Premiere: Close Counters share the clip to their JAYDEAN collab, new EP out now

Their new video also comes in the midst of an Australian tour, which will take them around the country until mid-June.

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Hobart-raised, Melbourne-based electronic duo Close Counters have to be one of Australian electronic's most consistent names - and one of its most overlooked, too. The duo (which expands into a greater collective for their live shows) are on the cusp of electronica's outer edges, bringing together hazy, garage/funk-influenced productions with touches of R&B and pop that take their sound into that next dimension, usually enlisting some brilliant like-minded musicians to do so.

Take their recently-released latest EP FLUX, for example. Arriving at the tail-end of March, the four-track EP swells with textured instrumentation and synthetic brilliance simultaneously, pairing together house-backboned productions with sampling and live instrumentation courtesy of both the duo and their collaborations, which on this EP, includes Victorian one-to-watch JAYDEAN (SOMETHING IN MY DRINK) and the much-loved Allysha Joy (SPEAK IN TRUTH).

That aforementioned collaboration with JAYDEAN, SOMETHING IN MY DRINK, is one particularly worth pointing out. It's an exploration of dance music's most intimate roots, moulding a percussion-rich, funk-aligned production to JAYDEAN's always-striking lyricism, to create a song that the duo feel is an encapsulation of the sound they aimed to show with FLUX. "[We wanted to] capture the warmth and atmosphere of crate digging for funk records, mixing in waves of drum breaks, samples and live instruments," the duo say. "Whilst the song is an uptempo groove, it touches on the very serious topic of drink spiking. JAYDEAN’s lyrics tell the story of the broken trust, anxieties, and the physical discomfort that occurs to someone who has had their drink spiked."

Today, we're premiering the official video to SOMETHING IN MY DRINK ahead of its official release later this week, with the clip - shot by Joli Badman and William Hamilton-Coates - contrasting between JAYDEAN's stark vocal presence and flourishes of colour and animations through Super 8, creating a flickering vision that ties into the greater vision Close Counters were seeking. "We wanted to explore the theme of being under the influence while limiting the visuals to just a few elements," they say, tieing the video to the single's theme.

"The glassware was both symbolic and useful in refracting light, spinning and flickering over Jaydean’s profile, the Super 8 animation lends itself to colourful liquid-like visuals that spatter over the entire clip and have moments of focus. The entire clip is made of extreme close-ups, trying to create a feeling of being inside your own head, in and out of focus while also relating to the pulse and movement in the music."

The video is just another reminder of Close Counters' brilliance, and you can take a dive into it below as it premieres on Pilerats this morning. You can also take a listen to FLUX here, and underneath the video, find Close Counters' forthcoming tour dates, which will take them across the east coast of Australia until mid-June.