A regular of Melbourne's live music scene, gigging almost weekly for the better part of the last decade, Tejo D'Cruz fronts The Glamour, a soul-grunge band.
D'Cruz's love of grunge, soul, and pop sensibilities directs his songwriting, with lyrics conveying themes related to the journey of existence, the experience of loneliness, and the inevitability of darkness.With an artistic approach to craft music that connects with the self, which comes from a "life lived with kindness and a collective consciousness from which all things stem", The Glamour's latest single is titled 'Gods'.
An acoustic guitar opens the song, the emotive strumming conjuring indie folk tones, the restrained drumming adding a melancholic touch, while a noodling electric guitar hums just below the surface.
The song's simmering energy slowly builds into a shoegazey-grunge soundscape, percolating into a quiet rage that resonates, the melodic rhythm canvassing feelings of angst that fuels a cathartic release as the song nears the end of its voyage, the Bowie influences seeping through beautifully.
"[It's] inspired largely by Bowie's 'Starman'," shares Tejo, "where those who are in tune with the frequency of something bigger than ourselves have seen the Starman in the sky."
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (22 May), today scenestr is amped to premiere 'Gods'. Enjoy.
Written by D'Cruz, produced by The Glamour at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne, and engineered and mastered by Aaron Dobos, the track draws on a multitude of influences ranging from Jeff Buckley and David Bowie to Joni Mitchell and Soundgarden.
'Gods' is another taster of The Glamour's upcoming debut album, which they previewed earlier this year with previous single 'Falling'.
"Dishing out the money for the experience of live tracking the album as a band and having the songs mixed and mastered by a studio professional (Aaron Dobos) was more than worth it," D'Cruz says.
"It was the old school, Pink Floyd-esque recording process that I have always yearned for. To bring a song that I had comprehensively demoed and have a band that has cooked this song together in live performance settings set the standard for how I'd like to move forward with bringing demos to life."
Although no release date or album launch has been locked in, Tejo (who is a registered music therapist specialising in addiction recovery and mental health) says "keep an eye out for a huge album launch in October this year".
