UKIYO ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO ‘GOOD ENOUGH’ FEAT. MARIBELLE
Thrilling multi-instrumentalist and producer, Perth’s Ukiyo returns today with his entrancing new single Good Enough featuring Maribelle – a modest change of pace from the lofi electronic records of his Mixtape series, Ukiyo has produced a sensational blend of ambient indie-tronica and synth-driven future pop. The track is perfectly complemented by a hypnotic video that will take the viewer on a mesmerising journey into a ravaged world, where the video seeks to compare a doomed relationship within the lyrics of the song to the state of the Earth – exploring the daunting idea of humans doing the bare minimum to get by – taking on the ‘good enough’ attitude.
Inspired by artists like Mac Miller, Porter Robinson and Bonobo, Good Enough is a synth-laden masterpiece with a bouncing melody, and offers an uplifting take on a relationship that is going nowhere. Maribelle croons in that lively, soulful vocal she’s best known for – “Falling out of love. If we give it up, give it up. At least we know that this was good enough.”
Offering insight into the song, Ukiyo says, “For me, Good Enough is all about being happy with what you have. I’m a person that struggles to keep my mind away from thinking about what ‘could’ve’ or ‘should’ve’ instead of focusing on reality. This track came about at a time that was very much a turning point for me with how I chose to view the world. I think it’s an important message for people to hear, especially in a time like now.”
Working with production company Blacklake who have made clips for OTR, Shallou, Martin Garrix and more, Ukiyo explains how the video for Good Enough came about, saying, “Some of the most common things I hear about my music is it’s a great soundtrack for travelling & adventuring. I guess that makes a lot of sense with all the vlogs and videos I’ve seen it combined with. At its core I think those two things represent movement & escape, which is what this video and the ones that come after represent. It’s pretty difficult to make a conventional music video in the current times, but the situation has opened my eyes to things I might not have usually tried. I had some basic concepts I knew I wanted to explore in the videos which I took to Blacklake and they made them a hundred times cooler.”
This is a 23 year old with a clear vision for his art, and an impressive host of accolades to hang his hat on. Will Smith and Casey Neistat borrow his songs for vlogs, US pop star Pharrell Williams and Dutch DJ Martin Garrix added him to their playlists – it’s promotion that money can’t buy and thanks to some big name fans, Perth’s own Timothy Arnott has amassed near on 30 million streams, and landed syncs with big brands like American Eagle, Ripcurl, Microsoft, Volkswagon, HBO and Netflix for the relatively small handful of electronic songs he’s released under his Ukiyo moniker.
And with his LP completed and set for release later this year, Ukiyo drops some exciting info on exactly why we should be prepping ourselves for a killer debut album, enthusing, “I’m absolutely in love with the Australian music scene, so in the unique position I’m in as a producer, I knew I wanted my album to be a showcase of some of the incredible talent we’ve got here. These singles and the album are as Australian as it gets with production (obviously), and all features, mixing, mastering and artwork all done by Aussies.”
Ukiyo’s decision to release his tunes despite Covid-19 wreaking havoc on the global music industry was a no brainer, explaining, “There were talks within my team about delaying this music because of the virus and I’ve seen so much of that happening, but I think it’s times like these where we need music to help us through. All the tracks on this album were made at times when I was by myself. I find it’s the only way I can make what I perceive as a ‘Ukiyo’ song, so I think it’s a little poetic that a lot of people are going to be stuck listening to it by themselves too.”
Ukiyo is Tim Arnott.
Good Enough is released today on Pack Records.
RUNAWAY BELLES DROP EXQUISITE NEW SINGLE ‘THE WEEKEND’
Tasmanian indie folk pop duo Runaway Belles have today released their debut single The Weekend, a story of a love that is never set to last. Featuring the exquisite voices of Tash Parker and Emma Anglesey, the duo are also housemates which is convenient in these isolation times. To celebrate their first release, the girls have announced a Facebook livestream set for 8pm every Monday in May.
Breathtakingly stunning vocals and flawless harmonies dominate The Weekend, as the girls’ voices unite as one – even their own mothers cannot tell who’s singing. “This song is about that person who you can’t help but be in love with despite knowing it’s never going to work out in the end,” explains Tash. Self-produced with the help of Lachlan Carrick (Sia, Lior), Becki Whitton (Tash Sultana, Huntly) and Josh Barber (Gretta Ray), The Weekend is a timeless and catchy folk pop track. The piano, cello and guitars were recorded in Wally DeBacker’s (AKA Gotye) studio just outside of Melbourne and the vocals were recorded in an 1800s bluestone cottage on the edge of Tasmania’s wilderness. “When we recorded this song we imagined we were sitting around a campfire in a forest with a guitar telling the story. We wanted to capture that intimacy in the verses. In contrast, in the choruses we imagined our voices and music carrying out into the expansive night sky and beautiful surrounding mountains – much like a weekend camping trip where you can forget about the troubles of the week,” says Emma, “and with everything that’s going on in the world right now it feels like a good time to be sharing new music and connecting with people.”
