Low Hum shares new single + video “Escape”
Watch the music video for “Escape” on YouTube.
Today, Low Hum shares the brand new single “Escape” via the music video directed by Bianca Poletti. “Escape” is the first new music from the Hawaiian-born, Los Angeles-based musician Collin Desha since the release of 2019’s debut album Room To Breathe. Aside from garnering recognition from NPR Music, KCRW, Relix and Clash Magazine among others, Room To Breathe engendered comparisons to the stylings of Tame Impala and beloved UK group The Beta Band. The songs on the album have found a global audience on YouTube and Spotify, with 10s of millions of organic streams among music fanatics on message boards and social media. A phenomenon that caught Desha off guard as his YouTube subscribers and streams increased exponentially in the months that followed Room To Breathe’s release.
“I first started to see videos that transcribed a few of my songs in Spanish and I was humbled by it,” says Desha. “Eventually it started to reach India, South Korea, Australia, Brazil… I was so impressed by the positivity in the comment section between everyone I became ecstatic my music was the thing bringing this little online community together.”
“Escape” is the first glimpse of Low Hum’s forthcoming new album Nonfiction, recorded and co-produced with Jon Joseph, and due out in 2021. Nonfiction expands upon Desha’s kaleidoscopic Lo-fi meets Hi-fi futurism: a mixture of oceanic tranquility, dreampop-like sensibilities, heavy fuzzed-out riffs juxtaposed alongside melodious synth and vocals with refreshing punch. “Escape” is also the first official co-write Desha did as Low Hum, working with his old friend Andrew Herringer (Milo Greene). As the title might suggest, the lyrics touch upon their shared desire to explore life outside the confines of Los Angeles. An impulse that many city dwellers can relate to, which has only been amplified by COVID 19’s restrictions on the vibrant communal experiences that would usually provide the payoff for putting up with the cramped living spaces and sensory overload that can sometimes stifle creativity or put a stress on mental health.
The video for “Escape” is less about Desha’s personal experience, and rather about “exploring the many different motivations and needs people have for escaping,” he explains. “People escape from bad memories, problems, complicated relationships and so on. The video started as an idea to interpret that from different points of view.” Through mutual friends Desha tapped director Bianca Poletti who brought the vision to life. “I’ve always been intrigued by stories about runaways and really enjoy playing with the line between reality and imagination,” explains Poletti. “‘Escape’ inspired me to explore shedding layers of your past self with the intention of rebuilding, and the dream of a new beginning.” In the video Poletti incorporates dance and movement to portray emotional context for the accompanying music to great effect.
Low Hum, Desha says “was always meant to be my creative refuge, a place for me to escape my own reality and give me a sense of freedom” and is happy it has motivated those who listen “to feel a sense of community and that we are all in this together.” Stay tuned for further news and music from the forthcoming album Nonfiction in the coming months.