Words by Tom Disalvo //
The J Award nominees gear up for the second installment of their 2020 album.
As if the release of their breakout album Race Car Blues last year wasn’t enough, Melbourne quartet Slowly Slowly have recently announced a second musical chapter for their 2020 LP. The extended edition, aptly titled Race Car Blues – Chapter 2, comes almost a year after its acclaimed predecessor, and will add onto the upcoming chapter as part of a whopping double album feature.
Released last week as the latest single for Chapter 2, ‘The Level’ and its accompanying video is a nostalgic trip to the 70s. Tinged in a yellowish hue, the clip perfectly compliments the track’s sparkly riffs, and follows the indie pop rockers as they film an MTV-style performance; flare-panted and afro’ed to the nines. By the video’s end, frontman Ben Stewart winds up in his very own Slowly Diner which- complete with a bubbly waitress and a fresh serving of Slowly Soda– is as good a final scene as you can get.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RQrUGnO2M&feature=youtu.be
Discussing ‘The Level’, Stewart said it is a song “about fighting your instincts; a head vs heart battle. It’s about not wanting to be swept up in whimsical emotion…stay[ing] grounded and be[ing] pragmatic.” he said.
For an even more in-depth look at the track, we caught up with Slowly Slowly for a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of The Level. Elsewhere, you can catch the lads in Melbourne performing alongside Ocean Alley at Live At The Bowl on Wednesday, March 24 – tickets here.
Alex (Quayle, bass) & I spent a day at a costume shop in Melbourne picking everyone’s outfits. If you can believe it, Albert (Doan, guitar) and Murph (Patrick Murphy, drums) both didn’t try theirs on until the night we shot the clip. They miraculously fit them perfectly.
The mannequin gag was a last-minute addition, it was our most expensive prop!
Albert ‘The Doan Tone’s solo in the clip is my personal highlight. He is way too good. I still laugh every time I re-watch it. He was doing these kicks, they kill me.
My stunt double for the start of the clip was played by Mark, who also produced the clip with the Director, Kyle Caulfield. We pulled this thing together with 3 days notice and Mark was a big part of making that happen. I think sometimes the pressure creates things that you would never have initially planned.
The mannequin gag was a last-minute addition, it was our most expensive prop!
My assistant was played by my partner Kirsty, and one of our back-up singers was played by dear friend and Albert’s sister-in-law Nicole Gomez. The girls downed 2 bottles of champagne just before filming commenced and created a massive vibe on set. It was one of the first times we had all been in a room together post-Covid, so it really was like a party more than a video shoot.
Our production assistant in the clip was played by my dear friend Keith Dimech, who also supported me at one of my Corner shows earlier this year. I have known Keith as long as I have played music and he has always been a huge support. I told him to wear something “70s” and that’s what he showed up in, the moustache and haircut are just his usual appearance. I spoke to a friend who plays in his band and he said, “Keith mentioned he was heading to your shoot after our rehearsal and said, oh guys this is why I’m dressed like this!” I was like, “dude none of us would have noticed – you look like you always do!”
The camera man on set for the clip was played by another dear friend Dale Johnson, the vision out of that mask was a little sketchy so it was pretty funny trying to get the walking shots while he was wearing it.
The vintage instruments we played, minus the Rickenbacker which I own, were all borrowed from close friends. Echo Tone Guitars lent us the vintage amps, we borrowed the drums from our friend Chris and the bass was owned by our mate Jim. Within the tight timeline it was a miracle we pulled it all off and we can thank these legends as well as The Wick studios for being so accommodating.
Massive shoutout to director Kyle and helped me actualise the vision of a goofy 70s TV set. We actually based a lot of the outfits from an old European live performance Hall and Oates did (which is on youtube – bonus points if you can find it! Pictured here as well is Cam, who works at the studio we shot the clip at. We were running out of extras so on the night he stepped in, brought the outfit from home and nailed it. Bless.
