Are You Really Real Shuffle Demons

• 1 X Marks the Spot 03:40
• 2 Out to Sea 05:20
• 3 Are You Really Real 04:19
• 4 Bottom Dollar 04:55
• 5 Ride the Wave 04:41
• 6 Good Mourning 05:20
• 7 Money Is My Only Religion 05:36
• 8 Scala Rosa 05:55
• 9 Sunny Side Up 04:03
• 10 Prism 04:36
• 11 In the Air 05:08
• 12 Nice Signal 04:49
• 13 Run the World 05:08
• Total Runtime 01:03:30

Info for Are You Really Real

With Are You Really Real, the band celebrates its 40th anniversary and delights audiences all over the world with its unique sound. Are You Really Real emphasizes the strengths of the Shuffle Demons: finely crafted compositions. The simple combination of bass, horns and drums reduces the music to ist basic elements, yet the result is a full sound refined with formidable grooves.

Shuffle Demons have captured the magic of their renowned live performances with this new release, recorded at the iconic Canterbury Music studio in Toronto with producer Jono Grant and engineer Julian Decorte. The stripped-down combination of bass, horns, and drums creates a bold and full-bodied sound, setting the stage for high-level improvisation and dynamic grooves.

Born out of Toronto’s vibrant street scene in 1984, Shuffle Demons have built a legacy as innovators of genre-defying music. Are You Really Real celebrates this history while pushing their music forward, blending traditional jazz elements with modern funk, blues, and rap influences. From intricate horn lines to joyful chaos, the album promises a listening experience like no other.

“We feel fortunate to be able to make music, to celebrate the spirit of being in a band that has a unique sound and breeds a supportive atmosphere, to tour the world spreading our joyful music to those who crave art that is emotionally uplifting.”

Joining Alma Records’ esteemed roster of artists, Shuffle Demons continue to deliver music that uplifts and energizes. With Are You Really Real, they invite fans old and new to celebrate four decades of fearless creativity.

Shuffle Demons

The Shuffle Demons
first broke onto the Canadian music scene in 1984 with an electrifying musical fusion that drew in equal measure from Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. This band is genre bending, highly visually entertaining, funny, and best of all, can really PLAY. All their eye catching, crowd-pleasing stunts are backed up by incredibly solid musicianship and real groundbreaking playing.

The Shuffle Demons have released 10 albums and 9 videos over their 37 year career. They have played 1000s of shows at every major jazz and folk festival in Canada during 25 Canadian tours. They toured Europe 15 times playing from Estonia to Italy, from the Netherlands to Norway, from Switzerland to Sweden, from Germany to Belgium, the Yokohama Jazz Promenade (Japan’s biggest Jazz Fest), on the Barenaked Ladies Ships and Dip Cruise, at the Bangkok International Festival of Music and Dance, at the Taranaki Arts Fest and the Dubbo Jazz Fest in New Zealand and Australia, the Jarasum Jazz Festival in South Korea, the Zacatecas Cultural Festival in Mexico, the Beijing Jazz Festival, and in India.

And all the while they’ve kept audiences excited, dancing and smiling as they built up a solid fan base that to this day will never forget the music and the antics…stopping traffic with the famous ‘Spadina Bus’ walk around, playing a Mingus tune and really meaning it, thrashing around the stage in crazy interpretive dance, delivering the classic poem ‘What do you Want.’

The band continues the tradition today with a great line-up of players that includes multiple Juno Award winner Richard Underhill – sax & vox, Matt Lagan – sax & vox, multiple Juno Award winner Kelly Jefferson – sax & vox, multiple Juno Award winner Mike Downes – bass & vox and Juno Award winner Stich Wynston – drums & vox. Expect the same exciting, no holds barred performances that feature wild romps in the crowd, free jazz moments, danceable funk, poetry, killer solos and more.

Booklet for Are You Really Real