Shift K3Y

Shift K3Y is Lewis Jankel, a songwriter, producer, and falsetto-equipped vocalist whose output cleverly fuses contemporary pop and R&B with hints of classic house and garage sounds. Initially associated with the dubstep scene, he broke through with the garage-inspired dance-pop single “Touch,” with reached number three on the U.K. singles chart in 2014. NIT3 TALES, his 2016 full-length, included collaborations with DJ Zinc, MJ Cole, and MNEK, and he’s additionally produced and co-written songs by Tinie Tempah, Bugzy Malone, Twice, and others. He was featured on Becky Hill’s 2020 hit “Better Off Without You,” and released a single with Tinashe, “Love Line,” in 2021.
The London native’s earliest performance was at the age of six. That’s when he joined his father Chaz’s band, the Blockheads, for a live radio appearance of “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3,” shortly after the 2000 death of Ian Dury. Two days prior to the broadcast, the older Jankel intended to perform Dury’s part, but Lewis was skeptical of his father’s ability to pull it off. Chaz then challenged Lewis; the younger Jankel not only learned Dury’s lines, but also the song’s keyboard part, and he adapted its guitar solo to piano. The performance went off without a hitch. Years later, Lewis’ interest in production was sparked by his father’s purchase of a software application.
By the age of 20, he’d made a name for himself with the EPs Step in the City (Bullet Train, 2011), Let You Down (Buygore, 2012), and Left & Right (Bullet Train, 2012). He also remixed AlunaGeorge’s “Attracting Flies,” Iggy Azalea’s “Change Your Life,” Tinie Tempah’s “Trampoline,” and Bastille’s “Flaws.” He signed to Columbia in the U.K., and his major-label debut was made in April 2014, just after he opened for Skrillex in the U.S., with the modernized garage pop single “Touch.” Like “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3″ 35 years prior, it reached number three on the U.K. pop chart. In August 2015, following a pair of charting singles, Jankel issued the varied four-track EP Off the Record, with each one of its tracks given individual release. Combining his two-part EP series of the same name, Jankel released his debut full-length, NIT3 TALES (Sony), in 2016.
A series of singles followed, including “Come Back” with AC Slater, “Soup Dragon” with DJ Zinc, and “Only You.” In 2018, he issued the three-track Bite EP. The track “Rhythm of the Drum” appeared on the Aftr:Hrs label the following year. He continued releasing more club-ready singles, then returned to the pop charts with his appearance on Becky Hill’s “Better Off Without You,” which reached number 14 in early 2020. The same year’s “Do Me No Good” appeared on Positiva. 2021 brought singles with Karen Harding (“Morning”) and Tinashe (“Love Line”). ~ Andy Kellman & Paul Simpson