Track: Heartbeatz (from British India’s William Drummond) releases debut single ‘Sweeping Up My Shadow’ ahead of album release.

‘Sweeping Up My Shadow’ is a louche and sultry debut from songwriter and multi-instrumentalist William Drummond, from esteemed indie band British India as part of his new project named Heartbeatz.

It has a bouncing sardonic beat that recalls Gorillaz and was born from personal tragedy, as Drummond recounts:

Often it’s easy to fall into unhealthy cycles, whether it’s spiralling thoughts, alcohol dependency, etc. and when you are deep in the mires of grief those cycles can become particularly vicious.

It was written in the wake of my mother dying from cancer and the communication between everyone in my band falling apart. I would spend everyday writing songs in an old warehouse that was both my bedroom and my studio. I was on the ground floor and there were no windows.

There is a melancholic edge to the delivery which is leavened somewhat by the catcall backing vocals and the glitchy ambulant instrumentation:

Recorded and mixed with producer/musical director Michael Belsar (Hayden James, G-Flip), ‘Sweeping Up My Shadow’ is a promising and creative debut. Drummond says of the recording:

We recorded in a studio above The Empress Hotel in North Fitzroy. During our first session together we instantly knew that we were a good creative match. He could see the vision I had for the album and brought his many varied talents to the project.

I would often invite friends in, several of them who’d never been in a studio before, to add small little moments. In this track you’ll hear my friend Charly Thorne singing ‘Start Again, Start Again’.

The single is available to stream through the above link and is a taster to a full album on the way entitled ‘Memory::Loss’.

Feature photograph: Kane Hibbard