Shake Me is a project born in the summer of 2009 by the will of Luka Albarella, voice and producer of the project. The first release was a hard rock, sung in Italian but the new sound is modern. Electro Goth Rock such as band: 69 Eyes, To Die For, Poisonblack, The Cult.
Luka has Involved many musicians including: James Castellano (Piero Pelù, Elisa, Gianna Nannini, Raf) Ricky Portera (Stadio, Lucio Dalla, Loredana Bertè, Nek) Alex De Rosso (Dokken) Fabio Calluori (Heimdall) Mark Basile (DGM).
Hard Rock guitars, warm melodies and modern keyboards. This is the new face of Shake Me.
Tracklist:
Alive (feat Mark Basile)
Savage Love (feat Giacomo Castellano) Shadows Lascivious (feat Ricky Portera) The Heretical (feat Alex De Rosso)
Laid So Low (Tears For Fears Cover) Evil Road
Roses of Lies
Lonely Cell
Restless
Geisha
Shadows (Elettro-lounge-version)
Greetings from Metalheads Forever Magazine, I’m Keith Clement, the editorial manager, how are you today?
Hello Keith, greetings to you and all your readers. Monday is definitely bad, it’s raining in Salerno and we are far from Spring, it looks very goth but we are in Italy on a sea town and we prefer a mild climate. When I do interviews with foreign webzines, I always imagine who is on the other side and where they live. Very nice mental journeys.
October 2021, you have released your album “Lullaby For Demons” Can you tell me a little bit about the songwriting and production behind the album?
An album that should have been released two years earlier accompanied by a video clip, all moved two years for what we know and I don’t even want to pronounce anymore. An album that was born in a certain way and then ended up on a different path. Originally it was to be sung in Italian and without keyboard work, following the path of the first album “L’inquietudine” of a few years ago. I left total freedom for all the artists involved in the project. It was a beautiful path but very challenging for one person. The record deals with themes that revolve around the female universe. Crime news, sex scandals, child prostitution, but also pure sensuality and eroticism, and of course love, maybe a bit tormented but still love.
Was there any concept behind the album?
No, absolutely not. If you mean the classic concept that many metal bands, especially in the past, proposed, I would say no. The idea instead to deal with many themes putting in the center the woman, yes, that probably yes, but only to give a common thread to the whole work. The Cover-Art of the album is fascinating, can you tell me about the art and the theme behind it? I really like it a lot too. I needed sensuality, refinement and glamour but with a more futuristic and modern vision given the great presence of arrangements with synths and electronics in general; Gianluigi Balzano has been a great purchase for me, he managed to visually transmit what is expressed in music, on all the artwork of the booklet. By now I also rely on him for video post productions or lyric videos.
12 massive songs, an incredible songwriting, great musicality, bringing Goth and Electro to a new level, a new level, how do you feel about the result?
As you may have guessed, I’m just in charge, for better or worse but I always present the project as a band for a matter of promotion as well. Having made this clarification; I tell you that it is a new path traced for Shake Me but I don’t feel like telling you that I am completely satisfied. In my opinion there is a component that needs to be improved, the stylistic homogeneity between one piece and another. The electronic component created the frame for everything, but it’s not enough. The songwriting also needs to be closer between one piece and another. I assure you that this has been a problem for record companies, not being able to label me. I got a lot of compliments but then often doors in my face. For you the sound is hard but for many other record companies it wasn’t so hard or goth that they could put me under contract. More work will have to be done in the future on this aspect.
What does touring look like for you guys this year?
Having clarified that I am a solo artist who follows everything from start to finish I can tell you that I am now starting to choose musicians who can follow me on stage. It’s not easy, also because since two years a lot has changed and there is much less space for bands with unreleased music, but I will do everything possible to deal with this situation, knowing that there are now difficulties of this kind for most bands with unreleased music.
Are you planning to go back to the studio this year to work on more music?
For sure I will work on a completely rearranged cover, I can tell you that. But at the moment I need to take a break from Shake Me and focus on other musical projects far away from rock. It’s been very exhausting and for the sake of me and my followers it’s good to take a break. Shake Me took away a lot of my financial and energetic resources.
Can you tell me how ShakeMe was formed?
It was born in 2009 with a dear friend of mine from Naples; the guitarist Joe Nocerino, we entered the studio after a few months. I created the moniker and soon after I had already written many pieces that the same Joe was able to arrange in a short time with the help of other musicians who came later. It is a more raw and also harder work even if sung in Italian. Also my singing at the time was much darker and perhaps not very natural.
What were the major influences for this project?
Not many influences, if we talk about taking precise points of reference. The result I mentioned earlier was to have a record without many points of reference, very varied from the artistic point of view and that in general can please a bit ‘to all. But as I have already told you, it was difficult for discographers to place it. I define it as a pop album disguised as electro goth rock with a lot of typical Italian melody.
Any great moments you would like to share with me today?
I could tell you that maybe it was meeting and then working with great musicians who collaborated on the album. One of them is Ricky Portera who I knew for many years and who has written important pages in Italian pop. A very charismatic and unique person, you probably don’t know him but as a character he is certainly interesting as well as being a great guitarist. Alex de Rosso ex Dokken intimidated me with his availability the first time we spoke on the phone. You remember his posters in old music magazines and you talk to him for a long time like old friends. Awesome.
How do you look at the future of the band?
I can’t answer that right now, or rather in part I think I’ve already answered you. I’m going to take a compositional break but not organized from the point of view of any live performances, remixes or acoustic versions but there will be no new material. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on new material. I have to move away compositionally from Shake Me even if to tell the truth I have several ideas that are still unused for the first record.
Are there any other projects you’re currently working on?
I have a synth pop – EBM project that has been at a standstill for over 10 years and I would like to finally take it up again with a single piece and see what happens. I also love completely acoustic situations and a book I’d like to finish. I don’t presume to feel like a writer, but a lot of people like what I write and it’s time to get involved in this area as well.
Finally what would be the message to the fans?
I’m interested to know that the project has reached the heart of all those who have listened to “Lullaby for Demons”, that it has aroused any kind of emotion, positive or negative, for the rest I hope they can grow more and more and watch the video clip shot in beautiful Venice for “Savage Love”. Look for it on YouTube and enjoy the magic of Venice. Thanks again for the space you gave me Keith, it was a real pleasure, see you soon.
