Premiere: “Will I Be A Figure Eight” by Doprah
A new track from the six-member New Zealand band’s forthcoming debut album
Formed in Christchurch, NZ, duo-turned-six-member-band Doprah churns the hearts of listeners in their vat of nebulous, sweet bewitchery. From the transfixing melodies in “San Pedro” (frontwoman Indira Force’s voice meticulously delayed into echoes, blending into the percussion rhythm—which includes a crisp sample of keys tossed in the air) to the musings of denial in “Stranger People,” Doprah chases darkness with a pure, pulsating earnestness. That latter track’s unsettling music video, which could visually be mistaken for that of a J-pop song, generated a lot of YouTube comments on unfair appropriation or satire. However, paired with such a moody, completely dissimilar song, the video hints at what the cute choreography and carefully put-together costumes hide: submission, violence and control.
Premiering on CH, Doprah’s song “Will I Be a Figure Eight”—off of their upcoming debut album Wasting—sticks out from their previously released material with its stark beauty. “This was the first song we all wrote as a full band together and grew from that eerie descending chord pattern at the start,” Force tells CH. “The lyrics are based around both a search for something unknown and also an acceptance of the unknown [that] surrounds us.” Adds co-founder and band’s principal producer Steven Marr, “I came up with a chord progression at soundcheck and everyone just slowly joined in. “Easiest song we’ve made as a group by far.”
Wasting releases next week, 19 February 2016. Vinyl pre-orders can be made from NZ-based indie label Arch Hill Recordings / Flying Out (note the vinyl price is in NZ dollars).
Image courtesy of Robin Smith
