10 November 2023 - 0 Comments

Introducing Goodwill, the solo project of Aotearoa/New Zealand producer and artist Will McGillivray. Today he shares new single Kind Hands, the first taste of new music following his debut 2022 EP, Incontrol. Written, performed and produced by Will in his home studio, the song has the modesty and charm of something home-made. Mixed by Brooklyn-based collaborator Andrew Maury(Madi Diaz, Allison Ponthier, Vagabon, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes), the song is carried by Will’s rich baritone and trademark grainy-meets-modern production style. Journeying through rattling acoustic guitars, broken and droney synths and a well-loved organic band, Will’s gentle, effortless double tracked vocal echoes of Indie greats like Wilco, Aldous Harding and Alex G. Ever engaging, Kind Hands eventually arrives in a place of warmth and ease.

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Speaking on the creation of Kind Hands, Will explains, "This one felt really effortless and just fun to make. It’s easy to overthink the different creative stages of making a song and 'Kind Hands' seemed to bypass that friction. So much so that the whole writing and recording process feels like a complete blur and I can hardly remember how or why I did anything, but it weirdly feels the most like me out of anything I’ve made.

The song pulls from fragments of all the softest memories, it's that mental 'happy place' you'd be told to go to in some therapy session. One of the lyrics references a perfect morning I spent in the NGV Gallery in Melbourne in 2022, 'In a gallery in Melbourne I tried to climb in an oil painting of a clothesline'. I‘m naturally drawn to writing things with some melancholy when I sit down with a guitar, so 'Kind Hands' was a slight swim against the tide. Some of the writing was done on the sunny West Coast of Aotearoa with plenty of Nikau Palms around, and it feels pretty hard to write some down in the dumps song in that environment. There‘s a warmth in this that makes me feel good, and that seems like as good of a reason as any to make a song."

About Goodwill:
Will cut his teeth in his teenage years touring overseas and topping charts with his high school band. Following the break up, hunkered down in his Christchurch home studio, Goodwill is now endeavoring on a darker musical path.

Now as a multiple award nominated producer and writer, leaning into a love of dissonant guitars, droning analog synths, grainy lo-fi and longing melody, Will’s recent musical venture as Goodwill is thoughtful and honest. Following the release of debut EP Incontrol featuring singles Get Angry, Getting Better and Clinging Onto You, Goodwill’s sound has earned him an instant nomination for ‘Best New Artist’ at the Rolling Stone NZ Awards, multiple top 3 chart placements on the Hot NZ Singles chart, countless top spots on over 17 significant international Spotify editorial playlists, over 500,000 streams, extensive radio play in New Zealand and Australia, and an article in the August AU + NZ Rolling Stone Issue. Will’s been busy with his 4 piece live band of late, supporting New Zealand royalty Sir Dave Dobbyn and Yumi Zouma, as well as playing countless festivals.

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