PHOEBE RINGS Release Their 'Quietly Beautiful' Debut Album Aseurai
A lullaby-like, cyclical track which reflects on childhood friendship and nostalgia, focus track ' Playground Song ' features stereo acoustic guitars, warm synth textures, and gentle wave-like noises, with its centrepiece - a flute solo played by Lukas Fritsch - adding a dreamy, reflective touch. It's released alongside its floral-adorned live performance video directed by Nahyeon Lee - watch HERE.
On Aseurai, Phoebe Rings continue to explore their disco and city-pop influences while staying true to the dream-pop sound of their self-titled debut EP released last year. 'Aseurai means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,' singer Crystal Choi says, 'it's a poetic expression. You wouldn't say it in normal conversation, but I like that.' Across its four singles so far - 'Aseurai', 'Drifting', 'Get Up' and 'Fading Star' - the album has garnered praise from international outlets like Pitchfork, FLOOD, Beats Per Minute, Rolling Stone, frankie, Happy, Northern Transmissions and Paste Magazine, who said the album finds the band 'sharply in the pocket that makes them terrific.'
While Phoebe Rings - named for the outermost ring around Saturn which is known to be the largest, but the least visible - was originally a solo project of singer Crystal Choi, who is also a university-trained jazz pianist, Aseurai marks a shift with contributing songwriting credits from the whole band, which includes guitar/synthesist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent, bassist Benjamin Locke and drummer/producer Alex Freer. With a more ambitious collection of instruments, Choi says this album heralds the start of true collaboration: 'I feel more precious about this LP because it includes everyone's gems.' The broth is richer with more cooks in the kitchen, and the brewing of textures creates a distinct ' Phoebe Rings ' sound.
If their S/T EP was spacey, then Aseurai settles on earth, rooted in tangible moments. 'Without getting too gloomy, it's a weird world out there. A lot has changed in the world since the EP came out,' says Kavanagh-Vincent on this transformation. The album delves into hope and longing across all possibilities, and this exploration of holding on and letting go is organically threaded throughout. They mark out a brilliant new constellation in their sky, bringing their individual compositions to the fore whilst seamlessly threading them into one celestial body all underpinned by their ongoing inspirations: Studio Ghibli films, Zelda and Stardew soundtracks, Bossa Nova, Stereolab, and 90's Korean ballads.
Phoebe Rings' storytelling ranges from tongue-in-cheek musings on gentrification, to commentary on the housing crisis (' Mandarin Tree '), musicians moving on in their careers (' Fading Star '), finding small oases in everyday life (' Not A Necessity ') and tender autobiographical memories - including on the title-track and 'B lue Butterfly ' both wrapped in grief, Crystal yearns for people she can't see anymore, in this case her late grandmother who she was separated from for a large period of her life (she also thinks that's why she wrote ' Aseurai ' in her mother tongue of Korean, in a way using it to be closer to her grandmother through song and shared language), ' Get Up ' on which drummer Benjamin Locke talks of the paralysis of extended periods of struggling with mental health and leaning on the famous scene from The Matrix to try to will yourself out of it, and ' Goodnight ', a tender, loving ode to our cats and the comfort they bring us.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Nashville Babylon: 19 July 2025
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. Don McGlashan performing in the RNZ studios for NZ Live. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly On this week's show there's new music from Van Morrison, classic blues and soul from Big Mama Thornton and Al Green, plus birthday tunes for Don McGlashan. Music played: Artist: The Felice Brothers Track: Frankie's Gun Composer: The Felice Brothers Album: The Felice Brothers Label: Loose Artist: Blam Blam Blam Track: There Is No Depression In New Zealand Composer: McGlashan / Von Sturmer Album: Singe Label: Propeller Artist: The Mutton Birds Track: Dominion Road Composer: McGlashan Album: Single Label: Virgin Artist: Joe Turner Track: Honey Hush Composer: Joe Turner Album: Single Label: Atlantic Artist: Big Mama Thornton Track: Black Rat Composer: Little Son Joe Album: Big Mama Thornton and the Chicago Blues Band Label: Arhoolie Artist: Al Green Track: Take Me To The River Composer: Green / Hodges Album: Greatest Hits Label: Hi Artist: Sly and the Family Stone Track: Dance To The Music Composer: Sly Stone Album: Single Label: Epic Artist: Buddy and Ella Johnson Track: No More Love Composer: Johnson Album: Walk 'Em Label: Ace Artist: Van Morrison Track: Cutting Corners Composer: Van Morrison Album: Remembering When Label: Exile Artist: John Prine & Iris Dement Track: In Spite Of Ourselves Composer: John Prine Album: In Spite Of Ourselves Label: Oh Boy Artist: Lambchop Track: Up With People Composer: Kurt Wagner Album: Nixon Label: City Slang Artist: The Front Lawn Track:Claude Rains Composer: Harry Sinclair / Don McGlashan Album: Songs From The Front Lawn Label: Front Lawn Records Artist: Mt Raskil Preservation Society and Hollie Smith Track: Bathe In The River Composer: Don McGlashan Album: No2 OST Label: EMI Artist: The Noveltones Track: Left Bank Two Composer: Wayne Hill Album: Single Label: DeWolf Music
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Writing a wish list to go with your will
Talking about what we want after we die is a difficult conversation for many, and a Taupō mum and her 15-year-old son have come up with an idea to make the whole process easier. Suzanne Stevenson and her son Quinn have created a list of wishes, in the form of a book, that can sit aside a will and give families a clearer idea of the deceased's preferences before it is too late. The wishes book goes into the details of what a person would wish for their funeral, things a legal document like a will wouldn't cover, Stevenson told RNZ's Saturday Morning programme. 'Once you've gone through the passing of someone that's died quite suddenly, you don't know what to do, you're in that fight or flight mode, and the will doesn't give you any information about funeral arrangements and things like that.' As well as funeral arrangements the book can also document where family treasures will go, anything that someone might like to be passed on through the generations, she says. Two sudden deaths in her own family, inspired the idea, she says. 'My father died suddenly, and he had always joked and talked about what he wanted. A song would come on the radio and he'd go, 'I like that song, I want it played at my funeral. 'And he was a big advocate for wanting to be an organ donor. So he passed really suddenly of an asthma attack, and we knew what he wanted because he'd talked about it'. When her father-in -aw died suddenly the family had much less idea of his wishes, she says. 'There were question marks about if he was going to be cremated, where he was going to be scattered, the funeral itself, there wasn't really much clarity around it.' The book takes the form of a worksheet, she says. 'So, it's got questions: where would you like your funeral or celebration of life to be held? Are there any songs or poems that you would like? "It details what you'd like for your funeral first.' The idea is the family can then pass this to a funeral director, she says. 'Once you've got through the funeral, then you can start looking at family treasures, if there was like a teacup or something that you want your cousin to have, because it reminds you of a great aunt or if there's any artwork.' While not legally binding, she hopes because it would be written in the deceased's handwriting there would be little chance of families contesting it. She and Quinn have also created a board game The Wishes End Game . 'It's for people who want to have a conversation about death with family members but don't know how to start it. So, it's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to get people laughing. You talk a lot about what you don't want. 'And what I found is while you're laughing about things that you don't want, you talk about things that you do want.'
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
The Auckland tattoo artist featuring in Lorde's music video
The music video for Lorde's latest single, 'Hammer', has racked up three-quraters-of-a-million views on YouTube. But the scene that seems to stick with people is the shot of Lorde leaning on a tree in the middle of a field while an artist tattoos her. Alma Proença is that tattooist, she talked to Jesse about the experience. Auckland-based tattoo artist Alma Proença. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
