Exclusive video premiere of ‘Close Your Eyes’ by Bear Of Bombay, taken from the upcoming album ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze,’ slated for release on September 20, 2024, via Waddafuzz Records, Shoredive Records, and No Me Escucho Records.

‘Close Your Eyes’ explores the purity of the body, the thrill of stepping out of one’s comfort zone, and the discovery of desire’s movements and expectations. The video features three unique takes of early 20th-century burlesque dancers, perfectly encapsulating the innocent joy of bodily movement, mirroring the music’s theme of mental liberation and surrendering to the body’s impulses.

The song was produced and recorded by Bear Of Bombay, with co-production and partial recording at Casamedusa Studios in Milan by Francesco Campanozzi. The mixing and mastering were handled in London by James Aparicio, known for his work with artists like Spiritualized, Mogwai, Depeche Mode, Liars, Nick Cave, and Cult Of Dom Keller.

“suspended, hypnotic, and dreamy atmospheres”

I would love it if you could share some words about today’s premiering single ‘Close Your Eyes.’

Lorenzo Parisini: ‘Close Your Eyes’ is the second single from my new album ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze,’ which will be released on September 20th under Waddafuzz Records, Shoredive Records, and No Me Escucho Records. It talks about the naivety of the body, the joy of getting out of the known, and discovering the movements and expectations of desire. The video is made from three different shots of shows featuring burlesque dancers of the early 1900s, who manage to convey this naive joy of the body with their dance.

What inspired the track, and how would you enlist it on your album, ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze’?

When I composed the track, I wanted something that had a dance-like, flowing feel but also featured rock sounds. I wanted to create a contrast between the rationality of a dance form and the irrationality in the use of certain elements, such as the guitars, whose parts were recorded in free form and thus remained unstructured, in their original, improvised form. This concept of “contrast,” the fluid and danceable progression, and the somewhat suspended and dreamy atmospheres inspired me to write the lyrics for ‘Close Your Eyes,’ which speak of the naivety of the body, the joy of stepping outside the known, and discovering the movements and expectations of desire. It’s a contrast between the “material” and very rational approach to facing life, which is instilled in us by this society, and the ability to open up to a freer, irrational, and instinctive thought, symbolized by closing your eyes and letting yourself be carried away only by your body, by instinctive movement as a vehicle for the liberation of thought and surrender to desire.

Your new album, ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze,’ blends elements from krautrock, synthpop, and post-punk. Can you elaborate on how each of these genres has influenced your musical style and the creation of this album?

I’ve always been fascinated by influences between genres. I come from punk and rock, but I’ve always liked electronic music. I always tried to find my own style, my own personal sound that contained all my influences and tastes. Certainly, during my career as a composer, I found a lot of inspiration in already ‘hybrid’ genres by definition, such as synthpop and krautrock.

What was the creative process like for ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze’? How did you balance the elements of electronica, dreampop, new wave, and psychedelia to create such a cohesive sound?

Let’s say that some common characteristics of the nine tracks of the album are the somewhat suspended, hypnotic, and dreamy atmospheres, where synth/sequencer carpets, drum machine beats, noise, and ethereal guitars are mixed together, resulting in a sound with a new wave imprint and a structural declination towards the forms of electronic music.

‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze’ follows your first EP, ‘Something Stranger.’ How has your sound evolved between these two releases?

The first EP, I think, is more heterogeneous. I composed the songs very instinctively and without thinking about what they might have in common. It was then produced together with Lele Battista, who is a great musician and consequently also put his own imprint naturally. This second work was conceived just as an album instead, where I wanted a more defined and homogeneous sound to emerge. So, I also decided to produce it more directly myself because I had more in mind from the beginning what I wanted to achieve in terms of sound. Therefore, I see ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze’ as an evolution of my sound, with fewer compromises than the first EP. I think I dared more, experimenting more through edgier sounds and more unstructured forms.

The album features contributions from Clustersun, Rev Rev, and The Mystic Morning. How did these collaborations come about?

They are bands that are part of the same “scene” as me, and although some of them live in other Italian cities, even far from Milan, we are in touch with each other and support each other. With Clustersun, we met in person in Milan at one of their concerts. We esteem each other, and the idea of doing something together came naturally to us, so when I composed the album, I asked them to participate. With Rev Rev Rev, we’ve been friends for years and had been talking about doing something together for quite some time. As soon as the opportunity arose, we did it. Regarding Mystic Morning, I have been friends with Davide De Polo for many, many years. We even played together in the past in a project. Davide has been supporting Bear Of Bombay since the early stages of the project, and I was pleased to have him participate in the record as well.

You worked with Francesco Campanozzi at Casamedusa Studios and had the album mixed and mastered by James Aparicio. How did their involvement shape the final sound of the album?

Francesco and I finished the production of the record in his Casamedusa studio. His contribution mainly concerned the final writing of the rhythm parts and, in general, the form of the arrangements. He supervised the recording of the vocals and gave me a lot of advice to improve the work. James mixed the songs, characterizing them with his attitude, something I already had in mind when I composed them because I knew his mixing style.

Your music is described as a postmodern citation of sounds and eras from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Are there specific artists or bands from these decades that particularly inspired you while working on this album?

I think I don’t have any specific influence from a band or artist. I tried to do something personal without any specific reference.

Are there any tracks on the album that hold a particularly deep significance for you?

No, not one in particular. They are all significant to me, but none more than others. But maybe ‘In Dreams’ because of the lyrics, which talk about an important moment in my life.

With ‘PsychoDreamElectroGaze’ set for release, what are your plans for the future?

I hope to play live as much as possible. There will be some artists I will definitely collaborate with on remixes of some of my tracks. And I’m already looking forward to composing a new album!

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Lately, I’ve been listening to the latest Unknown Mortal Orchestra album, which to me is as beautiful as all their previous records. And also the latest one by Nation Of Language, very nice like the one before. And ‘Sons Of’ by Sam Prekop and John McEntire. But they are pretty well-known bands anyway.