New Song Of The Day: Dillastrate – Through The Vein

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Start your Monday with this soulful slice from Dillastrate…here is Through The Vein from their Narrative EP.

The EP, the single and the video are now available for your listening and viewing pleasure. Here is the record company blurb with details:

Ōtautahi-based neo-soul band Dillastrate has today released their new EP, NARRATIVE, along with the feature single and video, ‘Through The Vein’.

The NARRATIVE EP takes its name from Dillastrate’s music being like stories and the emotional and mental blueprint for each member’s lives from the inception of the band to the present. It’s the stories inside the heads of the Dillastrate duo – Henare Kaa and Tim Driver – and attempting to explain the inner workings of the mind.

Sonically, the EP plays out as a diverse collection of sounds, woven together by Dillastrate’s idiosyncratic musical approach, each track is different but together they all fit.

Featuring the already released songs, ‘Party In My Head’ and ‘Scorch’ featuring Luis, the new lead single ‘Through The Vein’ slots in perfectly with the musical stylistic differences on the EP.

“Funk, keys heavy, ‘Through The Vein’ is a song about the power that people can hold over others,” says Dillastrate.

“On face value, the song tells the story of a woman and man who have been fighting for their voices to be heard and their abilities to be recognised by others. They grapple with their self-worth and status, both fighting in their own way to cast off their shackles and see a brighter day.

“On a deeper level, ‘Through The Vein’ is a song for the oppressed. Many communities are told who they are and what they are capable of by higher powers. This is particularly true in an Aotearoa New Zealand context, where dominant social forces still dictate the status and capabilities of those perceived to be under them. ‘Through The Vein’ is an allegory for levelling the playing field and achieving true social and cultural equity, here and abroad.”

Alongside the EP, Dillastrate has produced a video for ‘Through The Vein’, made by Tim and his wife, videographer Laura Gebbie.

All songs on NARRATIVE are written by Dillastrate’s Henare Kaa and Tim Driver, along with sound engineer Jamie Thomson (who functions as a third member of Dillastrate).

Produced by Dillastrate and Thom O’Connor, the EP was recorded at Orange Studio and O’Sound Studio in Christchurch, New Zealand, from June 2020 to May 2021. The artwork for the EP was produced by long-time collaborator Paris Tutty.

A tour is currently in the works for the band to celebrate the EP release, in the meantime catch Dillastrate live on Friday August 27 at Auckland’s Powerstation for SpringJam. Get tickets to SpringJam here.

Marty Duda
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