Gang of Youths | "total serene" EP

Gang of Youths is back and better than ever with their new surprise EP total serene!

Our first introduction to the EP was with their previous single “angel of 8th ave.” The band uses motorik grooves and luminous synths to tell the tale of falling in love and finding a new life. 

With the second track on the EP “unison”, they continue to explore their new sound. The production features an unlikely combination of everything from brass to banjo and programmed beats to samples of David Fanshawe’s influential documentation of indigenous Pacific music. The top tier production and natural element make this a unique track that’s a celebration of love’s salvation; touching upon how current circumstances are influenced by both our heritage and by sheer chance.

Frontman David Le’aupepe says, “‘unison’ is a deeply important track for us that really signals where the music is headed on the new record. I conceived the song in Samoa, my ancestral homeland. Here we sample and introduce the work of David Fanshawe, who travelled to the Pacific Islands in the 1980s and recorded the most extensive library of indigenous Pacific music anywhere in the world.”  

The third and final song on the EP, “asleep in the back”, is the band’s take on the early Elbow classic, the original of which Guy Garvey and co. released in 2002. It draws from the bravery of exposing your flaws to a new love. Gang of Youths uses a warm instrumentation to give the track a refresh while still maintaining the deeper message. 

“We love Elbow and we thought it was thematically relevant,” Le’aupepe says, “It couldn’t have been anything other than ‘asleep in the back’.”

total serene is a showcase not only of Gang of Youths immense talent, but also of their range, proven by the new sound they’ve created for themselves while still remaining authentic!