The warm sunshine glow emanating from New Zealand band Mild Orange‘s new single ‘Time Of Our Lives’ is blinding and reassuring. The glitchy syncopated percussion trickles under a hazy array of guitars and the melancholic vocals that float over the surface reflect the nostalgic themes. The track was inspired by singer Josh Mehrtens memories of skateboarding throughout Japan:
‘The Time Of Our Lives’ was born out of wanderlust and nostalgia for a time I had skateboarding through Japan on my own, making friends and learning little life lessons along the way. I was Looking For Space, and writing this song took me back to a time in my life when I truly felt the world was my oyster. The recording sees us naturally revisit and modernise an 80’s pop band aesthetic. I felt like screaming towards the end, just ’cause it felt good and I can’t wait to shout at the top of my lungs when we play this live.
The accompanying beautifully shot video is sharply evocative, filled with a sense of the carefree freedom of youth as professional skateboarder Kento Yoshioka skates through the streets of urban Japan. Mehrtens says:
My favourite skateboarder is Kento Yoshioka. He always looks like he’s having fun and skates like he’s dancing in the street. Super unique style. So, like the lyrics in the chorus, I asked the videographer / director Tomoyuki Kujirai on Instagram: ‘whatcha say, you and I go for a ride, and have the time of our lives?, all in hopes of making an A to B skate video in Japan for the song.
Tomoyuki was really keen to work on this, along with his film team at NION Films, and he asked Kento to star in the video. He took it to another level. It was Tomoyuki’s idea to base the film around photographs and memories, which is why you see the other small instances of beauty that occur within these moments with the frozen extras cast. When you skate through the city, time stands still and you enter a peaceful flow, you see the streets from a unique perspective. This film captures that feeling.
There is a calm aura of joy, a sense of euphoria reflecting the dreamy nature of the track:
‘The Times Of Our Lives’ is out now and available to download or stream here.
Mild Orange will be embarking on a world tour in 2022 covering the EU, UK and North America. Details below and tickets and further information available here.
Feature Photograph: Cam Hay
