Exclusive video premiere of ‘Morning Stars’ by Josh Rennie-Hynes, taken from the upcoming album, ‘Light/Shade,’ out early 2023.

Australian-born, now Nashville-based indie-pop artist Josh Rennie-Hynes’ latest single ‘Morning Stars’ continues his progression into a more electronic sound, while sticking true to his emotive songwriter roots. It’s the second single to be released from his forthcoming LP ‘Light/Shade’ (out early 2023), and continues his knack of writing songs that linger long after the first listen.

“Around the time I wrote this song I was watching a lot of space movies. I was trying to imagine how an Astronaut would feel leaving the Earth and their family behind and was focused on that feeling when writing it. The song is also a reflection on how fast life can sometimes move and trying to savour those little moments before they pass us by. I wanted the song as a whole to capture a sense of wonder and calm.

I recorded this song with my producer and good friend, Kyle Henderson, at his studio here in Nashville, TN. We’ve made a lot of music together for the last few years. This song is taken from an electronic album that I will be releasing later this year that I’m very excited about. With this album process it was just the two of us working side by side for three to four days a week for six months straight writing and recording. It was a pretty amazing experience as it always is when making music and creating.

‘Morning Stars’ has ’90s throwback elements while still being modern. Dido comes to mind as a reference. I’m a child of the ’90s so all that music is very ingrained in me and my sensibilities. I think the song overall has a beauty and sparkle to it that I’m very proud of. With the song’s opening sequence, I imagine stars sparkling one-by-one in the night sky.

The video plays on these themes. I wanted it to capture the sense of a lonely wayfaring astronaut who wants nothing more but to make his way back to the stars where he feels like he truly belongs. He’s wandering through the world from one place to the next on this journey and eventually finds the portal at the very end to get there. I wanted the video to portray a feeling of almost childlike awe and wonder for the world and universe.

Hanna Hall [director] is a friend of mine here in Nashville. We’ve worked together on four videos now and this is our best yet. We work really well together, and usually on the fly, which I find is where we get our best work done. We woke up well before the crack of dawn and spent the whole day shooting this video for around 14 hours or so. It started out in nature on a clifftop and ended back in the city. We even braved Broadway here for a few shots and I managed not to get beer and whiskey poured on my head.

I grew up on a farm in the country in Australia and the stars were amazing out there. I love nothing more than sitting by a fire at night and staring at the stars for hours on end. There’s been times in my adult life where I’ve taken a big dose of psychedelics and if they get too intense or there’s too many people around I’ll just wander off to lay in the grass by myself and stare up at the sky, it always calms me down. Since as long as I can remember I’ve always felt a sense of wonder and awe at the sheer scale of the perceivable universe when looking up. I hoped to capture some of this feeling and crystalize it into this song.

I’m very excited for this year and what it will bring. I feel like things are finally settling down after Covid and returning to a normal place and I am ready to get back to performing and touring a lot more. I have three albums worth of material that I have been working really hard on the past few years so I’m in the process of figuring out how to best release it all. Expect a lot more music!”

Rennie-Hynes has always let his ever-changing creative desires lead the way, from his live-to-tape, chimey-guitar, rock ‘n’ roll LP Patterns (2019), to his synth-layered indie pop/rock album ‘Day Rage’ (2022). Now, ‘Light/Shade’ sees him once again following his instincts into an entirely new realm, starting with its first dark & sexy electro-pop single ‘When We Touch,’ and now with “Morning Stars.”

‘Morning Stars’ shows Rennie-Hynes doing what he does best, creating songs that capture your imagination and show a true depth to his writing and artistic inclinations. Unhurried and in the pocket, “Morning Stars” is the song you didn’t know you needed as you stare into the winter night sky and move into the new year.

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