From The Artist : I was walking through a park in Australia listening to Arctic Monkeys new record on repeat and I came across a group of dogs playing together, while their owners were standing side by side staring at their phones, devoid of any communication. I thought it was a pretty funny juxtaposition, the lyrics came pretty much right away after that as I raced home to lay down some music underneath the idea. It was produced by Cody Taylor of Fiend Recordings in Vancouver, we laid it down in a couple of days and it was really cool, I wanted to go Tame Impala style and play every instrument on the recording so that was a real fun and challenging process for me.
Okabe is the creation of Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, Kevin Okabe. Spending the better half of the last decade toiling in a travelling rock n’ roll outfit, the band burst into flames in glorious fashion. After a self-imposed exile around the world spent searching for answers in a post band life, a decision eventually came to dipping his toes into a solo project for the first time. Okabe moved across the Pacific and set up shop in Melbourne, Australia to begin again. Blending elements of blues, jazz, and alternative pop, he began to slowly find his own unique sound. Okabe reordered his headspace and his music began to fall in line. Through this time spent writing, busking, and performing as a solo act, new growth began to take root and with it – a new musical direction.
Narrowing focus in on his music, Passing Cars was released at the tail end of 2019 and for Okabe, signified a fresh start and a musical detour. At the start of the decade, he returned to Canada now residing in Toronto, and entered back into the studio to develop his sound further – New World signifies that continued growth, “It’s a lost art, we’ve all forgotten how to speak, a generation of self diagnosed anxiety” Okabe sings. It’s a sign of the times we live in with lyrical themes touching on innovation and alienation living in a modern world.
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