DRIFTWOOD. ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO BREMFIELDS FT. STILL GREEDY
Endlessly prolific, multi-disciplinary artist Driftwood. has today released his remarkable new single Bremfields, featuring British rapper Still Greedy. It’s a truly creative and thoughtful track, a glowing addition to this growing artist’s impressive discography, and is accompanied by a visually stunning, self-directed and self-edited music video, also out today. Fiercely independent and intriguingly enigmatic, Driftwood. proves time and time again that he is one to watch.
Bremfields evokes feelings of Kanye West at his most exciting, most innovative; classic Ye albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus have both clearly influenced the electronic/RnB stylings of Driftwood. during the creation of this song, but Bremfields still feels fresh, unique, new. Featuring backing vocals from platinum selling, ARIA nominated Reigan Derry (Snoop Dog, Jay Z, Neo) and mixed and mastered by Dan Vinci (Big Nasty), the song arcs creatively, synths spiking in unexpected moments, while Driftwood. and Still Greedy’s vocals provide the smooth melodic, rhythmic anchor. Speaking on the otherworldly inspiration behind the song, Driftwood. says, “This single is about breaking the fourth wall. It’s about the idea that there could be subterranean energies and other factors operating within other paradigms of consciousness. It’s about feeling like I’m trapped within this paradigm, and I don’t belong here…the one thing I love about art is I have a licence to explore ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem.”
The video for Bremfields is the perfect visual representation of this exchange and exploration of energies. Slow, deliberate shots of bodies moving purposefully in the just-risen, just-set sunlight pepper throughout closed shots of darkly lit bars and eerie cliff faces, one step away from oblivion. It’s a beautiful triumph, created by an artist completely in charge of his own vision, as Driftwood. explains, “I direct and edit all my videos now. I came up with the idea and the aesthetic behind the visual as well. They represent the ebb and flow, the push and pull, the yin and yang of energies which are manifested within the material universe…my creative team is small, but we get it done. Too many bodies fuck up the flow and a lot of the time are unnecessary for what I am trying to accomplish.”
These are wise words from an artist who’s been in the game long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. To be so immune to the chaos and noise of the modern music industry and so completely, totally immersed in one’s art is no mean feat, but Driftwood. does it all with ease. He offers more wisdom on the subject as he reflects, “I’m just an artist creating pieces of work I want to create and doing it independently. I’m not signed to a major record deal, and up until late last year, I did everything on my own, with the help of a few friends, and without any backing. You don’t need to be signed, or in the cool crowd to create what you want to create. No one has a monopoly on art.”
Bremfields ft. Still Greedy is out today.
MAISON HALL SHARE NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO MONTREUX ALONGSIDE EAST COAST SHOWS
Indie Aus rockers Maison Hall have today shared their new rambler Montreux, a love letter to the connection between the left and the right sides of the brain. The duo, made up of Ben Byron and Joe Kneipp, have also announced a colourful, eccentric video to accompany the track. This is Maison Hall’s first release since their 2017 debut album It Was Never About Me, and will be celebrated with an east coast tour playing Black Bear Lodge Brisbane on February 3, The Retreat Hotel Melbourne on February 11 and Gang Gang Café Canberra on February 13.
Contemplative and upbeat, Montreux is classic indie rock evocative of The Kooks and Catfish and the Bottlemen, with sparks of innovation unique to Maison Hall throughout. Guitars thrash amongst steady, driving drums; lead vocalist Joe Kneipp’s voice feels right at home amongst the chaos, commanding attention with thoughtful lyrics and strong melodic hooks. Speaking on the inspiration behind the anticipated return single for the duo, Joe reflects, “Montreux is celebratory. Not just because we’re still doing this, but because we’re still doing this despite our ‘real-life’ obligations, the distance between us, the total absence of pecuniary success, etc. We are so divorced from any external validations – the simple fact is, I love making music, and I love making music with Ben. And we’re gonna keep fucking doing it!”
The video clip for Montreux is as considered as it is amusing – a never-ending, ever-cycling job interview is consistently interrupted by a vigorous visual artist, determined to be acknowledged by the two men in their meeting. It’s a clever commentary on the push and pull of a working artist’s time and headspace, caught between creation and survival in capitalist society, as Joe sums up the video, “The concept of the clip is pretty on the nose – the juxtaposition between the left and right brain, the creative and the pragmatist, the poetic and the prosaic. If you’re a musician, or any creative for that matter, who’s not lucky enough to make all their money from creative endeavours, you’ll understand these tensions. I workshopped it with Ben and then James Cooney, who stars in the clip as the ‘right-brain’ and is part of our live lineup.”
