The new single from the Brooklyn band is about “giving up control and finding inner peace”
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Like much of the world, in mid-April 2020, after approx 3 weeks of FREAKING THE FUCK OUT, I decided to embrace solitude and embark on a little journey of self-improvement, one that involved taking up painting, trying to learn drums, attempting yoga, eating a lot of clorox-wiped vegetable and, of course, doing some DuoLingo.
Then to-go drinks became a thing. And just like pre-pandemic, productivity was once again a thing of the past.
But while, like every other new hobby, my iphone foray into Español was extremely short-lived, I did learn and retain at least a few things. One being that otra vez means “again”—a translation that’s quite fitting, because that’s exactly what I’ve been screaming at the designated DJ (myself) every time I reach the end of Vexation, the very rad debut record from the BK band of that very name (otra vez), before looping it back to listen another time (and another and another…).
While it took a global crisis for me to enter creation mode, Otra Vez’s DJ O’Loane and Sean O’Hara had both long been hustling, recording Vexation on a four-track cassette in a Bushwick basement and releasing it in March 2020, just a week before lockdown. Now the band is once again in go-mode, working on their second full-length (set for release 2021!), and I couldn’t be more stoked to premiere the first single here.
From Otra Vez, this is “Piece of Mind.”
Ahead of the release, DJ of the band sent over a little intel on how the new track came to be, as well as the meaning behind it.
“This song started from a riff I wrote during quarantine. I took the riff to Sean and he played some sweet lead over it, and Dalton laid down a drum groove which was disgustingly tasteful and pulled the song together. The lyrics are about giving up control and finding inner peace.”
Like so many Brooklyn artists, DJ and Sean both play in multiple projects, forming an entire little ecosystem of the scene that’s comprised of a bunch of bands I love, including Dale Jr., Nadir Bliss, Should’ve and Blue Yonder. Aforementioned disgustingly good drummer, Dalton Patton—one of the busiest and most talented dudes in the biz—does the same, playing in no fewer than five bands I dig, and he also contributed his thoughts on the new otra vez single:
“I think I didn’t know how it would come out in the end,” he says. “I was thinking about Sonic Adventure though probably.”
Probably.
“Piece of Mind” is out everywhere tomorrow! Be sure to add the song to your painting/yoga/vegetables/whatever playlists—
And listen to it again, and again and again…
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Follow Otra Vez at @otravez69, buy their music on Bandcamp and add their songs to your Spotify playlist!
Feature image provided by the band.