Learn all about shinything, a duo in life and in music.
Meet shinything – the musical duo comprising Evan Rudenjak and Raven Habe, not only partners in music but also in life. Emerging from the folk rock scene of Asbury Park, their collaboration is a fusion of Yellowbird's roots with a fresh twist.
Their upcoming single "Underworld," part of the "Winter Rental" compilation album releasing on February 2nd, 2024, echoes influences like Big Thief and 90s grunge. A captivating blend of light and dark, "Underworld" is a reminder of life's beauty and cruelty. Join shinything on this enchanting journey where love and art converge seamlessly.
shinything's favorites:
Favorite food
Raven- anything sweet
Evo- pretzels of any shape or variety (looking at you, yogurt-covered pretzels)
Favorite drink
R- iced hazelnut latte with oat milk!
E- most things carbonated, except for root beer, bleh
Favorite non-musical hobby
R- reading tarot and playing the Sims
E- solitaire…
Favorite tv show
R- Soooo many. Right now, The OA and Twin Peaks
E- Avatar The Last Airbender 4ever! But also Twin Peaks tho…
Favorite movie
R- Harold and Maude
E- LOTR Trilogy, but if I had to pick one it would probably be Fellowship. Tough choice. Return of the King is so epic, but there’s so much nostalgia and good vibes attached to Fellowship that I have to stan.
Favorite concert you've been to
R- Florence & The Machine
E- I saw Death Cab in Atlantic City in 2011, right before Chris Walla left the band. Such a cerebral sort of show, everyone was just standing there and vibing. 10/10 experience.
More about shinything
What made you both realize as a couple that creating music together is what you wanted to do?
R- I would say it happened pretty organically. I was shifting from writing poetry to writing music, and Evo was naturally the first person I would show my melody ideas to. The first time they wrote a guitar line for one of my songs, everything clicked into place, and I was like- "woah. this is music!" And it just became something we did together.
E- I’ve imagined making music with my romantic partner since I was in high school. I’ve always known Raven to be an artist. He is an exceptional visual artist, as well as an award-winning poet! But after a while of dating, he expressed the desire to write songs, which got me very excited. He wrote a song acapella and sent it to me. I was floored with how clever and catchy his songwriting was from the very start. No prior songwriting experience, he writes a banger called “Substanced”—a word he cleverly invented—with our first band Yellowbird (still on streaming btw). All of the sudden my relationship goal has been fulfilled, and it’s been cooler and cooler ever since!
How do you both build each other up when it comes to your creativity and creative process?
R- I try to make space for both of our approaches, which can sometimes be difficult when we have different opinions. Evo is very, very good at engineering, mixing, arranging, the list goes on - but they are also very hard on themself. Sometimes I find us being too precious with things and I have to shift us both back into a space of having fun and not worrying too much about making a "perfect" thing. I also really believe in our sound, so honestly, it all ends up being good in my eyes.
E- Raven is a very prolific songwriter, regardless of the times he doesn’t believe that to be so. I remind him during times of less frequent writing that he has a big back catalogue of knock-out songs just waiting to be put on record. Raven really is a genius wordsmith and melody-maker, and I’m really looking forward to people hearing that greatness very soon!
What is in store for shinything in the future?
R- I want to focus deeply on recording this year. We have an album's worth of songs to share, and I think it's time to be mindful of how we want to express them and give them to the world. So keep an eye out for future releases, and hopefully we will have an album to show for it by 2025!
E- I definitely concur with Raven’s statement. I make a living making records, but producing shinything songs are on a-whole-nother level for me. I spend much of my production time making our music sound authentic and unique to who we are and what we believe. It’s our essence in song form, both together and individually. We got much to show the world, and it will be shown in due time with our fullest efforts possible!
As members of the LGTBTQ+ community, how do you express gender identity in your art?
R- There's definitely space for us to write about gender as a topic, but lately I've just felt like it's enough for both of us to show up as a queer and gender nonconforming couple and do our thing. I'm not very concerned with doing things based on societal expectations, and I want that to bleed through everything in a natural way. I think it's something people notice in me, and I'm sure it can be seen in the music too. Showing up and being seen is a big part of the work.
E- I feel like I can’t help but make music and art that’s reflective of my identity and gender expression. The best labels I could use to describe myself would be nonbinary or agender. But what does it mean to make “nonbinary” music? It’s quite an abstract concept. I’m not often writing lyrics that talk plainly about my gender identity. Most times the music I make is just instrumental. Regardless, gender identity is a vehicle to consciousness. So perhaps I don’t have to be verbally explicit in my music about my expression, but the core of my being comes out anyways.
Support shinything here- https://linktr.ee/shinything
Head here and secure your copy of “WINTER RENTAL” out on 2/2!!!