Colourful Sydney indie video poppers Enerate finally released their hotly-anticipated debut full-length interactive album last 16 November—making them the first to do so in Australia and quite possibly in the world. The album comes as an app containing interactive music videos for each and every song. Titled 'Good Times Airlines' and featuring recent single "Half Asleep", the interactive album will be available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The music will also be available on all the usual platforms, but there is no doubt the most immersive and exciting way to consume it is through the Enerate app.
New single "Transit Lounge" also came alongside the album release. "Transit Lounge" is the perfect name for this track; the most accurate title for the midway between moving on and dwelling on hard times. Everything feels softer here—synths aren’t razor sharp where they might normally be, and the percussion is driving, determined, but understated. Subtlety is key, and Enerate are masters of it. There’s a taste of synth-pop auteurs Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and Alpine, but the resounding effect of Transit Lounge is entirely unique.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the track, singer and synth Therese Watson says, “It’s about the want and the willingness to go and do something new, but you know it kind of frightens you, you know that you’re a bit inhibited. But, you understand those feelings and you just kind of go for it anyway.”
The clip for "Transit Lounge" is appropriately transient. The viewer follows a young boy who begins his journey in a light-filled airport and continues through a number of different worlds; a city street, a prehistoric land, indetermined time and space. It’s simple, but meditative and effective. In the app, the viewer chooses where the boy explores—again, a modest touch, but one that works perfectly alongside the song.
Describing the video, lead singer and producer Josh Graham reflects, “We see this young boy walk through an airport terminal, and this is his reality. While the viewer watches him, they can swipe left or right, and take him into different worlds. These are his dream worlds. It’s like we can see inside his daydream, imagining who and where he wants to be in his future. This ties into the ‘Be who/what you want to be, just go for it’ messaging of the song. The worlds get pretty surreal at some points too.”
Enerate’s debut album 'Good Times Airlines' is an extremely considered release, absolutely soaked in fun and interactivity. The app and all the videos it encompasses were directed and masterminded by Josh Graham. Their previous single "Half Asleep" shines amongst "Transit Lounge" and the sparkling "Unstoppable". Each song has a video, and each video has an integrated interactive feature, whether it be a game, or another way to personalise the content. As Josh explains, “Art is becoming more multidisciplinary, and music is becoming more visual. The album is as much video as it is music. This is not a marketing tool for the album—this is the album! We wanted to make a physical release, that you can touch, feel, effect...that was multi sensory and completely digital...we tried to one-up Beyonce haha! She did a video album, so we thought ‘let’s do an interactive video album’!”
Enerate is made up of Josh Graham, Therese Watson, Matt Niciak and Ben Fitzpatrick. Check out their album teaser here and download the album now!
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