Exclusive video premiere of ‘Undertow’ directed by avant-garde visual artist Sweeten. The track is taken from Blesson Roy’s debut album ‘Think Like Spring’, out via Slow Start Records.

Blesson Roy’s ‘Think Like Spring’ is the 14-song dreamy pop reflection of Terry Borden, a child of 1970’s California whose early love of AM radio and his brother’s record collection led to membership in slowcore pioneers Idaho and Pete Yorn’s band. Living in the UK during the explosion of subculture labels 4AD, Creation, Factory, and Rough Trade has also heavily influenced his sound. By day, Avant-garde visual artist, Sweeten, is known as Tom Gorai, an Emmy® and Grammy®-nominated producer, director, and visual artist living in Los Angeles. He has produced music videos for artists such as Nine Inch Nails, A Tribe Called Quest, and is an MTV Video of The Year award winner for his production of the iconic ‘Jeremy’ music video by Pearl Jam.

“‘Undertow’ took on a darker and lusher soundscape than I had originally imagined, having written that one as a Leonard Cohen or Nick Drake-influenced acoustic guitar song. As the recording unfolded, however, I realized that ‘Undertow’ needed a dark ambient soundscape rather than a stripped-down acoustic production. I had the time and intention to be open to following songs in one direction, and then going in the opposite musical direction, until it seemed that the song had found its way home in the recording.” – Terry Borden, Blesson Roy

“‘Undertow’ is yet another example of a bit of magic from Blesson Roy, and damn if he didn’t fill this song with everything dope. After I listened to it about five times, I decided I had to make something that gives a sense of what I see and feel when I hear it. So, I took a look at an art piece that I was working on and some recent footage I shot with a model in Death Valley, and start blending them while listening to the song over and over and over, and I go timeless in my head and when then I come to, I’m looking at something strangely perfect. It is layered and dense and colorful and even a bit haunting with a headless horsewoman, and feels very much like being stuck in an undertow, maybe gonna die, but just waiting it out kind of patiently until it’s over. Of course it is dark out and it turns out the whole day had passed, so oops, I guess I’ll have to get back to everyone tomorrow.” – Sweeten, Director

<a href="https://blessonroy.bandcamp.com/album/think-like-spring">Think Like Spring by Blesson Roy</a>

‘Think Like Spring’ was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown. “I was alone in the studio adjacent to my home and had no distractions other than the feeling of being truly alone in the recording space, for days and weeks on end,” Borden explains. “The positive effect of the pandemic isolation in the studio was the time and ability to focus on the musical details in the songs, and extend the searches for the right chemical reactions that manifested in each track.” “’Think Like Spring’ is a suggestion for a train of thought, which is focused on positivity and renewal,” Borden continues, discussing the album’s overall concept. “This is an especially important time for all of us to embrace the new positive and negative paradigm shifts with a sense of creativity and invention.”

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