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Music

On the Regular With Shamir

We join the 20-year-old Las Vegan to talk pop, high school, his first punk band, and more.

Legacy High is a senior high school located in North Las Vegas. Home of the Longhorns football team, the school sits among dusty residential subdivisions and light-industrial zoning. An airport and speedway are close by.

Of Legacy’s 2480 student body not many dream of signing to a London record label and travelling the world playing pop music.

But Shamir Bailey’s classmates at Legacy voted him 'Best Dressed' and 'Most Likely to Appear on the Cover of Vogue' and it was in high school that he started his lo-fi punk band Anorexia.

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It wasn’t punk music that burst Shamir from working at a Vegas Topshop and onto the music world. Last years Northtown EP was an assured and modern take on soul, r&b and minimal house. With his distinct countertenor and androgynous style, Shamir shimmied with Detroit funk and candied pop as he sang songs about romantic turmoil.

His debut LP Ratchet was recently released on XL Recordings (home to Vampire Weekend and FKA Twigs) and he is heading to Australia in February for shows presented by Noisey.

Noisey: Was Legacy a good school?
Shamir: Oh no, not at all. I don't think there are any good schools in North Las Vegas really. Las Vegas in general just has a really bad school system.

Are there cliques in American high schools?
Oh yeah, cliques definitely exist. The only problem with my school is there was only about three different cliques; everyone was just the same and basic.

Where did you fit in or did you move around different groups?
I didn't even necessarily move around, I was always very friendly and talked to everyone, but at the same time I only really hung out with like three people. I mean everyone knew who I was, but I never really talked to everyone.

So were you shy?
I'm not shy, but I am reserved. I'm very picky about who I let into my life. I'm very open to everyone, but at the same time my friend group, even now, is a very small circle.

You started Anorexia while in high school.
I originally started Anorexia with a friend who went to my school. But she had stage fright and we only did one show. I posted on Facebook and asked if anyone could come play with me and that's when Christina hit me up. Christina went to another school across the tracks called Mojave High School.

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Did your schools have a rivalry?
Mojave and Legacy are kind of mortal enemies. Legacy is horrible and ghetto and ridiculous, but Mojave is ten times worse. So many people weren’t coming to school that they just opened the school later. Most schools would start at seven; Mojave would start at ten (laughs).

The production on those Anorexia songs is so different to what you do now.
It funny, but I love them. I still think that Anorexia is some of the best stuff I've done to date.

Is there any chance Anorexia could play again?
Who knows, the future is very bright and open.

I guess you just need to focus on your solo career now.
It's not even so much that I'm focusing on my solo career. Me doing music on my own was just a little fun side project in between Anorexia. And so I decided to release my own cassette, just to give to family and friends, and it just kind of took over and had a life of it's own. Had I known I probably wouldn't have used my real name (laugh). I lot of people think Shamir is a stage name but really I just used my real name because I thought no one was going to listen to it.

At Legacy High did you ever think that you would one day be touring Australia with your music?
No, I mean music is like breathing to me. I've been doing it non-stop, writing and composing songs, since I was twelve. So music was something that I knew I would always be doing, and I knew that I wanted to do it was a job. But I guess I never thought I'd be in this place this fast.

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Do you ever feel like it's moving too fast?
I'm still learning how to deal with it. It's been a whirlwind, you know? I'm obviously very grateful for everything that has been happening, but at the speed that it's been happening I barely even have time to reflect or celebrate. It's just on to the next thing, on to the next thing, on to the next thing, you know?

Shamir Australia Tour:
Feb 4 – Melbourne at Howler
Feb 11 – Sydney at Oxford Arts Factory
General public on sale from 10am local time, Thursday 22 October.

Shamir is also appearing at Laneway Festival.

'Ratchet' is available now through XL Recordings/Remote Control.