Pipsy – Stuck In My Brain: 13th Floor New Song Of The Day
Today PIPSY share ‘Stuck In My Brain’, a stand alone single released in celebration of hitting the road with long time friends the Jordan Luck Band.
Here’s the blurb:
PIPSY is the musical project centered around the songwriting of Paul Pouwels McMillan (they/them), a songwriter and producer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington). Their songs are brought to life in a band context with help from drummer Jordan Cossill, bassist Hanna Ott and guitarist Jorji Lawson.
PIPSY crafts alternative pop with poise and precision. Their tracks are full with warm melodies and tender vocal harmonies. Listeners will be reminded of the devotional disco rhythms, as well as the stirring synth pop of the early 2000’s.
Their 2022 debut album All You Ever Wanted found it’s home on the Student Radio Network (with singles topping the 95bFM Top 10 and Radio Active’s Top 11), with singles appearing on prized playlists such as Apple Music’s Heaps Indie and Indie + Pop, as well as Spotify’s Fresh Cuts.
Stuck In My Brain glides over to the listener, effortlessly combining glittery synthesizers with disco syncopation. Don’t be fooled though, the track’s lyrical themes hide a deeper meaning than its glossed exterior.
“Generally speaking the track is about anxiety,” says Pouwels McMillan. “I’d been reading about the origins and mythology of the Labyrinth, and made this connection between overthinking and getting stuck inside of a maze. You can endlessly explore and pick apart all of your fears, doubts, and insecurities, but in the end you just get lost in this maze, and you have to be careful not to get swallowed up by it all. After all, what better material is there for a happy indie pop song than crushing anxiety?!”
“I wanted the track to sound really sparkly and fun, so after I landed on the theme of the song, I decided to re-watch one of my favourite maze-based, mid-80s, fantasy films, starring David Bowie, Labyrinth. I thought it would be a playful nod to that film to use some of its synth sounds for the drones underneath the song. There are lots of other funky elements that pop in and out throughout the track too, that you mostly just feel, but if you listen carefully you can make them out (including bongos, wood blocks, cowbell, Linn Drum, wurlitzer, and even a bit of sassy triangle in the chorus). I wanted the song to sound really immersive, with lots of ear candy, rewarding multiple listens.”
Labyrinth wasn’t the only 80s influence on Stuck In My Brain, “a friend of ours wanted to get rid of some of their old vinyl, and magnanimously let us go through their record collection and take anything we liked. They had some amazing LPs, and I snatched up one of my favourites I shockingly didn’t own – Talking Heads ‘Remain In Light’. Listening to it again, songs like Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) and Once in a Lifetime are so thoroughly engaging, and positively bombilating with rhythmic energy. Stuck In My Brain’s chorus is influenced by that push and pull of syncopated rhythms and textures, that should all come together to leave you happily discombobulated!”
Pouwels McMillan reflects “Our goal with our music is to walk that line between cheerful and optimistic vibes, and the exploration of deep personal struggles within the lyrics. I’m really proud of how the song does that – I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
PIPSY are hitting the road with old friends the Jordan Luck Band, supporting them on five dates of their We Love You The Most NZ Winter tour. The band are prepped and sound shit hot, make sure you grab a ticket before they’re gone! Catch them:
- September 15 – San Fran, Wellington*
- September 16 – Playhouse Theatre, Nelson
- September 22 – Dive, Dunedin
- September 23 – Vic Arms, Cromwell
- September 30 – Good Home Ferrymead, Christchurch
Tickets are available from Undertheradar
*Tickets are available from Moshtix!
Paul Pouwels McMillan’s love of music began when at the age of ten, they found an old forgotten guitar at their family home. They started teaching themselves to play, jamming along to classic records from the likes of The Beatles, Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones, and the theatrical guitar solos of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Pouwels McMillan went on to study at Otago University, where they were awarded a PhD in Music following the completion of their 80,000 word thesis focusing on the Dunedin music industry. At the same time they joined Ōtepoti’s vibrant indie scene, performing in groups like Two Cartoons and Males, as well as producing albums for bands such as the Julian Temple Band.
In 2016, while in Melbourne Australia, Pouwels McMillan began writing as PIPSY, going on to release two EPs, 2018’s Users and 2020’s Toronto. PIPSY performed throughout North America and Australia and after returning to Aotearoa in 2021, toured extensively throughout the motu. In 2022 PIPSY released their debut album ‘All You Ever Wanted,’ that secured them a spot in Aoteaora’s music collective consciousness. PIPSY have become a favourite to support local heritage acts, opening for the Jordan Luck Band on their 2022 tour of Aotearoa.
Outside of PIPSY, Pouwels McMillan works as a Senior Academic Advisor for the College of Creative Arts at Massey University, and is a keen fan of Basketball, supporting the Toronto Raptors.
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