The Meeck

The Meeck are back! And, if you weren’t aware they’d been away, then you have some catching up to do and some delicious moments of West Aussie folk rock to experience.
The brainchild of Perth singer and song writer, Shane Khin, this is music for the underdogs, those who life keeps battering and telling they aren’t good enough. It’s a gentle ‘fuck you’ to the world’s negative energy and an exhortation to live! For that alone, we love this artist.

Case in point, take the second track on The Meeck’s current release, third album, Image And Egos, and draw some inspiration to keep on keeping on.
"I almost gave up on the dream I’d always fought for
To a life where everyday was drawn the same
But you told me that’s not what I was built for
That this journey was mine to take"

Images And Egos is a rough diamond of an album. There’s plenty to take in and its 11 tracks demand multiple listens, preferably with the lyric sheets so you can sink deeply into the words and music that Khin has gifted to the world.


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NEW MUSIC
IMAGE AND EGOS
Staff Writer
ByStaff WriteronSeptember 5, 2019Shane Khin - The MeeckShane Khin - The Meeck
The Meeck are back! And, if you weren’t aware they’d been away, then you have some catching up to do and some delicious moments of West Aussie folk rock to experience.

Images And Egos is a rough diamond of an album. There’s plenty to take in and its 11 tracks demand multiple listens…

The brainchild of Perth singer and song writer, Shane Khin, this is music for the underdogs, those who life keeps battering and telling they aren’t good enough. It’s a gentle ‘fuck you’ to the world’s negative energy and an exhortation to live! For that alone, we love this artist.

Case in point, take the second track on The Meeck’s current release, third album, Image And Egos, and draw some inspiration to keep on keeping on.

I almost gave up on the dream I’d always fought for
To a life where everyday was drawn the same
But you told me that’s not what I was built for
That this journey was mine to take

Images And Egos is a rough diamond of an album. There’s plenty to take in and its 11 tracks demand multiple listens, preferably with the lyric sheets so you can sink deeply into the words and music that Shane has gifted to the world.

The first single, title track ’Images And Egos’ and accompanying video will be released on 26 September and launched at The Balmoral Hotel in Victoria Park on 3 October.

The Images And Egos album launch will be held at Bar Four5Nine on 24 October. - Around the Sound Magazine

After spending the last 2 years writing, recording and crafting his sound, there has been an announced return of The Meeck, with the release of his 3rd album 'Image and Egos', set to launch this Thursday at The Aardvark.
The forthcoming record is the follow up to his 2017 LP 'Dormant Voices' and is set to be released on October 25th, 2019. The title track and first single off the new album 'Image and Egos', was released on September 26th, 2019 and is a jaunt into alt rock city.

Shane Khin, the mastermind behind The Meeck is back at it again, recording the new album in Shane’s home studio in Perth, Western Australia. Meanwhile, Alex Toff (Martha Wainwright, Dashboard Confessional) record the drums in London. Shane also recruited Darryn Ball to mix and master the album at Norman Solander Studios (Perth, Western Australia).

Having written poetry from a young age and growing up listening to music such as Roy Orbison, Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles, Shane began to song write in his early 20s, showing him the emotional power the right lyrics can have on a track. This has lead to most of The Meecks song’s being structured like short stories with a musical score weaved around them.

The title track is quite exposed and raw, the intro guitars set up a nice transition into vocal territory with strong hooks throughout. The simplicity at just the right time in the track adds a touch of space to feel warm while still being taken away by the songs strong direction. Shane’s lack of care factor for authodox style of musical representation of his emotions and thoughts is what encourages a truly unique result in his writing.

The Image and Egos Album Launch is set to be held at The Aardvark October 24th 2019 with Support Acts, Kings and Queens, Stacey Ann and Savannah and the Strays, make sure your there to catch some of this fresh tune city and celebrate the awaited return of The Meeck! - Toasty tunes

The Meeck is an indie force to be reckoned with on Image And Ego
The latest album from The Meeck, Image and Egos, proves he’s got big things to say about love and mental health, delivering something of a story-telling masterpiece.
The Meeck’s seamless blend of folkish story-telling and refreshingly laid-back poppy choruses are sure signs of his ability to traverse a variety of genres with distinguished ease. Tracks like Morning Blue and Long Road have inherently danceable poppy textures which are given a distinctly sensitive and personalised feel, highlighted by Shane Khin’s high-end tenor voice.

Distrubuting an album-length body of work has worked incredibly to favour of The Meeck’s as the album takes a gradual journey through dramatically different soundscapes. Through the 11-track work, we are able to fully inspect The Meeck’s more low-key minimalist folkish sound influences. Gently, we are nursed into the more spacious electronica elements of the record which are best demonstrated through the clean synths textures and minimalist percussion on tracks like Mute and Surface.

Like some sort of genre-bending wizard, The Meeck transforms this new territory of minimal electronica into an even more personal, mostly percussionless endeavor with largely acoustic songs of deep contemplation and indecision.

The construction of the album shows that The Meek has a natural gift for composition and, more impressively, curation. Although image and egos traverses a range of contrasting sounds and genres, Khin’s aims are fundamentally clear. He delivers a project tailor-made to express the complexity of The Meeck’s message of through gradual and gentle auditory contrasts which never feel too abrupt.

