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
NYC’S ELECTRO WUNDERKIND MINDCHATTER DROPS NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO SCARED TO GO HOME
NYC’s experimental electro maven, Mindchatter has released the entrancing video clip for his daring new single, Scared To Go Home.
Thought provoking, vulnerable and oozing effortless cool, Scared To Go Home bends genres and will lure listeners in with an intoxicating, chilled magnetism – an exciting release for fans of Jamie XX, LCD Soundsystem and Bonobo. “Scared To Go Home is about how lonely nightlife can feel,” explains Mindchatter. “It was inspired by a night out in NYC at a trendy club with way too many people in it. Trying to connect with others through alcohol, strobe lights and aggressive music can be incredibly depressing at times. I’ve always wanted to capture that feeling because I think it’s one we’ve all felt but rarely talk about.”
Innovative and meticulous when it comes to his craft, Mindchatter, also known as Bryce Connolly, says he was unsure how fans would react to the song. “The track is quite different from what’s out and it’s more in the hip-hop/pop lane than I ever imagined myself in, but it’s exciting for me to be in uncharted territory.” And he needn’t have any concern, as fans and industry are already lapping up this exciting new artist, and Scared To Go Home has already been added to a bunch of huge global playlists including Spotify’s NMF and Chill Tracks, Amazon’s Introducing Electronic and even made the cover of Tidal’s Rising Electronic.
Created by digital artist Kay, the Roman-Greco-meets-Bauhaus inspired visualiser is sure to mesmerise all that press play, and perfectly complements the track, celebrating Mindchatter’s unique and deeply considered nature. “The video consists of looping animations meant to capture the message of the lyrics in an abstract way. One scene takes you through an endless room with figures dancing by themselves on walls and ceilings to convey a feeling of being trapped in a nightclub. There’s also a lot of Roman statue imagery which is an extension of a visual motif I use in my release artwork and my stage graphics.”
Fortunately the recent Covid19 uncertainty isn’t affecting Mindchatter, and 2020 is set to be a bumper year with the singer / songwriter / producer still set to drop his debut album in a few months’ time. “I’m used to spending a lot of time alone and inside, so my day to day hasn’t changed as much as most people, and I haven’t noticed much of an impact on my music yet. My creativity and rate at which I finish songs is always in flux because I’m constantly experimenting,” insights Mindchatter.
Scared To Go Home is out now through Mind Of A Genius Records, the Los Angeles based label that launched the careers of Zhu, Gallant, THEY., Karnaval Blues, and Klangstof – all globally acclaimed, genre-redefining artists.