London dreampop/indie rock/shoegaze band Whitelands have premiered their new single “The Prophet & I” and its accompanying video.
The song is out now through Sonic Cathedral and is another taste of their eagerly-awaited new album, which will be out early in 2024. Get it here.
Made up of Etienne, Jagun, Vanessa and Michael, Whitelands started by Etienne and Jagun in 2017. Vanessa joining in 2019 Michael completed the band in 2021.
‘The Prophet & I’ is a slice of stunning and strangely funky dreampop, laden with hooks and melodies on top of some incredible drumming.
Speaking about it, singer and guitarist Etienne, explains:
“The inspiration for this song was the Amen break and breakbeats as a whole. I was listening to psiX’s album ‘Room 99’ a lot and when I was writing the song I just had the Amen break looping over and over.”
The title and lyrics are all based around the philosophical book ‘The Prophet’ by the Lebanese-American author Kahlil Gibran.
“The book is about a voyager’s departure from his current town back to his homeland,” Etienne continues. “As he prepares to leave the people beg for him to stay and he offers them advice and words for the various ebbs and flows in life. The song is written as if in that moment with the narrator himself, describing the impact of his words.
“They’re simple concepts but explained so beautifully; he describes things in a very sweet and human way. I feel I have a personal connection with the book, which is why I appended ‘& I’ to the title as it describes our relationship.”
Watch the video Chris Tomsett // Innerstrings-directed video below.
Whitelands Upcoming Live Shows
16 Sep – Just Dropped In – Coventry, UK
17 Sep – The White Hotel – Salford, UK
20 Sep – The Lexington – London, UK