Best friends and having lived together for the last two years, the storytelling duo have been writing music and performing together for over 6 years. Through word of mouth and without ever releasing a recording, Tash and Emma have been invited to mesmerise audiences at Dark Mofo, The Woodford Planting Festival, A festival called Panama, Festival of Voices and Party In The Paddock. They have also supported Katie Noonan, The East Pointers and Liz Stringer along the way. Due to the overwhelming support from their community and fans, in 2018 the girls decided to record their original songs and launch their act as Runaway Belles.
Thrilled to still be able to write and perform together during isolation lockdown, Emma explains, “We live in a country town in Tasmania which means we’ve been iso buddies and can play live together in the same room for this livestream.” “We’re going to play 4-5 songs per stream which will give us some time to chat and share stories while not frying people’s eyeballs from looking at the screen for too long,” adds Tash. And creating and innovating during isolation is exactly what the duo have been busy working on, aside from writing a heap of new material, the girls even organised their press photoshoot to be done over Skype with Melbourne-based photographer re._stacks.
Runaway Belles is Tash Parker and Emma Anglesey.
The Weekend is out today, May 1, and is the first of three singles set to be released in 2020 by Runaway Belles, funded by Arts Tasmania.
RUNAWAY BELLES // LIVE STREAMED SHOWS // ALL MONDAYS IN MAY
MONDAY MAY 4, 11, 18 & 25 | FACEBOOK – LIVE STREAM | 8PM | ALL AGES | FREE
DIP ROAD DOGS DROP NEW SINGLE ‘LAZY’ AHEAD OF FORTHCOMING EP ‘SHAKSHUKA’
Reemerging from that dusty dirt track deep in the Mallee are the Dip Road Dogs, who have today dropped their dreamy new single, Lazy, a comforting, hypnotic journey into Americana. Lazy is the third taste of their new EP, Shakshuka that is set for release on May 21.
Dip Road Dogs are back with some of their finest music to date. Lazy is exquisite Americana folk rock from the fun loving Aussie country boys. For fans of The National and The Church, haunting cello, and mesmerising, deep vocals will entice the listener, but it’s the unassuming emotional force that will sock you right in the feels and keep you coming back for more. Contrastingly, Lazy is a song about a relationship where one partner is not pulling their weight with the household chores and the other becomes fed up with this behaviour and finally leaves for greener pastures. “It’s a warning to everyone to make sure you mow the lawns and do the dishes or you will end up alone!” Jests lead singer and songwriter Dave Chirnside.
Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee between The Amber Sound Studio, The Secret Genius Studio and producer Josh Frigo’s home studio, and mastered by John Davis (The Killers, Gorillaz, Royal Blood, The XX) at Metropolis Studios in London, the EP is a real mixed bag, with all six tracks working as a commendable package that showcases the band’s diversity and capability. “The EP title Shakshuka is a very apt analogy for the EP as it is a delicious tomato-based dish that can be served at dinner or breakfast and you can throw nearly anything in to make it work. Our EP is a collection of old and new ideas that have created quite a variety of genres and sounds, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag but we think the songs gel well together,” explains Chirnside. “Once we had recorded the demos we got in touch with Josh Frigo in Nashville and set a date in June 2019 to head over and start recording. Josh’s time was very tight between touring so I locked in the dates without asking Matt, Ollie and Jack – better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, Jack had been travelling around Australia and was in Rockhampton when I called him to ask if he would come and record in Nashville, he had to put his trip around Australia on hold, but there wasn’t a whole lot of objection!”
Dip Road Dogs are a group of friends who once shared a house on Dip Road in the Mallee – now living miles apart from each other all around regional Victoria, they are one of the few bands that haven’t been hugely affected by these bizarre Covid19 times. “We have been practicing isolation all our lives, so we feel we are well placed in these interesting times. There are a lot of challenges living so far away from each when it comes to live touring, but it doesn’t affect our writing, as long as our internet doesn’t cut out! And we have a studio in Appin where we can put our collective ideas together – demos for the next release are well underway.”
Dip Road Dogs is Jack Pay, Dave Chirnside, Oliver Close and Matthew Close.
Lazy is out now and Shakshuka will be released on May 21.