Gloomer, the experimental new music project of Los Angeles producer Elliott Kozel, releases their debut single “Drumjoy,” a fast-paced, lo-fi shoegaze stunner of a track out now via Pop Can Records.
With muted vocals, distorted and stretched out over a liquid hot beat, crunchy instrumentals and a frantic but steady stride, “Drumjoy” ricochets around like a racquetball set in perpetual motion. Angsty, confrontational lyrics denote a relationship in a tailspin from infidelity, aloofness and general boredom, palpable feelings further set ablaze by the song’s high beats per minute.
Paired with a highly intriguing animated music video, “Drumjoy” lands with a solid thud right in the stomachs of listeners, especially for those who have experienced jealousy or have gone through a mentally frustrating relationship.
“It’s about boredom and jealousy in a long-term relationship,” notes Gloomer. “The music video is a collaboration between myself and animator Joon Voigt whose drawings were recently featured in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” We animated it by hand, making over 2000 drawings and collage pieces and photographing them one by one. We took a lot of inspiration from early 90’s cartoons like the “Brothers Grunt,” “Beavis and Butthead,” and “Ren and Stimpy.” During the process of creating all the images we watched a lot of Pauly Shore movies.”
Before branching out into a project of his own, Gloomer’s Elliott Kozel has worked for the likes of Jean Dawson, Corbin (FKA Spooky Black), Velvet Negroni (4AD) and with Yves Tumor on their upcoming album. While producing other artists’ work, Kozel decided it was time to invest in his own original music and created the Gloomer persona as the vehicle to do so.
“My goal was, primarily, to make music for myself again, after many years of producing for other people,” notes Gloomer. “Secondly, I wanted to create a mixture of styles and genres that hadn’t been heard before. I challenged myself to use high BPMs between 130-190. Drum and bass, mixed with My Bloody Valentine was sort of the guiding light of the project, but I also wanted every song to have surprising twists and turns.”
In addition to a debut single, Gloomer will be making their first live appearance on August 12 in L.A. at The Baader House as part of MakeOutMusic Presents. Artists Pendant, Leo Iroko and Lonely Pirate Committee) will also be performing that night. RSVP here.
Words: Patti Sanchez
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