After almost six years since their last live show together – during which time the two members of the group have been exploring other musical projects – Maison Hall are thrilled to return to the stage to celebrate the launch of Montreux in Brisbane and Melbourne and Canberra. Despite both moving through several different cities since the guys met and formed Maison Hall back in college in Brisbane, the band are stronger and sharper in their songwriting than ever before, as demonstrated in the tight brilliance of Montreux.
Maison Hall is Ben Byron (Drums, Backing Vocals) and Joe Kneipp (Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboard)
Montreux is out today.
THUR 3 FEB | BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/maison-hall-montreux-single-launch-tickets-219745323177 | All Eventbrite Outlets
FRI 11 FEB | THE RETREAT HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/maison-hall-tickets-242537585447 | All Eventbrite Outlets
SUN 13 FEB | GANG GANG CAFE, CANBERRA ACT | 18+
Tickets available from Oztix | All Oztix Outlets
COYLE GIRELLI SHARES NEW SINGLE HERE COMES MY BABY + ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM FUNLAND SET FOR FEBRUARY 25 RELEASE
NYC-based English troubadour Coyle Girelli is back with a breathtaking new single Here Comes My Baby, a song filled with sweet longing amidst a strange and confusing world, out now. Here Comes My Baby is accompanied by a stunning visualiser, perfectly tailored to suit the yearning at the heart of the song. The new single precedes Coyle Girelli’s new album Funland, written in isolation and set for release on February 25 – the album is available for pre-order now. Australian fans will be familiar with Coyle’s one-of-a-kind vocals as his collaboration with Peking Duk member Keli Holiday, Song Goes On, has been on high rotation on triple j throughout the year.
Here Comes My Baby is one for the shoegaze fans – evocative of masters of the genre Mazzy Star, ingénue Hatchie and rockers The War On Drugs, this song would feel at home nestled amongst the tracks on the Big Little Lies original soundtrack; gentle guitars sway, Coyle’s unique, dreamy vocals lead confidently, like magic, amongst whirling reverb. There’s even a little Lana Del Rey influence amongst the bed of sound – in other words, every fan of alternative pop, guitar-led slow dancing, and genuine, classic songwriting will find something to love here. Reflecting on the meaning behind the song, and the influences behind its conception, Coyle says, “Here Comes My Baby has a dreamy indie vibe that I loved living in as I created it. Lyrically, it’s pretty simple… it’s about craving the body of a lover in an uncertain moment of strangeness. I had a running playlist that I listened to pretty much every day while I was writing and I think a lot of them influenced this track, and the album. Some of the main ones on there were Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone, Hamilton Leithauser, Cigarettes After Sex, The War on Drugs, Big Thief and Bruce Springsteen.”
Here Comes My Baby is just a taste of what is to come upon the release of Funland. Years of experience within the music industry – upon performing on David Letterman, Letterman himself said, “If I had a voice like that I’d run for President!” – have helped Coyle hone his craft to perfection, and he is in brilliant form on this new record, as Coyle says, “I’m so proud of Funland as a follow-up to my debut solo album Love Kills. It takes you on a ride of hope, debauchery, lust and love. I hope Aussies can turn it up and escape into Funland for 45 mins whenever they need it.”
A prolific, in-demand artist, Coyle Girelli has also written with global K-pop sensation BTS (their collaboration Heartbeat has a cool 97 million streams on Spotify), Macklemore and Robin Schulz, not to mention Australia’s own Keli Holiday, as he enthuses, “I’ve known and worked with Adam and Rueben of Peking Duk for a few years now. I’ve written a bunch of songs with them both and even toured with them as guest vocalist in the US and in Europe shortly before COVID lockdown. Song Goes On came out of one of those writing sessions and Adam and I continued to work on it for his Keli Holiday project. I love how it came out and am thrilled that it’s getting love in Australia and from triple j. Adam and I have been busy writing a lot more for Keli Holiday in the last few months. Some right tunes to come!”
Here Comes My Baby is out now.
Funland is out February 25.