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Adebisi Shank
Adebisi Shank
	Adebisi Shank in 2009 (from left to right; Lar Kaye, Michael Roe, Vincent McCreith).
Background information
Origin	Fethard-on-Sea, County Wexford, Ireland
Genres	Math rock
Years active	2006 – 2014, 2024 – Present
Labels	Richter Collective, Big Scary Monsters, Sargent House, Parabolica, Strawberry Pearls
Members	Lar Kaye; Vinny McCreith; Mick Roe

Adebisi Shank are a three-piece instrumental rock trio from County Wexford, Ireland consisting of guitarist Lar Kaye, bass guitarist Vincent McCreith and drummer Michael Roe. The band was signed to Richter Collective in Ireland, before the record label closed in December 2012, Big Scary Monsters in the United Kingdom, Sargent House in the United States and Parabolica in Japan. Their name is a reference to the Oz character Simon Adebisi. Their style of music was described as "seriously upbeat math-rocky craziness".^[2] In September 2014, the band announced their breakup, with each member pursuing different paths. They released three studio albums and one extended play in their career. In September 2024, the band announced they are reuniting and recording new material and planned new tours.

History

The band formed in August 2006, after both drummer Mick Roe and guitarist Lar Kaye, who worked together in math rock band Terrordactyl, collaborated with bass player Vinny McCreith, who at the time worked on a solo chiptune project named The Vinny Club.^[3] The group's name, which derives from the Oz character Simon Adebisi,^[1] was picked by guitarist Larry Kaye when they needed a name quickly.^[4] Not long after their formation, in July 2007, the band released their first EP, titled This is the EP of a band called Adebisi Shank.^[5] They released the EP on DIY label Armed Ambitions and this led to the band later in 2007 touring across continental Europe with Marvins Revolt.^[3]

In early 2008 they toured Japan, supporting LITE and the EP's release on their new Japanese label, Parabolica.^[3]

In 2010 they were also nominated for a Choice Music Prize and played in Vicar Street in front of a sold-out crowd.^[5] They lost to Two Door Cinema Club's debut album Tourist History.^[3]

For the release of their second album, the band signed to US label and management company Sargent House, offering North American label support and worldwide management.^[5] This signing is significant for the band as they have always had a desire to tour the United States; however, they only wanted to do it if they could find a record label to support them.^[4] Prior to the release of their second studio album, in 2010, the band played a 14-date tour across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including festival appearances at Indiependence, Castlepalooza, Off The Cuff and Glasgowbury.^[4] In 2011 the band won Best Album, Best Rock Act and Best Design at The Digital Socket Awards 2011, a music awards show organized by Irish music bloggers.^[6]

In late 2012, Kaye revealed that he had formed an electropunk supergroup trio called No Spill Blood. The band was formed with members from other bands like Hands Up Who Wants To Die?, Elk, and Magic Pockets and released their debut EP on 31 July 2012.^[7]

Across July 2012 the band engaged on a New Tunez tour which went across Ireland, which gave the band an opportunity to debut and perform new, unreleased material.^[8]

On 18 September 2013, the band announced the completion of their upcoming third album, which was released on 12 August 2014 to positive reviews from fans and critics alike. On 24 September of the same year, the band announced they would be breaking up after a last overseas tour.^[9]

In subsequent years, Kaye and McCreith continued in the music business: Kaye played with his other band All Tvvins, while McCreith did production and mixing work, as well as composing for video games. McCreith also released music as a solo artist under the name VMC Sound and as one-half of the duo Speed of Snakes. Roe, on the other hand, served as a business lecturer at Dublin music college BIMM.

On 30 September 2024, a decade following their initial split, the band posted a message to their socials that read simply: "This is the return of a band called Adebisi Shank. New songs. New gigs."^[10]

Characteristics

Musical style

Adebisi Shank have a style of music described as "seriously upbeat math-rocky craziness"^[2] and have self-described themselves as robot-rock.^[3]^[4] Allmusic describes them as fusing "frenetic hardcore-influenced math rock with the epic scope of post-rock, the freewheeling intensity of heavy metal, and the dancefloor-shredding sensibilities of electronic dance music."^[3] Despite being an instrumental band the group uses distorted vocal effects in songs, treating their voices as if they are a part of their musical ensemble, with the band stating they would never use "clean vocals" in their music.^[11] The band incorporates several different instruments into their ensemble, utilising: guitars, drums, synthesizers, marimbas, horns, vocoder, percussion ensemble and "musical instruments we're not sure have even been invented yet."^[5]

