Following on from his work in The Wearing Kind, a project formed alongside choreographer Gregory Lorenzutti and director Chase Burns, frontman Tom Lee-Richards has returned to deliver his latest solo single Beside You. He will be touring the UK this summer for the first time so take every opportunity to see him live (see dates below).
The new track ‘Beside You’ was recorded in collaboration with Countbounce (Jarryd James, Ash Grunwald) and aims to create contrast with his 2016 single ‘Madness’. With an almost percussion-like guitar playing, Lee-Richards builds upon his own experiences growing up in New Zealand to compose a romantic homage to life in his homeland that is both uplifting and engaging throughout.
He shared the following on the song and video:
“Beside You, is probably the most direct song I have written. The result of a collaboration with producer Countbounce (Jarryd James) it’s about being open in the moment. It was lyrically inspired by times when I have felt a simple intensity with someone but also when I’m not showing them my best side because I’m not really in the room. It’s easy to carry the busyness of life and past experiences on our shoulders making the present a bit complicated and the song aims to simplify things. The cyclic grooves and continual peeling of instrumental layers reinforce this process of distillation.
Beside You takes a snapshot of different points in a developing relationship, from that edgy first encounter “how are you, busy yet can I sit down” to a point where you might be judging each other’s differences rather than being excited by them. I keep coming back to the line “we’re not the same” because I like how it changes positively or negatively depending on where you’re at.
To reflect this the Music Video Director Lachlan Dickie explores connection in odd circumstances. He created a dystopian future world. Inspired by films like ‘LA GUERRE DU FEU’, a French dialogue-free feature film about cavemen, he asks what kind of relationships would exist within a devolved civilisation. “Even if we have progressed incredibly and have conquered mortality, I wonder what kind of strange world will be left to experience.”
The song and video are not without tongue and cheek moments though, smiling at how bizarre humans are and celebrating that.”
Video Credit:
Cinematographer: Michael Latham
Director: Lachlan Dickie
Line Producer / Art Director: Sahra Smith
Tom Lee- Richards UK Tour Dates
Wednesday 5th July – Strange Brew, Manchester
Thursday 6th July – Greennote Basement Bar, London
Tuesday 11th July – Live From Salon Noir, London
Tuesday 18th July – Sofar Sounds, Manchester
Saturday 22nd July – Heebie Jeebies, Liverpool
Friday 28th July – Grindsmith, Manchester
Sunday 30th July – The Finsbury, London
Spotify:
Stream or Download at Bandcamp: https://tomlee-richards.bandcamp.com/