Biography
There is more than one artist with this name:
1) HIGHLIFE is the moniker of Llondon born Sleepy Doug Shaw.
Sleepy Doug Shaw moved to NYC in 2003 at the age of 19 and began playing shows around the city. He formed among natives later that year with Hisham Haroocha (Black Dice/Soft Circle) and Abby Portner (Rings) before joining the band White Magic in 2005.
Shaw adopted the Highlife moniker in late 2007 in an attempy to "imbue a feeling of rejoicing and high consciousness", while also giving a nod to the genre of african music ‘Highlife’, which has greatly influenced his guitar style.
In 2008 Shaw relocated to the small island of Gaspar Grande off the coast of Trinidad with Mira Billotte of White Magic to begin working on the first batch of songs to be released under the Highlife moniker with a portable recording setup.
In late 2008, Shaw again relocated to his hometown of London England, utilizing Harvey Birrel at Southern Studios (Crass, Sir Richard Bishop, Buzzcocks) to continue work on the songs. Shaw also brought in Tim Koh (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffitti) and Jesse Lee (Gang Gang Dance) to provide bass and drums to the recordings.
In early 2009 Shaw self released F Kenya RIP via the Internet. The track garnered glowing praise from Pitchfork, Gorillia Vs Bear, Spin Magazine, NME, BBC and Hipster runoff. It also appeared on a number of Best of 2009 lists. Highlife began playing live in the UK, eventually touring the UK and Europe with Animal Collective, Hack and a Hacksaw and Ariel Pink.
In the summer of 2009 Highlife relocated again back to NYC and began working with the NYC indie label The Social Registry. Highlife began playing shows in NYC making multiple appearances at the 2009 CMJ music festival including a slot on an event organized by Pitchfork Media. Shaw finished his first record, a five song mini album titled "Best Bless" in late 2009
In 2010 Highlife began the year with an East Coast tour with Gang Gang Dance. In June of 2010 The Social Registry began readying 'Best Bless' for release, setting a September 2010 release. Highlife continues to perform in NYC while Shaw continues to be a member of White Magic and often plays bass in Gang Gang Dance.
More information:
http://www.myspace.com/highlifehighlife
2) Highlife is a punk hardcore band from Texas who has released a demo tape in 2008 & a 7inch for Cowabunga! Records in 2009. An upcoming LP was set for release in the spring of 2010.
More information can be found here: http://www.myspace.com/highlifetx
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