Sal Valentine & The Babyshakes

Sal Valentine has twisted the fabric of musical time, seen the face of Count Basie, and lived to deliver to you an infectious, fresh and surprising debut album of rhythm and blues which is bound to blow your socks off. Frontman Sal Valentine is framed by big-band horns toting heavy licks that would be at home in the roaring 20’s, and a rhythm section that knows what to play when Sal says go. The foil to Sal Valentine, and his Babyshakes are fair vocalists Chelsea Prastiti and Rebecca Mason-Melrose. They are collectively named The Babyshakes, and have been declared by Valentine to be ‘Auckland’s Number 1 Band’.

Due for release 1st November, the debut album was recorded by Bob Frisbee (Street Chant, Panther and the Zoo, The D4), an engineer and producer who usually lives in Auckland’s punk scene. Frisbee presents the band in an honest setting, capturing the sound of the band and the energy of the performance, without building a fake studio universe around them. With Sal conducting proceedings, and Bob behind the glass, The Babyshakes were fearless in the studio. As if to jam their “Number 1 Band” flag into the Auckland soil, the band put down 14 tracks in only two days. Everything was tracked live, horns and solos and all, putting the band’s skills on record and leaving blood and sweat on the studio floor.