pneuma reveals new single ‘eight’ feat. dawsin

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pneuma is back, and with the help of fellow creative dawsin, proves yet again his place within the alternative sphere with their collaborative track eight.

The pair have teamed up before, with pneuma featuring on dawsin’s 2021 single temperamental, and the duo continue their unmatched chemistry of emo, almost lofi, alt-pop, that leaves you feeling like the main character in a coming-of-age movie. After pneuma’s August single evergreen, which was also reviewed by INNAG, the quick follow-up this single continues the momentum he has built this year, with evergreen surpassing fifteen-thousand Spotify streams before it had even been released for a full month. A mutual collaboration between the two as primary artists rather than a feature, the track is produced by 9aevi, and was conceived in a discord call – the pair were swapping unfinished demos when dawsin played what was the first version of eight, and pneuma “was in awe when I heard it”. When writing, there was a strong intention to “let the beat speak for itself”, as its atmospheric depth loaned so much to the song, in both an emotive and rhythmic sense.

Lyrical content also remains as consistent as his cult-following, with themes of heartbreak and self-worth – with dawsin leading the charge in the songwriting, recounting his most recent relationship, which ended in a one-sided, toxic situation nobody wants to find themselves in. The more neoteric aspect of this story adds an extra level of rawness to dawsin’s writing, and even his vocals, making his presence and intent in his voice all that much emphasised, as this is something that he is still feeling and hasn’t had the benefit of time to distance himself from mentally.

The title ‘eight’ comes from the fact that I was in the relationship for eight months until it suddenly ended.

dawsin

Pneuma knew the assignment when he heard it, being good friends with dawsin, understood the importance of the song to develop its message cohesively between the two. He then took it into perspective that while eight was providing a venting space for dawsin to heal, as his music is known for, but also speaks a greater message than simply expressing himself in a moment of all-time lows. That message is that “before acceptance comes grief”, and that is the feeling this song conceptualises.

Feeling like it’s all your fault when it’s really not

pneuma

9aevi’s production borrows more from the hyperpop scene than evergreen did with hard distorted bass, metallic, glitchy sounding snares, and a varying tempo. Both artists similar vocal cadence blend to create a harmonious presence over each transition within the song. Punchlines that wouldn’t sound out of place in a continuous argument (“I made a promise to myself, but I don’t know if I can keep it”) hit the listener like a truck, and make you actually think about the lyrics, as it is quite obviously a story, not just words that rhyme. This separates the boys from mere singers, because songwriters as they place little interest into creating something ‘catchy’, over something more meaningful and personal to a specific time in their lives that they won’t forget.

eight is available to stream and download on all platforms.

Listen on Apple Music

Aidan Knight

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Aidan Knight is a freelance music journalist for Indie Is Not A Genre. Based in Melbourne, Aidan specialises in the eclectic sounds of the ever-changing Australian music scene. Under the moniker JailBird Sage, Aidan is also an ambient hip-hop artist.



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