Premiere: Winter McQuinn - 'I Will Be The Same'

Image credit: Kelli Blackmore

When he’s not fronting psych-pop four-piece Sunfruits, Winter McQuinn can be found crafting gorgeous soft rock sounds inspired by the masters of the 70s, as heard on new single I Will Be The Same, which alongside its music video is premiering on Pilerats a day ahead of release.

Co-written with Hot Apple Band’s Jack Kinder and Lewis Mosley, I Will Be The Same sees duelling guitar harmonies alongside sweeping acoustic strums and big drum fills, while layered vocals float atop, describing the life of a character after the breakdown of civilization - all weighing in at a perfectly poppy three minutes.

McQuinn describes writing the lyrics after reading a question someone posted online asking people “what tangible survival skills / things to barter and trade musicians and songwriters would have in a post societal breakdown world?”. “I was expecting a lot of comments just saying that they’d have to drop music all together and get into growing food and carpentry etc. However, one that stood out to me was one person saying that people would want to hear songs from “the old world” that make you feel good / reminisce and that perhaps that would be a currency in a post apocalyptic world. The song is also based off of a conversation I had with my dad about how music and songwriting is one of the last things to go in a lot of war torn areas and that people need it to keep their humanity intact.”

Meanwhile, the music video captures Winter’s DIY approach to creating music, featuring him jamming out in a home studio. Influenced by Outkast’s iconic Hey Ya music video with a bit of Drugdealer’s Fools thrown in, the music video (shot by Willem Kingsma and Kelli Blackmore) sees McQuinn playing each instrument, including manning the analog mixing desk and reel to reel.

The first taste of his sophomore album Move To The Trees (out April 5), check out I Will Be The Same a day ahead of release:

Winter McQuinn's new album Move To The Trees is out April 5 via Third Eye Stimuli

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