OTW #519: Feathers

Austin based synth heaven...

New York isn’t what it used to be.

Spiralling rents, an arts scene dominated by patronage and steadfast scenes have conspired to make the Big Apple an often stifling environment for young artists.

After years of sweat, labour and inspiration Anastasia Dimou decided that the time was right to up sticks and move – to Texas. “I just felt like I needed a different environment entirely” she explains. “Change is good in general for the writing process, that's why people go away to remote areas, just to completely disconnect from everything. So I moved to Austin and I felt like the environment was just really open and expansive and I didn't really care what anybody thought.”

Suddenly free of inhibition, Dimou began jotting down synth-pop hymns. The Human League if they were too shy to go on the dancefloor, the tracks quickly found a patient, introverted life of their own. Using the name Feathers, the songwriter began to view the tracks as a new project, as a fresh direction.

“When I first started the songs, I didn't even know what I was going to do really, but I did know that if I did want to take it to the stage I would want to do it as a band" she insists. "I never saw it as being myself, alone, on a stage, kind of small with a laptop or anything like that. I really wanted the songs to be big, and to be able to project that live.”

Feathers certainly have a big sound. Debut album ‘If All Now Here’ has an epic atmosphere, thriving on huge moments, lavish textures and massive choruses. Yet Dimou often touches on personal territory, never quite exposing her true feelings by working in a quite pensive, almost shy manner. “It does come from a pure sort of place inside, maybe a mood or something like that, but I have to kind of think of visuals to be able to flesh out a song” she explains.

“I think for that reason, there is a mood within the song that you can kind of attach visuals to. I don't want to call it cinematic, but I guess, maybe there is some element to that, something that I've pulled from either watching something or feeling something and I'm trying to create a scene with the most simple words. Distill it into a song I guess.”

Where: Austin, TX
What: Beautifully composed synth pop
Get three songs: Dream Song, Land Of The Innocent, Believe

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Words: Robin Murray

Find Feathers on SoundCloud

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