London-based indiepop artist Distant Voices presents ‘Stranger Among Friends’, a catchy track stemming from a European junket motivated by Brexit regret and the sense of social separation, which has taken on a whole new meaning under the conditions of the current pandemic. Distant Voices is the solo project of Valdis Stekelis, who wrote and began writing these tracks in 2019, finally finishing a year later due to the delayed realities of the UK lockdown. The band name itself was chosen during that period to reflect these unusual times, where live music (as we have previously experienced it) is a scarce occurrence and where we consume music with a less personal connection to the people making it.
‘Stranger Among Friends’ is one of nine tracks released on Distant Voices’ debut album‘Long Road To Home’, all inspired by Stekelis’ travels in the pre-Covid era. Earlier, he previewed the high-velocity rock n’ roll lead single ‘Lights of The City’ with accompanying video by Alit Gonzalez.
“Stranger Among Friends emerged from the feeling of being homesick and just general events that happened while I was visiting Berlin. Certain themes crop up throughout the album, like meeting people for a while and then saying goodbye and never seeing them again. Brexit was on my mind when I took this trip. I went to see the European Parliament and the UN in Geneva for this reason,” says Valdis Stekelis.
“At the end of the trip, I had a strong sense that this travel would not happen again in the way it did due to the point I was at in life, but i did not realise that everything would be restricted in the way we are now with Covid / lockdowns. I am very pleased retrospectively that I chose to do it when I did and it seems more significant than before to me in light of where we are now”.
The ‘Long Road To Home’ LP was recorded at EAS Studios near London in collaboration with producer-engineer Ed Sokolowski, known for his work on albums by Melanie C, Fleur East, Hugel, David Archuleta and Lukas Rieger. Sokolowki mixed and mastered this album, as well as co-producing it with Stekelis. Joe Montaguealso contributes drums on multiple tracks.
Loud, swift, positive and loaded with youthful adventure… An uber-rad track with upbeat tempo and high expectations as the author sets off across Europe on a quest for fun and discovery. We love it and so will you – Editor
“This is the first body of work completed under the Distant Voices name, which I am very keen for people to hear and hope that they will enjoy it. The album was inspired by events that happened during my journey around Europe in 2019 and, in fact, they appear chronologically in the track listing,” says Valdis Stekelis.
“There is a range of different feeling tracks on the album – from lively to melancholy and also psychedelic. They are tied together – both in terms of the subject matter and also due to the underlying elements of a retro feel with electronic flavour. It was a lot of fun to make and is truly inspired by events that really affected me at the time”.
‘The ‘Long Road to Home’ album is out now digitally available everywhere including Spotifyand Apple Music, and can already be pre-ordered from the artist via Bandcamp.
TRACK LISTING
01. Lights Of The City
02. Stranger Among Friends
03. Walk Along The Cobblestones
04. I Need A Friend
05. Nothing Really Happened In Vienna
06. Halfway To Rome
07. View From Lake Geneva
08. Last Night In Amsterdam
09. I’m Coming Home
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