A week before the EP’s release, we’re stoked to share the nostalgia-drenched video from the project of Midwest-turned-BK music project Marathoner
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Nostalgia can take many forms. For people and places, experiences and eras, where we used to go, what we used to do, who we used to be with and even, sometimes, just who we used to be.
Beyond that, this bittersweet sensation, this magic mix of happiness and melancholy, can be sparked by multiple senses, and the power of two of them—sight and sound, specifically—are simultaneously harnessed by BK project Marathoner with their latest release, the music video for “Irregular Heartbeat,” which I’m absolutely thrilled to premiere here!
“I used to be everything I wanted to be // I used to be… // Everything I wanted to be “
For the video for “Irregular Heartbeat,” Marathoner overlaid the track over old home videos from the sixties for a product that’s lovely in its absolute lack of action. It’s more about sound, setting, and atmosphere—and the feelings these combine to create. As the song eases along, we’re presented with calm scenes of a childhood beach vacation, and while neither he nor I nor you were present (or probably even alive) for these moments, they somehow still manage to inspire that sense of nostalgia. We weren’t there, but we’ve been somewhere similar—in times that seemed simpler—and we’d all probably really, really love to go back.
While coming from a project called Marathoner, “Irregular Heartbeat” is in the absolute best way a real lazy-day of a song—a sweet and soothing “slow-burn” of a single that perfectly fits the project’s description (“[blending]the ethos of the Midwest with the rush of the coasts”) and is also right in line with the way I described the artist’s EP Sunny Side Up back in November: “(over) easy like Sunday morning. Perfect porch listening. The ideal soundtrack for lying on the couch with your lover’s head in your lap and playing with their hair while the afternoon sun streams in through the windows and you work your way through a bottle of orange wine and…”
Okay, that’s prob not the catchiest way to describe a sound. I’ll workshop it.
Anyway! Enough words from me. Ahead of the release, Marathoner’s Andy Cook—the Midwest-turned-NYC artist behind the project, who also designed us one hell of a weekend back in November—offered some insight on the different people and pieces that came together to create this song and video.
“‘Irregular Heartbeat’ is my favorite from the EP. It features a beautiful slide guitar riff by Zach Brose, and builds from a Roy Orbison-esque lament into a mushball of sound for the outro, really pulling together all of our favorite things – a classy guitar line by Zach, classic drum and bass sounds from Megan and Al, and then a crash of noise. Aside from the overdubs to build-up the outro, it was a first-take recording – we finished the take and were like ‘whoa, I think that was it!’ and I still love listening to it + remembering when we made it.
The video features old film from my mom’s family’s vacation in 1963 to the Bay Area, along with analog video effects and distortion made by co-producer and arranger Jeremy Ylvisaker (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird). I think all together, it captures the retro sensibility of the song clashing with what 2020 and beyond have come to be – which is, even if a little messy, still fun and with some hope!”
Stay tuned for the EP—out March 11th!—and run don’t walk (that’s a Marathoner joke) to grab your ticket to the release show, presented by BdBK, featuring America Jayne and Amelia Murray at Our Wicked Lady on March 9th!
While you probably can’t experience nostalgia for the future, according to these 10 Astounding Facts About Nostalgia(!!!!!) I found on the internet, you can experience it in the present. So whatsay we all meet up and get real happy/sad together, eh?
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Follow Marathoner at @marathonerband and buy music on Bandcamp!
Feature image provided by the band.