Remy Shand

Remy Shand

Person from Canada

Genres: soul, Neo-Soul, Canadian, jazz, singer-songwriter

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About Remy Shand

Remy Shand is a Canadian songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and self-producer known for first and only album The Way I Feel. Released by UMC and Motown on March 12, 2002, the record was written, arranged and produced by Shand; he also performed all instruments. The Way I Feel received rave reviews, accolades and awards, including being nominated for 4 Grammys and winning a JUNO Award. The record was number 1 for six consecutive weeks in Canada, where it is certified platinum. In the United States it reached the top 40 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart, #15 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and had a top 5 Adult R&B chart success for the single, “Take a Message.” --- Remy Shand was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1978 to Jeremy Shand and Ana Olsson. His father was of English descent and his mother was of Swedish descent. Remy credits his musical education to a crate of classic albums salvaged by his dad from a club his construction crew was remodeling. Home-schooled through 10th grade, Remy enrolled at the local high school (mainly to play in the jazz band, whose teacher Remy would later hire for a recording session) but left after just one year. He’d started on acoustic guitar and bass around age 12, and his record collection provided his benchmarks. While most people his age during the 80s and 90s were influenced by early hip hop and pop music, his father was into soul - exposing him to R&B/soul such as Steely Dan, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, The Isley Brothers and Stevie Wonder. By the age of 19 Remy managed to send a demo tape to Steve Warden, who would later became his manager, helping him to find a prominent record deal. Three months later, Shand was offered deals from two different labels for development but turned them down, later signing with Universal Music Canada and Motown Records in the United States. Recording and mixing on Shand's debut album, The Way I Feel, began during the spring of 2001 at his home in Winnipeg. Shand says his track "Everlasting" was the blueprint towards the record's content, being the oldest track on the album - as it was first recorded in 1998. The Way I Feel was released on March 12, 2002. Certified Platinum in Canada (indicating over 100,000 sales), it was also reported to have sold over 500,000 copies in the United States. Winning the award for Best R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 2003 Juno Awards. The record also garnered four 2003 Grammy nominations: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Vocal Performance - Male (for "Take a Message"), Best R&B Song (for "Take a Message"), and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for "Rocksteady"). Shand retreated from the public eye after completing the promotion for his debut record, resurfacing seldomly to release music through his Remy Records label. He independently released over a dozen singles and two EPs between 2013 and 2016. In 2022 UMC and Motown released a deluxe edition of The Way I Feel to commemorate its 20th anniversary, collecting b-sides and instrumentals. The press release for the deluxe edition mentions how Remy is "known for keeping out of the public eye," adding a quote pulled from Remy's private Instagram "where he has given fans a glimpse of his recent transition into electrical engineering. Commenting on this new artistic evolution:" “Motown was one of the few studios that built their own gear. I think that inspired me to become more than just an entertainer. Modern music has always been dictated by technological advancements intertwined with cultural movements. Song and dance have been around for ages and I would like to encourage more artists to evolve beyond that cycle, separate themselves from the pageantry, and get heavy with the recording arts and sciences. It’s time to step into the future and innovate.”

Taken from Last.fm

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