"Steppin' Out" was the first song I wrote and recorded for the "Total Abandon" LP which came together during the feverish first few months of early quarantine. It was the first to follow a self-imposed set of limitations which became the formula for the whole album : live takes on synths, drum machine and vox recorded into the 4 track tape machine, then manipulating the tape machine to achieve special effects during the final print into the computer. A constant theme throughout the "Total Abandon" material is fetishizing the sonic artifacts of the tape machine itself - emphasizing and glorifying hiss, machine noise etc. "Steppin' Out" is a particularly strong example of this, as the lo-fi noise which would normally be clipped off the start of a song is intentionally left in to begin the track with some suspense. In an even more dramatic way, this song would be nothing like what we know now without the presence of the tape machine, not just as a recording medium, but an instrument in its own right. The song was recorded lower and slower. After recording, I sped up the track significantly, raising the pitch and tempo of everything. This added a lot of energy to the track, and gave the vocals an unearthly, levitating high tone.
In retrospect it's ironic that the first song I wrote during quarantine was called "Steppin' Out," when that is quite literally what we were not supposed to do at the time. But this wasn't the theme I intended. I'd just gone thru a complete and painful collapse of some artistic endeavours I'd been working on with others, and it was time to finally make exactly the music I wanted, the most honest and pure expression of what I really loved, unfiltered. So while the song is about much more - adventure, risk, a moth exploring a flame, etc - I realize now it was about stepping into my own as a more mature artist who finally knew what I wanted to do and say and felt liberated to do it exactly my way.
I think this exuberance comes through in the music video we shot at a very ancient and special location in Tucson, AZ. I'm not going to divulge the specifics, though some locals may recognize it, but it is a magical strange place, just like the rest of the REV WYN world. The enthusiasm I feel for this music, and this song in particular, is on vivid display in all the gyrating and twirling through the desert we captured on film, and I hope those watching get a jolt of the magic I was channeling.
lyrics
You shouldn’t get too excited honey
I come alive in the night time baby
You can see me on Sunday honey but
Right now I’m alive and running
You shouldn’t get too excited honey - just
Lean back, and make that money
I know I get a bit crazy honey, but I
Like love and I don’t wanna go hungry
Nah, I don’t wanna go hungry
I’m, stepping out tonight
Momma don’t like it, daddy don’t neither
I said I’m sorry but I gotta go see her
I’m - stepping out tonight
Momma don’t like it, daddy don’t neither
I said I’m sorry but I gotta go see her
I’m - stepping out tonight
Little change in the weather, we can get it together
Better an better, forever n ever
I'm - stepping out tonight
Psychedelic Desert Synth
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TOTAL ABANDON LP, completed on a 4 track tape machine in
virus quarantine, is ALIVE.
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"Let's solve this mystery TOGETHER...One step can be a LEAP. I want YOU to incarnate the SUPER-SELF."...more
The New York artist uses addictive pop hooks and melancholic, baroque electronics to reframe her recent traumas into an empowering narrative of growth and transformation Bandcamp Album of the Day Oct 13, 2021
