Ava Vegas - Plastic Barricades - David Vertesi - Fallon Cush
Prepare to be transported to a realm where desert landscapes blend seamlessly with dystopian, high-tech visions in the video for Berlin-based, singer-songwriter Ava Vegas captivating, "Your Secrets With Me." The video marks the directorial debut from LA-based fashion designer Erika Maish. A fortuitous meeting in Los Angeles brought together Maish and Ava Vegas, resulting in a stunning visual interpretation of the mesmerizing track. Their collaboration showcases their shared artistic vision and marks an exciting union of fashion and music. “Your Secrets With Me” is featured on her sophomore album, Desert Songs, released this spring via The Orchard, Ava Vegas invites listeners to embark on an introspective and musically intoxicating odyssey.
Introduced by a fellow fashion designer who recognized their potential for dynamic collaborations, Erika Maish and Ava Vegas embarked on a creative journey that pushed the boundaries of their respective crafts. Filming the entire music video on an old mini-DV camera, they embraced a nostalgic aesthetic that perfectly complemented the ethereal nature of the song.
Dressed in Erika Maish's exquisite creations, Ava Vegas exudes a captivating aura that effortlessly intertwines with the music's transcendent themes. Maish's keen eye for fashion and attention to detail resulted in a wardrobe that perfectly encapsulates the essence of the song and enhances the visual narrative.
The collaboration between Erika Maish and Ava Vegas epitomizes the powerful connection between music and fashion, offering viewers a multi-sensory experience that transcends traditional artistic boundaries. Through their collective talent and shared artistic vision, they have created a music video that is both visually captivating and thematically aligned with the depth of the song.
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London indie rock band Plastic Barricades is back with a new single “Second-hand Dreams” out today 17th of August 2023. This is the third introduction to the upcoming third album “We Stayed Indoors”, due in autumn this year.
“Second-hand Dreams” explores the world where we are always on a cusp of a better life, but never quite there. Overwhelmed and overworked, we are drowning in an endless ocean of distractions and superficial communication, trying to impress people we don’t actually like.
Our thoughts and actions are being regulated and limited and we are afraid of taking risks and breaking free from the confines of conformity. We live someone else’s dreams, which are moulded by corporations and their relentless ad agencies.
Can we escape this never-ending rat race and find solace in discovering our own authentic path? The single comes accompanied by a quirky music video made using the latest developments in AI-assisted text-to-video algorithms. Produced by the band’s art director Elina Pasok, the video invites you on a quest through the office cubicles and winding corridors in search of a dream that’s truly yours.
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| Photo - Justin Broadbent |
For 15 years, David Vertesi has appeared as an integral part of some of Canada’s most exciting indie-rock projects. Whether he’s playing in Hey Ocean!, Shad, Dear Rouge, Hannah Georgas, or Said the Whale, producing Haley Blais, Noble Son, Ashleigh Ball, or Riun Garner, Vertesi brings a uniquely sensuous and brooding sensibility, an intricate sonic depth that multiplies the layers of a song.
In his solo work, these dramatic flairs ignite on full display. Vertesi has an equal command over choreographing lush technologic atmospheres of instrumentation as he does squeezing the naked emotional core from a piano, steady bass drum, and the soft plucking rhythm of a guitar. But it’s his own voice that distinguishes these spectrums of rough-and-tumble and tightly polished stories of confusion, loneliness, death, and ennui. Vertesi’s growling inimitable baritone deepens the tender poetry and sense of humour as he emerges centre-stage as a fully formed front-man of his own musical expression.
“This song was born out of the individual and collective renegotiation of self that I have witnessed since 2020 and the beginning of the pandemic,” Vertesi explains. “With my band of 15+ years [Hey Ocean!] on indefinite hiatus, I was attempting to do this for myself, however, I couldn't help but notice pretty much everyone around me was doing the same: leaving jobs, moving cities, ending relationships. But whether mourning or celebrating the loss of our old lives it seemed like we were all asking ourselves the same question.”
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The release of Fallon Cush's 2019 album, Stranger Things Have Happened was to have been the next step in their progression, with the band preparing to head to Melbourne for shows when the Covid pandemic lockdowns forced the cancellation of their plans.
Mental health issues are spoken about far more frequently than they once were but for Steve Smith, the head honcho of Fallon Cush, the breakdown he suffered at the beginning of 2020 came as a complete shock. Left with crippling anxiety, Smith stopped work, become increasingly isolated and barely pickup a guitar as he disengaged with the world.
Following a period of recovery and change, Smith and Fallon Cush unexpectedly re-emerged in 2023 with the single ‘Grain Of Salt’. Performed by Smith and Josh Schuberth who also recorded, mixed and mastered the track, 'Grain Of Salt' proved to be another soulful, melodic gem from the band. "
Now the band proudly unveil the second single from their forthcoming five track EP Tricks. 'Hang On To Me', is a song that again finds Smith seemingly effortlessly crafting a sublime vocal melody in his affecting and unassuming style. Complemented by equally emotive pedal steel and keys, the warm and breezy country rock song explores the theme of self-care, with a real emphasis on the 'me' of the title.
"I was addressing the song to myself from me but trying to do it in such a way that it could’ve been from someone else as well." Smith reveals. "At that time I was trying to be kinder to myself and the song was a bit of a statement that I’d look after myself better than I had been and that if I did, I’d get through."
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