One-man-band Prism Tats is the drum machine-fuelled lo-fi
garage-pop project of great musical talent Garrett van der Spek.
Prism Tats originates from Durban, South Africa, and eventually found his way to Seattle in the United States as part of a University exchange program. In Seattle he soon found love, and it’s safe to say that Van der Spek didn’t look back after that. After permanently moving to the US he mostly spent his time between Seattle and Los Angeles, where he has been working on his career under his pseudanym Prism Tats. And about a week ago, he released his self-titled debut album via Anti-records.
Prism Tats originates from Durban, South Africa, and eventually found his way to Seattle in the United States as part of a University exchange program. In Seattle he soon found love, and it’s safe to say that Van der Spek didn’t look back after that. After permanently moving to the US he mostly spent his time between Seattle and Los Angeles, where he has been working on his career under his pseudanym Prism Tats. And about a week ago, he released his self-titled debut album via Anti-records.
Prism Tats released his debut on May 6th. The record was self-produced by van der Spek, with a
little help from Chris Woodhouse (who is best known for his work with artists like Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall and Wild Flag). “The album is about the experiences I’ve had since I moved
to America, that total departure from what was. I’d taken on
this completely new
life, in a
country which in
some ways was
familiar, but in
others was completely foreign. So
these songs are all about that experience of evolving.”, he said about the record. His music
was mostly influenced by a wide range of artists from his father’s record collection, including artists like The
Beatles, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks and Black Sabbath.
After releasing his debut album, he quickly shared the video
for the drum-machine-driven track
Midnight Mountain, which happens to be his latest single. On one hand, the
video appears to be very meta and in a way about himself, but on the other hand it also seems to make fun
of artists who are trying a little too hard to make it big in Hollywood. Prism
Tats definitely does not seem to take himself too seriously, which leads to a
video that is actually quite funny and refreshing. In the video we see Van der
Spek as his slightly awkward and greasy looking ‘alter ego’ Gary V. The video is about him making all the
wrong decisions and becoming a Hollywood Indie Rock casualty. In the video we see him driving around in an
old '90s Mustang, and him making
a ‘big entrance’ at a party where everyone appears to be a little too busy with eachother
to even notice him; smoke machine in hand.
The song Midnight Mountain itself is also definitely worth checking out. It´s nothing too crazy, but will surely stay in your head for days. Also make sure to listen to the rest of the album; as it is equally as pleasing to the ears. Check out the video below:
The song Midnight Mountain itself is also definitely worth checking out. It´s nothing too crazy, but will surely stay in your head for days. Also make sure to listen to the rest of the album; as it is equally as pleasing to the ears. Check out the video below:
See Prism Tats on tour with We Are Scientists and Nada Surf this month across North America - & if you want to check out the album; the melodic self-titled
debut from Prism Tats is available in stores and on ITunes now.
Prism Tats – Prism Tats
1. Pacifist Masochist
2. Creep Out // Freak
Out
3. Never Been Shy
4. Death or Fame
5. Make the Most of the
Weekend
6. Weird Guilt
7. Midnight Mountain
8. Excess
9. Haunt Me
10. Know It All
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