Premiere: Tristan Courtney-Prior (Peabody) goes straight to the top floor with the video for his wild debut, 'Elevator', with news of an album on the way.

We are overwhelmed with joy to premiere the new video from Tristan Courtney-Prior for his debut track ‘Elevator’.

Courtney-Prior played guitar for the last three Peabody albums – a seminal nineties indie outfit from Sydney that had as members Buddy Glass and connections with Bluebottle Kiss.

‘Elevator’ opens with a dark ominous sonic frisson before launching into a vibrant new wave-influenced mélange of driving, rumbling, insistent menace with Courtney-Prior’s vocals reminiscent of a mix between Nick Cave and Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke. Guitars wail and roam widely over the pounding rhythms with a Rowland S Howard anarchic abandon: the track teeters on the brink of anarchy while thumping through the ears with intent.

Backing vocals are provided by Pip Smith from Imperial Broads adding a touch of velvet to the barbed wire strands. Courtney-Prior explains why he delved into a world of solo music:

The idea behind doing something solo was to try something more experimental – I was going for ‘experimental post-punk’ or ‘yobbo art-rock’. After losing my job during lockdown, I found myself with a little more time on my hands so I decided to embrace the unknown and explored recording a project in my home studio, experimenting with recording techniques, effects, instruments I never touch in bands, etc. I’ve always recorded demos both solo and for bands during pre-production, but this was the first time I deliberately set out to record a release. As a result, I’ve largely recorded & played most things on this single and the upcoming album.

The themes to ‘Elevator’ are just as dark as the sounds. Courtney-Prior says of the track:

In its simplest form, ‘Elevator’ is about grief. But the song is also about the human brain’s inability to process moments of great magnitude and how our pain can manifest in interesting ways – such as an out-of-body experience – when confronted with an incomprehensible event.

‘Elevator’ explores these ideas through a short moment between two close friends in a hospital elevator.

The song is based on an experience I had some years back. I was rushing to the deathbed of a loved one and suddenly found myself sharing an elevator with some good friends celebrating the birth of a child.

The stylistic and beautifully shot video is a monochrome performance piece set in, of course, an elevator where there is a nod to the sliding doors syndrome where life can take you along many different paths. Courtney-Prior is striking, enigmatic figure touched by a sense of pain and sorrow, looming with a burning, shouldering intent, haunting and gaunt.

When two polar opposite life events collide in a confined space, it can be a very discomforting experience.

A sense of closeness and claustrophobia pervades the stark visuals: