Penfriend is operating in the cracks of the modern consciousness.
Now more than ever we feel divided, working against one another, rather than with any sense of unity. Perhaps that's why her new single looks at things from a different angle.
'Exotic Monsters' pins down what we have in common, and emphasises this over what pushes us apart.
Shooting up into the atmosphere, Penfriend incorporates sound samples from the European Space Agency, using this motif in her percussion track.
She comments: “Using sounds from space on a song about feeling disconnected from life on Earth just felt wildly appropriate…”
A wonderfully off piste pop song, 'Exotic Monsters' comes equipped with a neat DIY video, one that transforms our alienation into actual aliens.
Penfriend explains: "We're more connected than ever, yet we're becoming more polarised. The pandemic promised a coming together of communities yet, as the third UK lockdown grinds grimly on, the people in my area of Bristol have battened down the proverbial hatches. It's easy to feel like we live on a different planet from our fellow humans sometimes, so with this video I wanted to bring the artwork for the single to life, to suggest that perhaps the monsters we perceive to be all around us are more similar to us than different."
"I spent 20 hours constructing 3D paper masks, set up a green screen in my living room and used up two of my daily exercise sessions to create this oddball trip into my imagination. Enjoy!"
Tune in now.
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