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Saint Kochi

city: East London
country: UK
genre: Alternative
styles: R&B, Chamber Pop

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on hashbrandnew.com since May 09, 2021

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Saint Kochi

Almost Lost

out on April 06, 2022

Single

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Reviews and Comments

Saint Kochi crafts timeless chamber-pop. His sepia-toned aural vignettes operate at the intersection between mundane, incidental moments, and mind-broadening alternate realities. Latest single ‘Almost Lost’ is a quintessential example of this approach - gently cruising along its surreal psych, Americana and baroque-pop ornamented path.

Calling to mind Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Mercury Rev or Scott Walker, the track is built on a woozy string-section adorned soundscape, accompanied by Morricone-esque guitars and 60s organ tremolo. Atop this Saint Kochi delivers nonchalant vocals, as the sonic bed makes a Fear And Loathing descent into ever-expanding feedback swirls.

The symphonic setting is juxtaposed against a grounded thematic idyll - as Saint Kochi explains in his intentions:

"I wanted to make a song that was drenched in melodic hooks and felt like it was written with different movements in mind, almost in the way classical pieces of music are structured. Lyrically I guess it's a bit of a dreamy narrative about time spent sitting in an English garden...."

The track was produced in collaboration with Dom Ganderton of Superfood, largely in Saint Kochi’s purpose built basement studio. For scale reasons however, the 14-piece string section that appears on the song was recorded at the iconic RAK Studios (home to Radiohead’s The Bends amongst other classics), fulfilling Saint Kochi’s ambition of “making a record that had these big cinematic James Bond, Beatlesesque type of strings on them”.

This deference to widescreen drama is echoed in the accompanying video, which sees Saint Kochi swagger between otherworldly sand dunes, caught through a saturated VHS filter. Created with director/photographer Sam Hiscox (a collaborator with Matt Maltese) as part of a creative partnership that has developed a consistent aesthetic.

‘Almost Lost’ is the first release from Saint Kochi since a self-titled EP in 2021 which saw him earn champions at Clash Magazine, The Line of Best Fit and The Independent at press, as well as BBC Radio 1, and marks a self-confident step forward in terms of holistic command of sound, style and story.