The band's style has been compared to math rock bands such as Don Caballero and Battles,^[1]^[3] as well as also having their style compared to the "triumphant guitar harmonies of Fang Island with the mathematic precision of Battles, the genre-surfing playfulness of Daft Punk and churning intensity of Health."^[5] The band's influences are diverse, ranging through several different genres, including: Prince, Leonard Cohen, Radiohead, Oingo Boingo, Nirvana, Queen, Thin Lizzy, Paul Simon, Justice, Andrew WK, Jamie Lidell, Caribou, Vangelis, Steely Dan, Thomas Dolby, Arthur Russell, The Beach Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Talking Heads, My Bloody Valentine, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Reich, Debussy, Tangerine Dream, OutKast, Lindsey Buckingham, Burt Bacharach, Le Butcherettes, The Brecker Brothers, R. Kelly, Éric Serra, Michael Jackson.^[11]

Live performances

Adebisi Shank live performances have been described typically as relentless.^[12] A significant part of both the band's image and live performances is the bass player Vincent McCreith wearing a mask. The mask covers his entire face and resembles a scarf.^[1] When asked in an interview about the purpose of the mask McCreith commented saying: "I’d hate for the band to become famous purely because of the bass players rugged good looks and deep blue eyes."^[11]

Members

Lar Kaye – guitar (2006–2014)
Vincent McCreith – bass guitar (2006–2014)
Michael Roe– drums, percussion (2006–2014)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
Year	Album details	IRL ^[13]
2008	This Is the Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank Released: 11 September 2008 Label: Richter Collective,Big Scary Monsters Formats: 10" Vinyl, CD, Download	—
2010	This Is the Second Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank Released: 20 August 2010 Label: Richter Collective, Big Scary Monsters Formats: 12" Vinyl, CD, Download	53
2014	This Is the Third Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank Released: 12 August 2014 Label: Sargent House Formats: TBC	—
"—" denotes a title that did not chart.

Extended plays

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
Year	Album details	IRL
2007	This is the EP of a band called Adebisi Shank Released: 7 July 2007 Label: Richter Collective Formats: CD, Download	—
"—" denotes a title that did not chart.

Awards and nominations

Choice Music Prize


Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2011	This is the Second Album of a band called Adebisi Shank	Irish Album of the Year 2010	Nominated^[14]

The Digital Socket Awards


Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2011	This is the Second Album of a band called Adebisi Shank	Best Album	Won^[6]
2011	Adebisi Shank	Best Rock Act	Won^[6]
2011	Featured artworks, posters and website	Best Design	Won^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "CMW Review: Adebisi Shank, March 10, Rancho Relaxo". Panic Manual. Panic Manual. 10 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012. They had a jerky, math rocky sort of sound, maybe a bit like Don Caballero, but more frantic. Also, their bassist wore a scarf/mask kind of thing to cover his face and head, which is kind of cool.
^ ^a ^b ^c Eric Limer (26 August 2012). "Adebisi Shank: Genki Shank". Gizmodo. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Dave Donnelly. "Adebisi Shank - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". Allmusic. Rovi. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. Adebisi Shank are a three-piece instrumental rock band from Wexford and Dublin, Ireland. The self-styled "robot rock" act fuses frenetic hardcore-influenced math rock with the epic scope of post-rock, the freewheeling intensity of heavy metal, and the dancefloor-shredding sensibilities of electronic dance music.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kev Donnellan (28 July 2010). "Q & A with Adebisi Shank". meg. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Breaking Tunes - Adebisi Shank". Breaking Tunes. First Music Contact. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Digital Socket Awards". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ "Irish Synth-punk Trio No Spill Blood Release Debut EP On Sargent House". Plug In Music. 6 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
^ Andrew Lemon (30 July 2012). "Adebisi Shank, Toby Kaar - Bunatee, Belfast". BBC Music. BBC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
^ Harrington, Joe. "Adebisi Shank announce their break up and two farewell shows in Dublin this week". joe.ie. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016.
^ Byrne, Niall (30 September 2024). "Adebisi Shank are set to return after 10 years". Nialler9. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Straight From the Mouth of Adebisi Shank". Back Stage Noise. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ Una Mullally (3 September 2011). "Review: Adebisi Shank, Cosby Stage". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
^ "irishcharts.com - Discography Adebisi Shank". Irish Recorded Music Association. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
^ "RTÉ Choice Music Prize 2010". Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.