Premiere: Perth-based troubadour extraordinaire, Damien Binder, starts 2022 with another shimmering, golden single, ‘Back To Me’, and announces launch gig.


We are honoured to premiere the new single ‘Back To Me’ from Perth-based New Zealand troubadour Damien Binder. Binder has perfected a brand of antipodean indie pop that shimmers and sparkles like a mirage on the desert horizon. His luscious fulsome sound fills his new single with a blinding glitter, laced with Binder’s trademark velvet soft melancholic vocals that weave an hypntoic magic throughout.

Binder says of the song:

I was thinking about how at times you can be led down a path, whether it be  another’s influence or because of the fashion of the day and it’s not really your style or what you stand forThe song is a realisation about coming back to being yourself.

The track features a production that is agile and crystalline, aided by Binder’s collaboration with producer Matt Gio (Katy Steele, Birds of Tokyo, Abbe May, Rudimental) of whom Binder says:

It was kinda straight, more folky originally but Matt came up with this whole off-beat feel which inspired us to go a bit more atmospheric with some harp, keys and chiming guitars.

Ultimately Binder is a master pop technician – proven by the past singles we have covered here at Backseat Mafia – who is able to weave the brilliant bright skies and rolling landscapes of Western Australia into every note: a wandering ambulant sound that seems to reflect the endless open horizons like fellow Western Australian residents, The Triffids and his homeland natives, The Chills:

‘Back To Me’ is out on Thursday, 21 July 2022 (available to pre-order here) and you can catch Binder live launching this, his first release for 2022, in Perth on launch day:

Singer-songwriter Damien Binder has been writing and recording his original style of moody alt-rock for more than 20 years.

Since his self-titled debut in the early 2000’s, the APRA Silver Scroll nominated artist has gone on to release four acclaimed solo albums and performed internationally supporting some of the world’s leading acts including David Gray, Marianne Faithfull and Ani Di Franco.

Prior to pursuing his solo career, Damien fronted New Zealand rock band Second Child who shot to fame with their debut album Slinky which saw the band play esteemed support slots for acts such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Powderfinger, Rollins Band, Hunters & Collectors, Fugazi and famously Nirvana on their only NZ tour.

Previous Premiere: Thunder Fox sets the world alight with 'Hard Times': a funky paean to strength and resilience delivered in a red hot sonic missile. Catch them live in Sydney.
Next Premiere: The Double Happiness create their own unique antipodean spaghetti western surf genre in their evocative new single 'Smoking Gun', and announce launch date.

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