New Originals Debut Video
New Originals – the collaborative project of multi-instrumentalist/producers Dave Brandwein and Rob O’Block – have unveiled their second single (and first video), “So Sad.” Featured guests Daru Jones (Jack White) and Danke provide the beat and additional vocals, respectively.
In 2021, Brandwein had no idea that the albums he was working on with the band Turkuaz would be their last. After 10 steady years of touring as festival mainstays, the band suddenly splintered while on the road with Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew, marking the 40-year anniversary of the Talking Heads’ classic Remain in Light album. Amidst a pandemic-induced shutdown, the dissolution of his marriage, and a stint in rehab, Brandwein moved from Brooklyn, NY, to Los Angeles, California, to pick up the pieces. He seized the opportunity to assess his past accomplishments with Turkuaz and the uncertain future that lay ahead, a chance to clean out his closet and start fresh. Their final albums, Apollyon and Paradiso, honor the legacy of that nine-piece funk band as well as offer listeners a taste of things to come.
O’Block was an essential part of Apollyon and Paradiso, co-producing the latter. “Paradiso was the most intense mixing process I’ve ever been a part of,” he says, made more complex by the band’s abrupt split, the overall state of the world during the pandemic, and the people involved being spread across the country. “Sometimes the best thing to do is just keep working, and I’m proud we were able to do that when so much other stuff out of our control was going on.”
The process of completing Paradiso led to the formation of New Originals. “It seemed time for a new energy that could reflect more of the edge and darkness in my lyrics, and in the state of the world,” Brandwein explains.
“I remember I was still drinking pretty heavily when we started working on ‘So Sad,’” he continues. They opted to leave some of the original demo vocals, which felt representative of the time, on the final version of the song. “It’s like sober Dave is singing a duet with drunk Dave. It’s a very odd feeling.”
Brandwein and O’Block are continuing to collaborate on new material, in addition to an array of other projects. Brandwein is also releasing music under the moniker Band For Sale, while O’Block continues to be an active producer and session player in Nashville. You’ll next be able to hear his work on releases by The Brunswick, Meg McRee, and Natalie Madigan, among others. Stay tuned for more from New Originals throughout 2022 and early 2023!