Việt Nam-based Indie/Rock band SHADYLANES (from left to right) Rowan Nelsen, Daniel Yarranton, and Nache Chan. Photo courtesy of the band

ĐÀ NẴNG — Việt Nam-based Indie/Rock band SHADYLANES has had their song Headlock placed on an internationally recognised playlist by Spotify curators.

The song has been placed on the internationally recognised ‘Just Rock!’ editorial playlist alongside international heavyweights such as Imagine Dragons, Machine Gun Kelly, AC/DC, Yungblud, NOFX, and many more. 

“It’s amazing how our DIY song that was recorded, mixed, and mastered in my small apartment is standing up next to other tracks by artists on multi-million dollar budgets in multi-million dollar studios”, says Nache Chan, SHADYLANES’ bassist and producer. “A milestone moment indeed, at least in my opinion!”

An average of 60,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify daily, with the majority of them being submitted to the company curators for editorial playlist consideration.

Most, if not all, independent artists distributing their music on the platform, strive for placement on any of Spotify’s internationally recognised playlists.

Any independent artist that receives a placement alongside major label artists is generally guaranteed a huge spike in the streams their music will receive. 

In April, 2020, SHADYLANES was due to record their studio debut The Happening in Thailand with world renowned ARIA nominated and Platinum awarded producer Shane Edwards (Hans Zimmer, The Libertines, Northlane, Getsunova) which was postponed due to the global pandemic. 

Thanks to Việt Nam’s successful management of COVID-19, the band was able to independently record four songs and music videos under the album title The Lockdown: B-sides from The Happening, release an English cover of BLACKPINK’s Lovesick Girls, followed by a hefty commitment to record and release a song every month in 2021 until the commencement of pre-production for their studio debut.

So far the band’s 2021 releases include January’s Just My Type (feat. Tabitha), February’s Headlock, March’s rework of MIN’s Trên Tình Bạn Dưới Tình Yêu, and the soon to be released Disco Nite Drive which will debut on the band’s YouTube channel on April 2.

Their fan base has been growing on stage and online, with public interest escalating in January, 2020, due to their cover of Mượn Rượu Tỏ Tình by BigDaddy x Emily which garnered nearly 30,000 views on Facebook and more than 16,000 views on YouTube.

Their cover even grabbed the attention of BigDaddy himself who commented on the video, “I love this cover. Thank you guys”. 

Chan added: “As a band, we’re devoted to growing our brand and skill set to higher levels with each and every new release.

“We’re adamant about keeping things rolling while the world is shut down which means recording, producing and mixing all our material in the confines of my apartment”.

So far the band has been recognised by international publications such as Mycitybynight, Scoop Magazine, and NZ Mag, with local recognition from the likes of VTV, and Dương Cầm’s Bandland Channel.

SHADYLANES has also been mentioned by the likes of YouTube star GuitarZero2Hero, who boasts nearly one million subscribers, for their rendition of Lovesick Girls. 

Now thanks to Spotify’s official tick of approval, SHADYLANES have their sights set evermore on earning further international traction, with plans to bring their signature sound to the rest of the world in due time.

SHADYLANES consists of three members - Rowan Nelsen, Daniel Yarranton, and Nache Chan - who met each other in Việt Nam and established the band in July 2019. — VNS