Image and Egos is an incredibly personal album for The Meeck, drawing on experiences of depression and anxiety as well as the therapuetic effect which various forms of creative expression allowed Khin while writing the album. It should, therefore, be viewed as much more than just an album but as a thorough and dynamic reflection of self, beautifully expressed through the combination of myriad creative mediums. The Meeck’s innate creative talent is strengthened by his passion and more than competent ability in film-making, digital design, and puppetry, all of which serve to provide a diverse variety of perspectives in which to connect with his work. - Happy Mag - Magazine

Mirror Image” by The Meeck
The Meeck produces a brilliant piece of
indie rock here. Whilst retaining its
modern edge, it also has a feeling of 80s
post-punk and 90s college rock which
prove to be a perfect combination. It is a
grower and mover that never goes too far,
and operates perfectly within its confines.
That is the beauty of The Meeck’s body of work. - Tom Hilton- Aldora Records

Worlds Collide

Lo-fi alternative pop music has a resonance with today’s world that we live in. Few do it much better than THE MEECK, operating out of Perth, Australia, with a subtle yet alluring combination of bedroom
pop, dark ambient and alternative folk. 2019’s album, Image and Egos, penned by Shane Khin, is a brilliantly DIY example of what this musical project is all about. It brings together these various influences so well and takes them in new directions with added emotion and grit. ‘Morning Blue’ followed in late 2020, a tantalising snapshot of where Shane may take this project. Aldora Britain Records definitely cannot wait to see and hear what comes next.
We caught up with Shane to discuss all things Image and Egos and to discover how this musical outlet came to be.

Aldora Britain Records: Hi Shane, it’s such a
pleasure to be talking to you. How are you doing?
I was wondering if we could start right at the
beginning, what are your first musical memories
and what pushed you towards pursuing music?

Shane Khin: My first musical memories are of my
dad playing the guitar. One of my really early
music memories was being in my dad’s studio
while he was jamming with some friends and my
sister was crawling on his effect pedals distorting
the sounds. I gravitated towards pursuing music
not long after my first attempts at songwriting.
The concept of taking your music toolkit and
experimenting / creating something new became
a very addictive and freeing experience to me.
Aldora Britain Records: How did The Meeck come about as a project? I believe it all started when you
were living in London.

Shane Khin: Yeah, it was while I was writing my first album in London that I decided I’d call this project
The Meeck. The reason was because the word ‘meek’ seemed to describe, or have some connection
to, what I was writing about. My songs were, and still are, centred around themes such as vulnerability
and working through struggles – such as bullying, mental illness, physical and emotional violence, and
suicide – which I have either experienced personally and / or with people close to me. I wanted to use
my platform as a songwriter to discuss and create a space for these issues to be highlighted and not
just swept under the carpet.
“The concept of taking your music toolkit and experimenting /
creating something new became a very addictive and freeing
experience to me.”

pg. 41
Aldora Britain Records: You put out an album called Image and Egos a couple of years ago. The
difficult third album. Can you tell me about it, the process of making it, and the themes that you’ve
written into it?

Shane Khin: Yeah, that always tricky third album, definitely! The process of making the Image and Egos album started with me one day writing the song ‘Image and Egos’. I wasn’t even thinking about
creating an album at that time to be honest. A variety of life events then happened though that inspired me to begin writing what would become this collection of songs. Once I had decided on the
album tracks, I began the process of figuring out how I wanted each song to sound. I looked at what emotions the lyrics were trying to convey and then attempted to find the best way to accompany that
musically.
The overall theme that’s written into this album is ‘self-perception’, with a focus mainly on how it
impacts, positively and negatively, different parts of our lives. I explored and reflected on how mental
illness can alter and distort the way we view ourselves, what influences external people – such as family, friends and the general public – have on us, but also how we affect other’s self-perception by
our interactions and connections with them.

Aldora Britain Records: It’s such a hard record to
pin down stylistically. How would you describe the
sound, how do you approach writing these tender
songs, and who are your main influences?

Shane Khin: I’d say the sound of the album is a
blend of folk, alt pop and a non-existent movie
score. Almost always, the writing process starts
randomly, e.g., in the car, in the shower or in the
middle of the night when I’m asleep. I think this
sporadic songwriting approach heavily contributed
to the album having such a varied sound and style.
I always started each song idea as just vocals and an
acoustic guitar though, before deciding what I want
the songs to sound like sonically.

There are definitely certain musical influences that seemed to attach themselves to the initial lyric and
song ideas. For this album, I would say my main influences were a mix of Bread, Roy Orbison, The War
on Drugs, Julian Baker and Lord Huron

Turn over for more The Meeck...

“My songs were, and still are, centred around themes such as
vulnerability ... bullying, mental illness, physical and emotional
violence, and suicide ... I wanted to use my platform as a songwriter
to discuss and create a space for these issues to be highlighted and
not just swept under the carpet.”

pg. 42

Aldora Britain Records: Can you tell me about
‘Mirror Image’? What is the story behind the song
and what is it all about? What does it mean to you
as the songwriter? I really like this song and it
stands out for me on the album. I get the
impression that it might have a deeper meaning for
you.

Shane Khin: ‘Mirror Image’ is about the notion of
living to fulfil and conform to other’s definition of
what a ‘perfect’ life is. Big house, big bank account,
big car, high status in society. And, as a result, giving
up on your own aspirations to pursue what truly
makes you happy. In my case, being creative and
pursuing music.

Quickfire Round

AB Records: Favourite artist?
Shane: Death Cab for Cutie.
AB Records: Favourite album?
Shane: Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1.
AB Records: First gig?
Shane: Run-DMC.
AB Records: Style icon?
Shane: David Bowie.
AB Records: Favourite film?
Shane: Star Wars.
AB Records: Favourite up and coming artist?
Shane: Angie McMahon. - Aldora Britain Records