Shanuka
Singer/Songwriter Shanuka brings her distinct R&B soundscape to the music scene. The Toronto-based artist has been releasing music for a few years, and holds significant streaming success. In 2018, she released her debut album Infatuation, full of tracks she had previously released on Soundcloud. In fact, much of her fanbase was built by releasing songs on Soundcloud as a smaller artist. Shanuka’s unique sound has never wavered— Her 2019 single “Pain” is the perfect example of this, with 96K streams on Spotify alone. Now, her audience is much bigger. She currently boasts 10 thousand monthly listeners and has been featured on Spotify’s Just Vibing and Fresh Finds: The Wave playlists. We recently spoke with Shanuka about her writing process, her partner in a dream collab, and more!
How did you start making music?
I started releasing my own music senior year of high school on Soundcloud by myself. I produced, recorded, & wrote all of my songs in my room. My album “Infatuation” is filled with all the tracks I previously released on Soundcloud. Once I started to get a little noticed, I took music more seriously and met my producers @rarelythestudent and @sebavanwyk who I now consistently work with. We released many songs onto streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc and gain more and more attention every new release.
Which one of your songs was your favorite to write and why?
Every song I’ve written is special to me based on the time, the circumstance, how I was feeling but one that stands out the most to me is my song “Worry”. I’d say it’s my favorite now because at the time I wrote it I was really lost and confused in life. The lyrics are very honest and real. I even hesitated to release it but I’m glad I eventually did because people really enjoyed it and connected with me.
What’s your go-to location when it’s time to write?
I don’t have a go-to location to write because if I’m really in the moment whether I’m at home or in the studio, I can just write on the spot. This is how majority of my songs have come to life lately. I do really enjoy writing when I’m with my producers in the studio though.
Most artists have a dream venue. Where’s yours?
I’ve never thought about my dream venue but I’d say as of now it would be either Danforth Music Hall, Phoenix Concert Theatre or Mod Club. All of these are located in Toronto. They’re not the biggest spots but I’ve attended a lot of concerts at these venues and the space allows the performer to be very interactive and intimate with the audience which I love as an artist.
It’s collab time: who are you choosing to make a song with?
This is a very difficult question because there are so many artists I would LOVE to collaborate with. But as of now, I’ve been a huge fan of Anderson Paak. I think his music production, vocals, lyrics, basically everything about his music is so beautiful and inspiring. Every single song he has is amazing. If I ever got to collaborate with him, that would be a dream come true.
Describe your music in 3 words.
Versatile. Soulful. Vibes.
What’s next for Shanuka?
What’s next? I’m just going to keep going with the flow. As an independent artist, I think that is the way. I plan on releasing a little project hopefully soon! I have plans for a music video which everyone has been waiting for and I just want to keep building an amazing support system and hopefully someday I’ll get to tour around the world and meet all of my supporters.
