Great news! Alanna Joy has released ‘Tell Me’ (featuring Matt Carstens) on Friday 15th of May 2020. The music video for the track premiered on YouTube on the 17th of May 2020.
‘Tell Me’ represents a shift in sound for the Cape Town based musician. After forming her four-piece band in early 2019, the group began to move away from Alanna’s previous folk / pop sound to something a little darker and heavier. Maintaining the honest and vulnerable lyricism Alanna has become known for, the group introduced nostalgic rock elements to create an alternative rock sound that has secured their place on the Cape Town music scene.
The band’s latest single, ‘Tell Me’, is fierce and relatable. With themes that are perhaps even more relevant now, during the current global crisis, the song discusses emotional vulnerability and talking openly about mental health issues.
Alanna Joy explains ‘Tell Me’
“Tell Me is about the journey of learning to talk to the people around you about what you are going through. It plays on two perspectives, that of the person who is struggling and the person who is reaching out to them”
Matt Carstens features on the track to help tell the two tales
Matt Carstens, the Indie-Pop artist known for his 5FM top-40 single ‘High’ and his collaboration with Francois Van Coke, lends his vocals to the track. Taking the lead in the second verse, Matt plays the role of a young man who cannot find the words to express his pain.
Alanna Joy comments on Matt Carstens involvement
“From its inception, I knew the song needed to be a duet. Matt and I had been threatening to collaborate for some time, so when Charlie (our bassist) suggested him for the project, I knew it would be a perfect fit”
A Simple yet hard hitting music video accentuates the theme of ‘Tell Me’
The gritty music video that accompanies the song explores the journey of six different couples, platonic and romantic, struggling to connect and find solace.
Alanna Joy, who co-directed the music video alongside Nicholas Mackay, explains:
“I wanted the music video, like the song, to explore the relationship between two people. We filmed the entire thing in one room at a collaborative space in Cape Town called The Black Bone Collective. We filled the video with friends and creatives and crafted the characters together, digging into personal experiences and building the scenes in a raw and improvised manner. It was a day of laughter and tears with amazing people putting their hearts on the line in the pursuit of art.”
Check out the music video for Alanna Joy’s ‘Tell Me’ below:
Watch this space for updates in the Music Videos category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
