Shibui Sound Press Release
Sunshine Coast trio Shibui Sound independently released their debut EP in May 2025. The Hidden Me, recorded and produced locally at Cleanskin Studios, and mastered at Nyssa Ray Recordings in Landsborough.
They are unashamedly a studio band, with an emphasis on making songs that puts instruments and the feel of the music in front of everything else. If you want to know what their music is about, the opening track Enemy of My Sleep is an excellent starting point.
Their songs are crafted to connect listeners with genuine expressions of emotion, through smooth rhythm and dynamic melody. The process of creating music is a wonderful healer and the lyrics on all six songs are designed to be deep and powerful.
One of the great thrills many music lovers express is to have a song move and inspire them, as well as evoking feelings and sentiments they can't articulate themselves, as explained by lead vocalist and drummer Justin.
“The greatest songs allow us to remember, imagine, travel in time, grieve and hope - truly a form of therapy. Whether it's by providing uplift through remembering a time of joy or an aid to coping in a crisis, we hope listeners find connection through our music.”
The Hidden Me features songs that roam the musical landscape somewhere between mainstream and prog rock. With an appreciation for orchestral soundscapes and lead guitar solos, the songs try and combine the best of genres of the past.
Lead Guitarist Gavin was responsible for the iconic lead guitar on the E.P.
“As we worked on the arrangements in the studio, adding the multitudes of layers to the songs, they started to have a life of their own. They became living breathing entities. Slowly and surely they evolved into the soundscapes you hear on the EP. Every time I listen I hear something new, something different.
A lot of time, weeks in some cases, spent tweaking guitar sounds, changing patches, recording, deleting, starting all over, and then… a single note sends a shiver down your spine, and you know you've finally got the sound.”
The band’s philosophy is centred around their homage to the traditional early rock recording styles where the weight of the vocals wasn’t crushing the rest of the music. Andrew (Guitar/Piano/Bass) who engineered and produced the album at Cleanskin Studios, has a strong belief in the value of instruments shaping and driving the tracks.
“A lot of modern recordings are dominated by upfront vocals that leave little room for the listener to appreciate what else is happening within a song. We wanted to revisit the old-school thinking from the 70’s and 80’s where instruments stood out and gave the songs their feel.”
The Hidden Me is available on all the usual streaming services.