Good things, as our folks so often reminded us, come to those who wait.
Shouse has made us wait.
The Australasian electronic duo will drop their debut album Collective Ecstasy this July, almost a decade after their breakthrough tune “Love Tonight” began its incredible journey from nightclubs to the top bracket of sales charts, everywhere.
Shouse is the musical project of Jack Madin, a primary school teacher by day, and Ed Service, an arts community manager.
Forget those day jobs, it’s at night when the action happens.
With “Love Tonight,” Shouse bagged a slow-burner for the ages, a lockdown anthem that has accumulated more than 1 billion streams across multiple versions, including an epic eight-minute original, and a David Guetta remix.
Along its long and winding route, the song cracked the top 20 on the Official UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 18 in 2021. It’s platinum certified on both sides of the Atlantic, and has diamond status in France.
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Will we hear anything like those ethereal tones on the album? “Yes, plenty,” the Australian-Kiwi pair tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
“’Love Tonight’ only really revealed itself when we let it breathe into that eight-minute version,” recounts Madin. “We were struggling with the track until inspiration struck — ‘Ring My Bell‘ became a direct reference for the arrangement, and that cracked it wide open.”
Euphoria is the foundation of the musical house that Shouse built, though Collective Ecstasy is said to mark a new direction for the duo.
On the forthcoming LP, “we’ve stretched that same energy into new shapes,” says Service. “There are ethereal moments, but also darker ones, stranger ones — and others that are brighter and more buoyant. Still built around voices and song.”
Setting the scene for Collective Ecstasy are a trilogy of 2025 releases: “Call My Name”, “Walk With Me” with Felix Jaehn, and “Sunrise”, a tune dipped in the waterfront off Ibiza’s Café del Mar.
“We thought ‘Call My Name’ might be the logical conclusion of that arc, but turns out there’s plenty more digging to do,” Madin adds. “Tip for the slow-burners out there: play the extended mixes. ‘Slow Road’ in particular goes deep and long — the result of a 24-hour session/love fest at the studio.”
The story of Shouse would make for a cracking script. OneLove general manager Ant Celestino got the buzz the moment he caught “Love Tonight” on a night out in Melbourne back in May 2016.
The wheels started turning in early 2017, when OneLove struck a partnership deal for global digital distribution and label services with Ingrooves Music Group, an arrangement that helped paved the path for “Love Tonight.” DJ Solomun played a cut in 2018, Burning Man lit up with the track. DJs supported it, Triple J pushed it, kids Shazamed it.
An electronic music hit was born.
Realising a full album is a “dream”, says Service. “We didn’t organise it in the traditional sense — while touring, we were travelling, meeting people, recording with amazing artists, and the songs slowly came together.”
Once back on home soil, “we did what we always do: invited people over, lit a fire, cooked food, sang, played, listened… and let the album emerge. It wasn’t scheduled — it was grown.”
Shouse also worked “very slowly on purpose. We’re kind of over the churn and pressure of social media dictating timelines. No deadlines. No rush. The songs led the way.”
Collective Ecstasy is due out July 4 via Hell Beach / OneLove. Before that, Shouse will get the old group back together, with a June 8 RISING Festival session, SHOUSE Communitas, a “mass-musicking” gathering at Melbourne Town Hall.
