With his debut single “Slow,” Australian newcomer Hauskey shows glimmering potential. Based in Perth on the country’s west coast, Hauskey’s music is a heady cocktail of Tame Impala, Kevin Abstract, and Mac DeMarco – the perfect antidote to anyone experiencing those summer blues.
The artist’s journey into music is a fascinating one. Andy, aka Hauskey, has led a colorful musical life that already reads like a low-budget arthouse film script. His first musical discoveries were that of jazz greats such as John Coltrane and the awe-inspiring track “Naima” provided one of Andy’s real lightbulb moments. At thirteen, he started writing first songs before moving on a few years later to study at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, which holds noteworthy alumni including Hugh Jackman and Frances O’Connor.
However, when things didn’t quite click during his studies, Andy didn’t decide to give up. Instead, he started his own fully-functioning, fully staffed, multi-branch music school with over 500 students. Bold move.
Now, Andy has his sights set on his own musical passions. With steely determination, he went out and bought the cheapest Toyota van he could find on Gumtree, made a few crucial adjustments and headed out of the city to a small rural farm where he has pulled up, put the brakes on, and set to writing more music from the singular comfort of that very van. Endlessly.
Having already racked up impressive support from Australia’s renowned Triple J radio station, Hauskey’s laid-back, leftfield sounds are now spreading overseas.
His debut “Slow” opens with soothing, reverb-laden guitar chords contrasted by a sharp, danceable drum beat. Harmonically, the crux of the song revolves around the intricate use of a diminished chord which blends the subtle balance of tension and anticipation throughout the song perfectly.
Lyrically, Hauskey’s lines feel catchy and fun-filled. But on closer inspection, the lyrics are somewhat self-demeaning as he grapples with day-to-day troubles of a slacker fuelled lifestyle and being “a little bit slow.”
The music video for “Slow” compliments the lyrical content brilliantly as we watch Hauskey eating pizza whilst listening to music on an old Walkman and answering calls on his Nokia flip-phone – quintessentially care-free and slow with modern times in all aspects.
In all, you can’t help but bop your head along to Hauskey’s debut single. With an EP also in the works, hopefully, it won’t be long before we hear some more of the Australian’s groove-filled musical pleasures.
