BAND: Hokum
SONG: The Caress
LABEL: Mongrel Records
RELEASE DATE: 23 October 2020
I’m sure we can all agree that this lockdown has been hard on all of us. Musician’s, of course, have had to refrain from playing gigs and then watch as, one-by-one, venues across the country close up shop. But, there is one facet to being a musician that I’ve noticed has been a silver lining in these uncertain times; and that is the time and opportunity to regroup their focus and drive by writing and recording. We are seeing more and more local artists releasing EPs, or just the odd single here and there, and it is truly an invigorating situation that we’ve been forced into. Chief among these releases is a brand new song and video from beloved prog rockers HOKUM.
“The Caress” is an epic tour de force from these Johannesburg natives. Wading in and out of down-tuned doom and gloom to light delights of melody back to frenzied staccato rhythms, this song delivers on all fronts and ends with the listener salivating at the mouth and begging for more. The song’s grooves and emotions are elevated to incredible heights by the crisp, powerful production – not many local productions have given such a wall of sound where everything is perfectly audible – and, I have to say, it is really inspiring as it feels like a new bar has been set. As for the video – well, it’s not your typical performance video. Somehow it seems to truly incorporate the song’s inherent tones of despair. The black and white palette and close-ups of the members just hint at making you uneasy without actually putting you off.
I, for one, cannot wait for a full album if this is the standard HOKUM have set for themselves.
Watch the music video for The Caress here
MORE ABOUT HOKUM
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]HOKUM (previously known as Marlowe) is a three-piece progressive rock band, hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa. As Marlowe, they played all the major festivals in South Africa, and at the time were the biggest heavy rock band in the country. Under HOKUM, the band have plied countless more hours in the practice room and on the live music circuit. Today sees the release of their new single The Caress and accompanying video.“The Caress is both personal and existential, the latter being a play on the ‘male gaze’ (meaning that its inverted and shoved inward). I ended up combining that idea with the idea that all perception is corruptible. All of this is underpinned by the emotion and chaos of sex. The video is mostly dark with a lot of quick cuts and uncomfortably close shots, some blurred. We wanted people to feel an almost oppressive ‘closeness’, a disorientation, and a metaphysical grip. We each chose a primary colour (Scott: Red, Conrad: Yellow, Rory: Blue) and added the colour bursts where it felt right in the context of the shots and the song. We really loved creating the video; I’d say as much as actually recording the song….” – Scott Wareham (HOKUM Vocalist & Guitarist)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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Buy // Stream The Caress out now via Mongrel Records- https://orcd.co/thecaress
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