Winnie and the Rockettes blast off with ‘Shake’

How does a band make music that recalls the likes of Prince, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but have their feet firmly planted in 2020? Enter Winnie and the Rockettes, bringing the sound of funk, rock and soul into the future. Their debut single 'Shake' tells you all you need to know about this melting pot of influences and styles.

Credit: Tijmen Veldhuizen

Despite this single being released in August 2020, Winnie and the Rockettes have already achieved so much. They get people moving wherever they play, no small feat with the occasional wooden British audiences. Just looking at their instagram account is enough to prove this. They've played for Sofar Sounds more times than I can count (seriously if you can create a tally, I'll eat my own head). They've headlined the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, London as well as playing their Upstairs room. They've shared stages with Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and Chaka Khan to name just a couple. They also had gigs booked at the Roundhouse in Camden and a slot on Gilles Peterson's We Out Here festival prior to the apocalypse.

Sofar Sounds even filmed one of Winnie and the Rockettes' performances in London, July 2017. Funk 'n' Roll begins with a classic rock style guitar riff. The duo, consisting of Winnie Sandy on vocals and Nico Kos on guitar, are augmented by a solid rhythm section here. Despite the futuristic sounds you can hear on the track, you could be forgiven if you thought that was keyboard. There is no keyboardist here, the sounds are all Nico's guitar. He trips in and out of that thick, phased sound and even plays more of a traditional guitar solo in between while the rhythm section glues it all together. In contrast, Winnie's voice is laid back, a smooth talker luring you to the dancefloor even as she takes a seat amongst the audience. With a slight bit of distortion on the microphone, it gives that air of equipment from the 1960's that's being pushed too far, but sounds good.

But what of the new single? 'Shake' begins with an infectious bassline and a drum pattern that lays right into it. The head-bobbing is an instantaneous side-effect of being exposed to this, don't worry. The drums are so crisp, almost like you're playing at the kit yourself. There's a tiny bit of keyboard there too, which is somehow both futuristic and something a little disco from the late 70's. Nico's guitar has the wah pedal firmly in the ‘on’ position in the beginning, and Winnie's vocal is a lot clearer than the Funk 'n' Roll video. There's grit here, reminding me of the vocal stylings of Skin from Skunk Anansie. 'See now, I met this man one time and he tried to play my mind, then soon he realised that I'm one of a kind,' and this is certainly one of a kind. In the choruses, Shake manages to be heavy as head-bobbing turns into head-banging. And I don't say that lightly, turn it up and see for yourself. The track engages in a big finish, with Winnie's vocal reaching further than it had before, making you realise this is a vocalist and a band with a big range.

Credit: Tijmen Veldhuizen

The brilliant Shake is both written and produced by Winnie and forms a part of their upcoming EP which is out in October. I had so many questions for both Winnie and Nico about their sound, artwork, the production of Shake, and their upcoming EP.

1. Your modern sound is so refreshing. How did you meet each other and decide you wanted to put this band together?

We met through mutual mutual musician friends and I was (Winnie) super into guitars and pedals back then so when I saw Nico's guitar pedal in a rehearsal of our mutual friend, I went up to him and said I have purple nails. He looked at me as if he was scared and that's how the friendship began. We always wanted to see and listen to bands/artists that played edgy funk, rock and soul, but never really saw it. So we did it!

2. Winnie, can you take us through the writing and production of 'Shake'?

Shake has developed overtime, we have recorded so many versions of the track. I wanted a heavy funk slap bass with a modern take. And then I wanted it to sound quite heavy and chaotic like electronic music (Flying Lotus) as I was experimenting with a lot of synth sounds. It was a balance of keeping our energy as a live band but having production brought that to life. 

3. Tell us about your line-up, are you a duo whilst your rhythm section is flexible?

We are still open to being a full band and creating with the right people, but at the moment our rhythm section is flexible. Just the two of us, we can make it if we try...!

4. Nico, you have a great guitar sound - what does your rig consist of?

Epiphone Sheraton with P90 pick-ups that I customised, and a pedal board with a whole bunch of different pedals! And mostly play a Fender Blues Deluxe Tube Amp...We like building everything.. pedalboard and guitar included, we love to mould everything we do!

5. Your EP and single were due a while back, but there have been some delays. Is this all lockdown related?

Yes and no - Corona definitely affected our process as a lot of things had to be rescheduled or cancelled. But in general, everything takes time... we've had to wear many hats!

6. You guys headlined Ronnie Scott's at the beginning of the year, what was that like?

Hectic! We fired almost our whole band a week before the gig... but like everything music related, we still made sure we had a blast!

7. Nico, your artwork for this band is superb. What inspired this direction?

Oh gosh, I can talk for ages about this stuff but..Thanks ;) It's mainly French Sci-fi comics/graphic novels from the 1970s-80's. I lived in Japan for a bit, so that experience influenced me too.

8. Winnie and the Rockettes have played Sofar Sounds an untold amount of times! Is there a particular performance that sticks in your memory? 

Well well well, Sofar Sounds is supposed to be unplugged but... let's just say we ended up playing a full rig of equipment in someone's living room and probably blew someone's wig off. I think some people are still shell shocked.

9. Your debut EP is coming out in October, what can you tell us about that?

A rocketship is landing! It'll be a versatile mix of sounds and ideas that we have, also an introduction to who we are as a band so it's very exciting for us!... p.s. Thanks for the interview!

You can find Winnie and the Rockettes across instagram, twitter and facebook @wtherockettes