Harvey Causon drops new track

Singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Harvey Causon has quickly become one of the most exciting new artists to emerge from the Bristol music scene. 

Harvey’s music is the result of paradox; rough field recordings meet polished production, the analogue and the synthetic combine to create catchy hooks amid darker dance based tendencies. All is brought to cohesion by his rich, unique vocal in a masterful blend of R&B and jazz across skittering electronica. It seems natural that he affirms his inspirations as widely drawn from the likes of Mount Kimbie and FKA Twigs through to Aphex Twin and Delia Derbyshire. A thoughtful and considered writer, his lyrics take a look at the world around him and touch on themes as diverse as philosophy, quantum physics and architecture. 

Having opened for the likes of Maribou State and Loyle Carner, Harvey is a memorable performer with a beautifully tender live vocal. He has had strong radio support including ‘Artist Of The Week’ on BBC Radio 1, Annie Mac’s ‘New Name’ slot and Huw Stephen’s ‘One to Watch’. 

Now Harvey Causon brings us his latest single, accompanied by a music video for “Tenfold”, a song about COVID in the age of COVID may seem trite or like a shortcut to an emotional depth that isn’t necessarily earned. However, the artist employs a musical finesse unlike many others and first-hand experience akin to few.

Released via Virgin Music, the track was inspired by Causon’s time working as an assisted Coronavirus tester. Being deployed to test large outbreaks of the virus and seeing first-hand the waves of cases surging and lessening underpins the track’s lyrics.

Stylistically, “Tenfold” runs close to the many tendrils of electronic music that inspire Causon. With an ear for granular synthesis and fascinated by the precise nature with which electronic music can be created, Causon marries his wonky melodic-pop craft to a foundation of ambient loops and experimental production with impressive aplomb.

The new single’s determined blasts of piano chords intersect with frantic electronic percussion to suggest the anguished disorientation of unprecedented times. Immaculately designed sine waves guide Causon’s agile vocal twists and turns to a soaring chorus of melodic sub-bass and twinkling synths. Like its predecessor, recent single “Corinthians”, his latest work is an intro to the sonic universe of Harvey Causon. 

Commenting on the track, the artist offers, “Working as an assisted coronavirus tester across the country gave me a very dystopian view of the whole situation and a very physical understanding of the waves of cases with us testing up to six hundred a day in winter to next to zero in other times.” describes Harvey. “Seeing the effects firsthand formed the basis of Tenfold. The artwork conveys the sense of losing space and time in the testing cabins and the ominous red lights come from the heaters used in the winter overnight.”

The self-directed video expands on Tenfold’s subject matter, amplifying and enhancing its dystopian ambiance as Causon sits in a sterile cabin, donning and doffing PPE paraphernalia. A showcase of Causon’s forward-thinking creativity, the video explores the repetitive nature of testing and the strange emotions it evokes in between. 

“It’s a comment on the immense plastic waste the pandemic has caused and the complete boredom of watching four white walls compared to months later testing 600 likely positive people in succession.” explains Causon. 

Watch the video for Tenfold below

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