New Music: Shaun Bartlett

Shaun Bartlett

BASE jumper Andre Bach first heard Shaun Bartlett from outside a rundown bar in Oslo when he decided to go inside and check it out; in that evening, musician and madman were aligned and the soundtrack for Andre’s BASE jumping spectaculars, 1st BASE and 2nd BASE, were born.  Andre first introduced us to the evocative vocals and elegant melodies of this passionate musician, and now we’re hooked.

Ten years after that night in the bar and twenty years after his first keyboard gifted from his parents, Shaun is producing solo music with a mellow, poppy feel.  “I live for life’s dynamics, and lyrically I move around in melancholy and bittersweetness, but usually conclude with the brighter side of things,” Shaun says, and he’s translated that wonderful feeling of hope in challenge and change into his songs.  Endlessly inspired, he played all of the instruments on his latest album, Shrink the City To a Light. Just listen to him sing “I’ve never walked this far, never crossed the border / I always new that I could shrink the city to a light, just upon the shoulders…” and he reminds us of all the potential adventure in exploration, whether in music, travel, or the beauty in daily life.

Half British and half Norwegian, his music is all over the radio in Norway these days.  He partnered with Leonard Cohen last summer, and this summer, it’s a different sort of adventure: up to the snows of Kilimanjaro. He’s a man after our soul, with wanderlust, passion, and creativity, and our favorite for any trip, or just gazing out the window in dreams of trips to come.  Listen here, then  add it to your collection at myspace.com/shaunbartlett.