Ikebe Shakedown channel rides on the B train on new song "Blue Giant" (listen)

Brooklyn instrumental soul band Ikebe Shakedown — whose members have backed Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, and Lee Fields — are releasing their next album, The Way Home, on October 20 via Colemine Records (pre-order). We’re premiering the song “Blue Giant,” which the band has this to say about:

The melody to Blue Giant was written on the B train – during that part of the ride across the Manhattan Bridge back into Brooklyn. You’ve been flowing underground for a long time before suddenly shooting into this blinding light, where you can see the Statue of Liberty holding court among the shipping lanes. It’s a real contrast between that majestic view of a shared ideal and the reality of being crowded with people focused on their own lives.

If you picture that Subway ride in your head while you listen to this, it really does feel like a perfect soundtrack to that moment when you come out of the tunnel (Ikebe Shakedown describe their sound as “cinematic,” after all). Give it a listen for yourself below.

Ikebe Shakedown play a hometown release show on October 21 at Union Pool (tickets). They also play Philly and Kingston, NY shortly before and after (respectively).

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Ikebe Shakedown — 2017 Tour Dates
Oct 19 World Cafe Live-Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA w/ Kat Wright
Oct 21 Union Pool Brooklyn, NY
Oct 26 BSP Kingston, NY