A firm favourite of the antipodean outpost of Backseat Mafia, T.G. Shand is the moniker of Ōtautahi/Christchurch resident Annemarie Duff, formerly of the legendary Melbourne shoegaze band Miniatures (on the iconic Saint Marie Records label), and she has returned after a year away with her new single ‘The Deadpan Break’. It’s a track which explores a whole new territory and underlies Duff’s musical versatility.
The new track has a motorik beat and driving force with arpeggiated gurgles of synths in the background as T.G. Shand’s vocals echo in the distance, mysterious and ethereal.
The pace ebbs and flows with a psychedelic dreamy hue and is like glam rock meeting disco with chemically enhanced additives. It’s a danceable feast that floats in the ether, displaying more of a commercial pop sensibility than earlier material – echoing elements of artists like Sharon Van Etten or even Lorde but with a EDM touch.
‘The Deadpan Break’ is out today and available to stream and download via all the usual sites and through the link below.
‘The Deadpan Break’ sees Annemarie collaborating with a cast of top musical talent. This includes producer and mix engineer Tom Bell, who famously turned the renowned Chick’s Hotel in Port Chalmers into a recording studio. Up to this point, Annemarie has self-produced all of her T. G. Shand records, and describes the studio experience as life changing.Being able to work with a world class collaborator like Tom, give the song the best possible treatment, go down all the musical and production rabbit holes with someone who really understands the style, elevated it to a new level.
Others who worked on ‘The Deadpan Break’ include Wellington-based Cory Champion (Electric Wire Hustle, Shocking Pinks) on drums and engineer Bevan Smith (Glass Vaults, Over the Atlantic, Skallander). The track was mastered at the Grammy Award-winning studios, The Lodge (New York) founded by Emily Lazar (David Bowie, Morrissey, Angel Olsen).
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