MARLIN’S DREAMING FEAT. ERNY BELLE – “EARNESTLY”
INDEPENDENT
New Zealand indie outfit, Marlin’s Dreaming, releases their new single, “Earnestly”, featuring Erny Belle. The band is releasing the track alongside a brand new music video. The song is a summons to sway, a country/indie concoction that could soundtrack a break up or a deep romance.
Frontman, Semisi Ma’ia’i, describes the track as “…[a] play on a modern country ballad. There’s the traditional romantic back & forth between the two vocalists, sort of candidly conversating. But then there is the modern side of it, with the digital recording & full band production.
The song is basically about a dysfunctional relationship where both sides don’t seem to be completely aligned, but at the same time both sides are madly in-love with each-other. There’s a tongue & cheek element to it though, where both narratives are asking flowery, contemplative questions, but to no immediate avail. Each question is more less answered with another question, as if both sides are just as infatuated with themselves, as they are with each other.”
Their new music video, directed by Semisi and brought to life by Sweetshop Films, is equal parts romantic and tragic. Set at a dingy dive bar, fans watch the longing glances of an older crowd, difficult to decipher which looks spell regret and which denote satisfaction. Smiles spar with gloomy lighting. Enthusiastic dancing juxtaposes scenes of serious conversation, sweat, and teary eyes. It’s a mixed bag of emotion, with plenty of space for interpretation.
In his words, “For the video I was into the idea of creating a slightly horrific country bar setting. I watched the film, ‘Blood Simple’, the first Coen Brothers film, and loved the way the characters and the bars scenes conjure up a kind of a physical revulsion.. Everything is so sweaty, dusty & imperfect.”
Including Erny Belle on the track was a no-brainer for the band. Semisi was looking for a true songwriter and storyteller to breathe new life into the melody. Belle was able to add to the conversational format of the song in a very intimate way.
Says Semisi, “I met Aimee (Erny Belle) maybe a year or so ago through a friend (& live band-mate) Tiare; I’d been listening to Erny Belle’s album ‘Venus is home’ & absolutely loved (& still love) every song. Such great songwriting & story-telling – so to have Aimee keen to sing on this song just made me so happy. I couldn’t possibly imagine this song without Erny Belle singing on it.”
The creative process behind the song marks a change for Marlin’s Dreaming. Allowing the writing process to start on an acoustic guitar and then gradually adding in a small home band set up gave a special priority to melody.
“For the past year or so, I’ve been writing a lot more on my acoustic guitar & i think that’s had a real impact on the kinds of songs we make as a band…Sometimes you write something, a chord progression or a melody & the rawness it has at its inception can be so moving, that you just want to do whatever it takes to retain that feeling. In this instance it was putting up some mics straight away & building the song around the acoustic & the melody”.
“Earnestly” Ft. Erny Belle is out now. More music coming soon.
Marlin’s Dreaming (Feat. Erny Belle)
[Single]
(Independent)
Release Date: May 29, 2024
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Chris Mauger
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