Tasmanian genre-hopping artist Marcus Wynwood has unveiled his latest single ‘Never Left The Ground’; released today along with the announcement of his upcoming EP ‘Never Stood Out and Never Fit In’, set for release on the 17th of October.
Defying his punk rock roots and leaning into new territory, ‘Never Left The Ground’ draws on folk influences to create a heartfelt indie-ballad. Recorded and mixed by Marcus with mastering from Grammy Award-winning engineer William Bowden (Gotye, Living End, Kylie Minogue), the track also features Andrew Sulzberger of the Bad Dad Orchestra on trumpet duties, adding a soaring layer of melody towards the backend of the track.
“I wrote this song pretty quickly, over a day or two, which is really unusual for me. I was listening to a lot of Frank Turner and Neutral Milk Hotel at the time, and I wanted to get that lo-fi, indie-folk songwriter/songwriter feeling. Part of this was loose strumming acoustic guitars with slightly abstract and ambiguous lyrics.
Rather than playing a guitar solo like I normally would, the song felt like it needed a trumpet. I reached out to mates The Bad Dad Orchestra and Andrew Sulzberger was excited to get involved playing the trumpet solo. He did an amazing job, he's a fantastic musician and a great guy. I recorded the song in my studio over a couple of weeks and I’m pretty happy how it turned out.”
MARCUS WYNWOOD
Thematically the track reflects on an individual’s longing to escape their stressful day to day, daydreaming of a life beyond their dead-end routine.
“On the surface 'Never Left the Ground' is about a person who, in their mind, sprouts wings and flies like a bird to get away from all the negativity in the world - but in reality they have never actually left the ground. It's a kind of secret escapism, a response to imposter syndrome, and a form of liberating optimistic nihilism. Whether they can actually fly or not isn't really the point. Maybe they can?” MARCUS WYNWOOD
Fittingly, the music video for the track features Marcus making his way through his hometown of Penguin, Tasmania - with guitar in hand, whilst another version of himself builds a set of wings and prepares to take off.
Originally a member of punk band Captives, Marcus has played with huge names throughout his career; such as Ian Moss, Shihad, The Damned, COG, Tumbleweed, 28 Days and The Sweet; and has played at festivals such as Falls Festival, Party In the Paddock and Macadam Festival (Quebec, Canada). He has had strong radio support from the likes of Triple M and triple j over the years, and praise from tastemakers such as The AU Review, Hysteria and Happy Mag along the way.
Marcus will be releasing the rest of his upcoming EP ‘Never Stood Out And Never Fit In’ on October 17, and will be making an appearance at Tasmania’s Good Gumnuts Festival alongside Alex Lahey, Jack River and Josh Pyke in early January.
UPCOMING SHOWS
INFO
Sunday September 29 Spreyton Cider Co Spreyton TAS
Saturday October 12 Devonport Tenpin Bowl Devonport TAS
Saturday October 19 Penguin Beer Co Penguin TAS
Saturday January 4-5 Good Gumnuts Festival Romaine TAS