Bdrmm return with stirring ‘Standard Tuning’
Hull’s leading shoegazers, Bdrmm, have returned with ‘Standard Tuning’, a song that feels as close to having a bath in a cave as World Heritage restrictions will allow. Following on from their second album, I Don’t Know, the band have ventured towards a trip-hop inflexion with the woozy new single.
“’Standard Tuning’ is an important track in the ever-changing development of our creative process, as it was a collaboration between myself and Jordan,” frontman Ryan Smith explains. “I created the loop using techniques such as stretching samples and chopping them, and Jordan added synthetics and drum processing and structured it into the track you hear now.”
That technique is evident in the patchwork feel of the song. It’s as though the band have knitted together their own little world. And that sentiment extends to the originality on display; they’re still just about a band, but they’ve delved deeper into DJ conventions this time out with enchanting aplomb.
“Lyrically, the words followed the loss of an old childhood friend,” he continues. Although in truth, you’d do well to decipher them when listening. “Despite the fact of not speaking to somebody for years, you still feel an atmosphere of upset and loss.”
Smith adds: “The passing affected the Hull community in such a way that it was impossible not to be affected by it. The song is about loss and a tribute to old friends.” That sentiment isn’t fully conveyed in the track, but it is flush with its own feeling all the same. It is a feeling that somehow sits between clear-eyed reflection, and the hazy half-light of a club’s corridors and in-between spaces.
There is a rich and considered sonic understanding that showcases the band’s continued maturity and development. ‘Standard Tuning’ casts a brooding embalmment over the listener, which is testament to the sweating of the small stuff that has clearly gone on during the busy band’s brief downtime.
Listen to the new single below.
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