Said the Whale Bassist Leaves Band to Focus on Drake-sampled Ekali Project

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Mar 9, 2016

Vancouver pop-rock group Said the Whale will take a bunch of new tunes on the road next month, but they won't be bringing bassist Nathan Shaw with them. It was confirmed today (March 9) that the musician has left the band to focus on his electronic music work as Ekali.

News of the departure came through Said the Whale's Twitter account, where they explained that Shaw would not be taking part in the spring trip. Vancouver solo musician/Hey Ocean! member David Vertesi, who was already booked as the opener on the upcoming trek, will be subbing in on bass for the time being. Said the Whale's plans for the position after the trip have yet to be revealed.
  Shaw had joined Said the Whale in 2011 as the replacement for bassist Peter Carruthers (Siskiyou, Dralms). During his time with the band, Said the Whale released the Little Mountain LP in 2012 and the hawaii album in 2013.

Ekali gained plenty of attention last year when Drake and producer PARTYNEXTDOOR sampled the project's "Unfaith" single for If You're Reading This It's Too Late track "Wednesday Night Interlude." You'll find a stream of the original down below.

Shaw has yet to comment on his split from Said the Whale. He is currently on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, but has a few Canadian dates coming up as well. You'll find his show schedule below.

You can see the info on Said the Whale's now Shaw-less run of spring tour dates over here.

Tour dates:

03/04 Sydney, Australia - Chinese Laundry
03/05 Brisbane, Australia - TBC Club
03/06 Melbourne, Australia - Dr Morse
03/10 Wellington, New Zealand - Valhalla
03/11 Auckland, New Zealand - 1885
03/12 Perth, Australia - Flyrite
03/25 Vancouver, BC - Seasons Fest
03/36 Edmonton, AB - Northern Lights Fest
05/25-30 Bradley, CA - Lightning in a Bottle

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