Androgynous neo-glam art-rocker Art d’Ecco reveals another retro-fuelled, endlessly addictive new single, Head Rush. The track is lifted from his forthcoming new album, ‘In Standard Definition’ coming out on April 23, 2021 via Paper Bag Records. “It’s a song about the head rush of our youth,” says d’Ecco. “Nostalgia is a powerful drug, it distorts and reframes the past, often reconciling our memories into one place for easy access and to better suit our current disposition or state of mind.”
The new album as a whole, ruminates on our endless fixation on celebrity and pulls back the curtain on our obsession with TV culture as shown by the LP’s lead single/video for TV God released last month. Like channels on an old television set, each of the twelve songs on ‘In Standard Definition’ presents an episodic look into the world of entertainment, our obsession with celebrity and the power it holds over us. “No matter where you live or what language you speak, there’s an entertainment god for you,” d’Ecco continues.
Working with producer/engineer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers, Destroyer) in ocean-side studio The Hive, ‘In Standard Definition’ sees d’Ecco packing his heftiest punch yet. Through Stewart’s vintage set up, a decoupage of authentic sounds was recorded to 2-inch tape on a 50-year-old console, forming a musical reflection of the era it evokes.
And Head Rush is a perfect example of this studio approach and synergy. “Recorded to tape, in standard definition, if you will, I wanted all the hallmarks of a classic rock song – the kind of music that used to blast from the kitchen radio at the summer jobs I’d worked at as a teen,” recalls d’Ecco. “Guitar solo? Check. Drum solo? Check. Big horns and sparkly synths? Check.”
Watch the video clip for Head Rush via YouTube below.
The video was directed by Avi Glanzer, and edited by Jacob Weldon. The colour separation was inspired by tv screen pixels and broadcast grain from old TV sets.
‘In Standard Definition’ details
‘In Standard Definition’ struts with the striking tonal resemblance of ‘70s glam, oscillating between new wave and new romantic via C86 infusions, or the simplicity of John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. Earning his producer stripes, d’Ecco played musical ringleader, building the tracks’ layers with a revolving door of hand-picked musicians: jazz and blues players on horns, Victoria Symphony Orchestra’s string players, soul singers, and his suited and booted live band. With shrewd attention to structure, the album’s episodic nature can be experienced in its entirety or dialed in and out, with instrumental interludes Channel 7 (Pilot Season) and Channel 10 (Reruns) aligning Lynchian drama with their sinister sounds, to capture actors’ struggles during Tinsteltown’s pilot season. “The enduring highs and lows of a performer struggling to be seen. I wanted to write from that vantage point as much as I wanted to illuminate what we’re all celebrating.”
‘In Standard Definition’ track list
1. Desires
2. TV God
3. Bird Of Prey
4. Nothing Ever Changes
5. I Am The Dancefloor
6. Head Rush
7. Channel 7 (Pilot Season)
8. In Standard Definition
9. Good Looks
10. The Message
11. Channel 11 (Reruns)
12. I Remember
Preorder ‘In Standard Definition’
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