As Long As You’re Mine is the 10 song, genre-defying breakthrough recording by twin brothers, Shacko & Akim. The title track opens with an R&B-Hip Hop mix featuring the pristine vocals of Saint Louis’ singer, Aloha Mischeaux. The album concludes with the riveting cello improvisations of Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Bjørn Ranheim. Through every song, Shacko & Akim take us with them on their musical journey from a mountain village in Congo to a multi-cultural urban center in America.
Singing mostly in their native tongue, Shacko & Akim’s songs will connect immediately with an audience of more than 200 million Swahili speakers around the world. But every listener will find the rhythms and melodies infectious and the vocals transcending language to connect directly with the heart. All the range of human emotions are felt through heartbreaking songs of unrequited love, to movements pulsating with joy, to an earnest prayer for peace in the war-torn ruin of their beautiful Congo.
As Long As You’re Mine is the first release produced by Revival School Records in a new studio opened at Intersect Arts Center during the pandemic. Twenty-five musicians and singers from the St. Louis community collaborated to support Shacko & Akim in creating this unique work. The album was mixed and mastered by Michael Ramsey and Nathan Eswine. Produced with the generous support of the Regional Arts Commission, this groundbreaking new recording by Shacko & Akiim will be released for streaming on all digital platforms on December 15th.