Melbourne troubadour Ben Wright Smith is back with new music in the form of 'Storm Boy'.
It is upbeat Aussie guitar rock at its finest with Ben's earthy lyrics married to a catchy-as-hell melody. If ya toe ain't tapping you should check your pulse. Serious.
"I was looking out over Magnetic Island and some dark storm clouds began to gather on the horizon over the island," Ben says about the inspiration behind writing 'Storm Boy'.
"The song itself isn't about Magnetic Island per se, but it got me thinking about an island society preparing for a big storm. I liked the idea and began thinking about it all the time.
"I think maybe being in the uncertain times we are in, it worked as an allegory to what was happening around me. By the time I returned, I had a bunch of songs inspired by similar ideas and it seemed like the embryonic form of an album.
"I hadn't really anticipated starting a new project straight away, but it felt like we were onto something, so we hit the studio pretty much right away."
With 'Storm Boy' released earlier in August, Ben has shared with scenestr the song's accompanying video to premiere today.
"We filmed this clip at an estate called Pleasantville out in the sticks," Ben says. "It's former Boom Crash Opera guitarist and music composer Richard Pleasance's house.
"His son, Willie Pleasance, filmed and directed the whole clip. It was this sprawling paddock with a beautiful view. We couldn't believe we were shooting in front a green screen when there was about 30 kangaroos about 10 metres away from us just chilling out.
"I was standing on a tip truck, which was tilting more and more vertical as the song goes on. By the end I was just hanging there for my life. I got the idea from watching this old Shaun Micallef sketch from the '90s."
