08 September 2023 - 0 Comments

Pōneke/Wellington-based alt-rock project fledglings announce their debut single, Awkward Soul. Available on 8th September, Awkward Soul is the first in a trilogy of singles hatching on streaming platforms this Spring and Summer.

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fledglings is Clarrie Macklin (vocals and guitar), Taylar Mallo (bass), and Emerson McCullough (drums). These three Wellingtonian songbirds have frequented the local gig circuit for years. Only in 2022, when Clarrie met Taylor for a fateful coffee and scone at Pickle & Pie, was the fledglings collaboration born. “Maybe it was the caffeine, I’m not sure, but we had this instant musical connection,” says band lead, Clarrie. Enlisting the help of Emerson, a local percussion prodigy, they began making music. Their songs were nested in the jam room of a Berhampore flat before emerging onto the stages of Moon and San Fran in early 2023.

Written, mixed, and mastered by songwriter and producer Clarrie Macklin, Awkward Soul is a high-energy track full of pulsing rhythms and lyrical storytelling. The song blends the poetics and guitar wizardry of 70's folk artists, grooves from 80's funk and soul, and snatches of 90's alt-rock production. "This song is a mix of my favourite sounds," says Clarrie. "I hope my fellow vinyl-diggers, funk junkies, and 90's alt-rock revivalists will vibe this track."

Awkward Soul was recorded in Clarrie’s hometown of Pukerua Bay with recording engineer Cameron MacDuff (TwoTransient Audio). fledglings and TwoTransient Audio rented out a local church that no longer runs services. One Sunday morning in March, they filled the assembly hall with amps, mixers, mics, drums, and a spider’s web of cables. “We raised a few eyebrows from the locals buying their lattes at the coffee cart next door,” says Clarrie. “But I’m stoked to have made my first batch of fledglings tracks in the town where it all began.”

fledglings' music is for rekindling lost wonder. Like a trip to Where the Wild Things Are, a fledglings song visits monsters and dances with them. Awkward Soul faces the feeling of brokenness and the journey to becoming whole. The song invites listeners to reframe brokenness as uniqueness, to make peace with incompleteness, and learn to move again.

"I wrote Awkward Soul to be a tasty jam, a song that people can't help but to bop their head to, but I also wanted lyrics with an underlying story,” says Clarrie. “A story with words of fierce love that carry painful truth and unwavering support in equal parts. It’s a track that I hope gives people energy and a pinch more self-belief in tough times.”

Awkward Soul is available on all major streaming platforms on September 8th.

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