Self-described as surf funk, Melbourne's Cantrips returns with his first single of 2021, the deliciously hazy 'Goodbye Yesterday' that rolls across psych rock flourishes and soulful '60s pop grooves.
The studio project of multi-instrumentalist Patrick Ryan, 'Goodbye Yesterday' finds Cantrips expressing elements of nostalgia and bittersweet moments of self-awareness with the song's lyrics."This song was written around the time where I'd just left the safety of full-time employment and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with myself," Ryan says.
"I'd been living in this sort of limbo, bereft of meaningful work and was tired of doing nothing about it. I was listening to a lot of '60s pop (Beatles, early Pink Floyd, Margo Guryan), a tonne of Curtis Mayfield and other Motown grooves, and surfing a bunch.
"This track meets somewhere in the middle of the three. It's a song about personal transformation – letting go of who you used to be and taking steps to finding out who you can be."
Ahead of the song's release on 15 January, scenestr is stoked to premiere 'Goodbye Yesterday' today. Enjoy.
The history of the song dates back to an informal moment noodling away on an acoustic guitar. "The song was written on an acoustic guitar one, lazy afternoon. I didn't think much of it – it came out too easy so it was put aside," Cantrips says.
"Then one day as a writing exercise I decided to turn the acoustic version into a band demo. Then after showing it to a few friends, I decided to track it properly.
"I first tracked the drums with long-time friends Carl Lindeberg (drum engineer and bassist) and Lachlan Clulow (drums) to tape in the late Plug Seven Studios in Collingwood in November 2019.
"I then took those stems back to my garage studio where Carl laid down the bass tracks, before I spent the next few days picking away at the tracks on my own, filling in the pieces.
"This was the early onset of experimenting with tape methods of recording – primarily focusing on capturing the full take and prioritising the energy of the performance itself as opposed to having everything perfect. Each instrument/performance is a full take, no chopping, splicing or autotune."
