Song-by-Song: ‘Now We’re Getting Somewhere’ by SHEARS

SHEARS: “There are definitely pros and cons to socials, I ultimately feel I’d be happier without them, but they’re necessary for a career in music.” Photo: Trisha Ward

Set against a dynamic drum and bass backdrop, the Edinburgh-based artist/producer weaves tales of digital detox, communication breakdowns, and friendship

The new EP from Edinburgh-based artist/producer SHEARS (Rebecca Shearing) is the latest example of her many talents. Originally from Ayr, she moved to Scotland’s capital when she was 17 and has lived there ever since. Having written, produced, and mixed the six tracks that make up Now We’re Getting Somewhere in her home studio, the release addresses the under-representation of women in music production in the strongest terms. Building on the loops and synthsphere of 2022’s Superhues, this latest drop is predominantly rooted in a drum and bass/electro landscape, clearly fecund terrain for a rising voice in the music industry whose ebullient live shows need to be experienced to be truly appreciated. Here, she takes us through each of Now We’re Getting Somewhere’s six songs…

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I LOOK AT YOU (IT’S OVER)

I was inspired by the sounds of liquid drum’n’bass. I explored the overuse of social media, and the feeling of needing to detach from the online world and the pressures of being available to everyone 24/7. I actually bought a phone jail to help with this and luckily I haven’t needed to use it much recently. There are definitely pros and cons to socials, I ultimately feel I’d be happier without them, but they’re necessary for a career in music.

MADE TO MOVE

It’s a song about a breakdown in communication, where you know that talking through things isn’t going to solve anything and it’s better for both of you to walk away. It’s something I needed to get off my chest at the time of writing! I wanted the final chorus to be the same sort of feeling as jumping into water, all-encompassing, and really really big. The post-chorus included putting the drums through the SketchCassette plugin and completely distorting them while talking over it. It’s definitely been slightly more experimental than before.

SHADOW

I really love playing this one live as I get to play the drums in the final section on my sample pad. Shadow is about feeling a little out of the loop, and you’re always falling behind someone else. It has a positive though, as it’s saying they’ll have a better day, and they won’t be a shadow. So I guess there’s a sense of resilience and stubbornness to continue for the love of it, regardless of what people think.

FIGURE ME OUT

This is probably one of the only happier tracks on this! I’m a sucker for writing about pent-up frustrations, but I guess they’re the experiences and learning curves that shape my life in and outside music. Figure Me Out is the antithesis of pent-up frustration – this is an unequivocally rare happy song for me about feeling understood, like you don’t need to say anything and you know you’ll be read like a book. Producing this was very fun – I played a Moog Subsequent 37 live for all the bass parts, moulded them together and turned the track into a drum’n’bassy tune.

SHEARS: “Sometimes the demo vocals are the right ones.” Photo: Trisha Ward

AS YOU ARE

I wrote As You Are about a friend who told me something personal about themselves, and although it felt like a big thing for them to say, it didn’t feel like a big thing at all to me. Come as you are, don’t try to change yourself for anything – you’re accepted. It started off as a much slower song with the initial synth line, but one day I sped it up to see what it sounded like and it just worked.

THE WAY YOU LIKE

This is a song about seeing a friendship break up, and looking in from the outside you know it’s the wrong decision. It’s also an open invitation to dance!  I initially had guitar lines going through the whole thing but I ended up taking them out as it was just getting too busy. I really like the high BVs towards the end of this, there are only lyrics to some of them though. Some of them were placeholders of nonsense that sounded really good to me so I just left them as they were. Sometimes the demo vocals are the right ones.

Now We’re Getting Somewhere by SHEARS is out now. For music and live dates, head to imshears.com

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