from his guitar that makes it light and frothy in a milkshake kind of shake sense.
Whatever the reason behind naming the track ‘Shake’ it is a strutting piece of expert musicianship that blends bubbly beats with fruity flavours to give you a brilliant blend for slaking your thirst for cool sounds on. So get on down to the Tananas Roadhouse and order youself a delicious ‘Shake’.
Where to find it:
Tananas – Tananas (1988), Shifty, CDSHIFT(WL)26
Video:
1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Go Deaf 