Art-pop provocateurs Jockstrap continue to tease a yet-to-be-announced debut album with the release of another spellbinding single called “Concrete Over Water”. Summing up the effortless way that they make their weird and wonderful creations, the duo have these quotes on it.
Georgia Ellery: “‘Concrete Over Water’ was written on a Summer’s night in 2019 in a flat in Farringdon which was above a pub, and above a train line. The place hummed when the trains went under.”
Taylor Skye: “I can’t quite remember producing ‘Concrete Over Water’. I was living in my auntie’s attic at the time and it was extremely hot. Georgia sent me the demo fully written, then I sent her the song fully produced. That was it.”
That seeming effortlessness translates into “Concrete Over Water” as a listening experience, as it easily gathers you up in its visual voyage and takes you free floating across city nights with Ellery’s dreamy lyricism and voice. She describes the blue towers and black sky, sitting amidst them and feeling the night on her back. Synth daubs describe an expansive city skyline as it reflects off the natural cloud cover. “Concrete Over Water” continues its celestial journey through Ellery’s reflections on Italy and Spain, then begins a beat-driven drive towards something grander and more out-there. Skye’s synths bulk up and expand, bringing a topsy-turviness to the whole affair that feels like being lifted up on a beam of light and transported beyond the atmosphere. “Concrete Over Glass” zooms in and out of Ellery’s thoughts and the world around her, blurring her experiences and those of the universe, until it feels like Jockstrap are dissolving the boundaries of existence into one glitchy, glorious morass.
“Concrete Over Water” also comes with a wonderfully odd video created with usual collaborator Eddie Whelan. Ellery says: “The video was born out of the celestial themes in the song. Eddie and I created the characters (Moongirl, Voyager, Magma Boy, etc.) to explore the feelings of wonder, inspiration and the search for answers, to reflect what the song represents to me.”
Watch the video for “Concrete Over Water” below or find it on streaming platforms.
“Concrete Over Water” is out on Rough Trade. Make sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
You can catch them at these dates:
22 Apr | Motel Mozaique Festival, Rotterdam
23 Apr | Paradiso (Small Hall), Amsterdam
26 Apr | District, Liverpool
27 Apr | Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
28 Apr | World Headquarters, Newcastle
30 Apr | Elsewhere, Margate
2 May | Joiners, Southampton
4 May | Jericho’s, Oxford
7 May | Are You Listening Festival, Reading
8 May | MASH, Cambridge
25 May | The Academy, Dublin
26 May | Yellow Arch, Sheffield
28 May | Dot To Dot, Bristol
29 May | Dot To Dot, Nottingham
6 June | Primavera Sound City, Barcelona
17 July | Welcome To The Village Festival, Leeuwarden
24 July | Bluedot Festival, Cheshire
29 Sept | White Hotel, Manchester
30 Sept | Stereo, Glasgow
1 Oct | Mash House, Edinburgh
3 Oct | Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
4 Oct | Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
5 Oct | The Fleece, Bristol
7 Oct | Norwich Arts, Norwich
8 Oct | Patterns, Brighton
10 Oct | Village Underground, London
11 Oct | Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
4 Nov | Club 2 Club Festival, Turin
