26 March 2021 - 0 Comments

Kiwi artist Gareth Thomas today releases a new single from his upcoming album Bits, due for release later this year. Renowned for his left-of-centre, avant-garde approach to crafting catchy hook-laden indie-pop gems for Goodshirt and beyond, Gareth continues to live up to that reputation with Cyber Star.

Gareth says “I wrote Cyber Star as essentially, a tongue in cheek observation of selfie-culture. These days, to go viral is an ambition, to be famous-for-being-famous is an aspiration, and whole careers are forged from social media accounts.”

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” – Andy Warhol, 1968

As Gareth sees it, “Now is the future”, and in Cyber Star he deftly sums up this phenomena with his nod to Andy Warhol, singing “…with all your fingers in it, you’ll live up to your 15th minute…”

Featuring a singing baseline, a bouncy guitar strum and a kooky vocal effect, the song’s musical style was inspired by Lou Reed, the rawness of The Clean and the quirkiness of Devendra Banhart.

Returning to his Goodshirt D.I.Y recording style, Gareth recorded this track at home on an old Moog synthesiser, an acoustic guitar and an electric drum kit. The video features Gareth’s own pixel artwork brought to life though animation.

PURCHASE / LISTEN TO CYBER STAR HERE

WATCH CYBER STAR HERE

Cyber Star also features a very special guest vocal, adding another dimension to the track. “Our lovely little musical cat Zoey started singing while I was at home mixing the track. She has now become immortalised in the third verse, may her singing live forever in cyberspace. R.I.P. Zoey.”

Cyber Star is the third single to be released from Gareth’s forthcoming album Bits, following on from previously released tracks, the sweet and psychedelic morning anthem Wake Up and its electro-fuzz-pop predecessor, My Dog.

WATCH WAKE UP HERE | WATCH MY DOG HERE

Gareth Thomas continues to create experimental, colourful indie-pop music that retains its sense of wonder. His songs are delightful quirky pop nuggets that ooze with character. Look out for more tracks to be released throughout 2021, as he continues his evolving legacy as one of Aotearoa’s most forward-thinking and innovative artists.

NEW ALBUM BITS DUE OUT OCTOBER 2021

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