Shad Sings the Praises of 'Live Forever' Collaborator Dallas Green

After teaming up with Cadence Weapon and Broken Social Scene's Lisa Lobsinger and Brendan Canning, Shad is back at the collaborating game, this time aligning himself with City and Colour / Alexisonfire mainstay Dallas Green. Today marks the release of their two-track EP, fittingly titled 'Shad & Dallas: Two Songs,' with all proceeds from the disc going towards Skate4Cancer.

It was during a cross-country haul a few years back that the pair first learned they could jive together. And while Shad admits he's always admired the singer-songwriter and was thrilled to go on tour with Alexisonfire, he didn't expect much more than a friendship to come of their time together on the road.

"When I'm a fan of someone, I'm just a huge fan. I'm not really thinking about working with them," Shad tells Spinner. "Even with Dallas, for the longest time I wasn't really thinking, 'Oh, I want to work with him." It was more like, 'Oh, I'm just a huge fan.' I went to see him in small clubs in London [Ontario] five years ago, you know? So I've just never really thought of things like that. There's artists that I love that would maybe be cool to write a song together, but I'm always just kind of content to be a fan."

This was more a case of mutual admiration, though, which helped to set the gears in motion for a collaboration between the former tourmates.

"We talked about him doing something on the album ['TSOL'], but he was pretty busy so it didn't work out. But we kept in touch, and then in the summer, he just dropped me a line saying, 'I'd like to still work on something.' And I was obviously down."

Featuring the original track 'Live Forever' and a B-side remix of Shad's 'Listen,' the record does an excellent job of showcasing both artists; Green's buttery voice is the perfect compliment to Shad's slick flow.

Listen to Shad and Dallas Green's 'Live Forever'


"We just sat in the studio for a day and worked on the new song," says the Polaris Prize-approved rapper. "He had an idea for a new song, and then we did the remix. It was just fun to hang out again."

His work with Dallas isn't the only collaboration Shad is hyped on at the moment. The Vancouver transplant is eagerly awaiting what fellow Canadian rapper Drake and Florence Welch, the songbird at the heart of Florence and the Machine, have in store for their just-announced collaboration.

"I think it makes a lot of sense," he says. "I think Drake has a great sense of melody. And they both have kind of an ambient vibe to their music, so I think it makes a lot of sense and could be really dope."