Right from the start, Planisphere’s ethos has always been to push the bounds of their creativity, drawing inspiration from all sources and bending genres to create their heavy sound. New single White Rabbit sees the band poised perfectly in a well balanced fusion of modern alt-rock and electronic.
The result is a groove-laden riff fest reminiscent of something off the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack. Brooding instrumentals make way for deep house-esque verses, moving into the most memorable hook o
“Finally taking the plunge to do everything in house was a massive learning experience, but allowed us to get everything sitting exactly how we wanted it, on our own time. Brock Weston (Bugs) our previous mixer, would never have let me sit there in his studio for 4 hours fiddling with the verse bass synth, so we felt like this was the track to take the leap on”.
– Lorcan Coates, Planisphere
The inspiration for the track came from classic sci fi action film ‘The Matrix’. “I was rewatching the first Matrix movie on my own, doing my homework before watching the new one ‘Revelations’, and in the scene where Neo meets Trinity for the first time in the club I was just so in awe of the vibe I got really inspired and picked up my guitar, got a drum loop going, and wrote the main White Rabbit riff within 5 minutes. Then I wrote down Trinity’s dialogue in that scene, and picked the best lines to make up the lyrics for the first verse” Lorcan says.
Taking the inspiration a step further, the band have teamed up with Brisbane videographer Millicent Norman to create a surreal music video dripping with Matrix references to bring the song’s vision to life.
“The idea for the music video was one that was laying dormant ever since I’d seen the MV for the Flume/Chet Faker collab ‘Drop the Game’. It’s literally just this dancer just solo freestyling in an industrial street at nighttime, gradually stepping it up as the song progresses. We wanted to bring a similar approach to our video, with someone in a Neo type role going through some interrogation/simulation chaos and gradually losing it. We brought the idea to Milli for her to work her magic, and I had an old school friend Sam who is now a professional dancer so I hit him up, and the rest is history!” – Lorcan Coates, Planisphere
As the first taste of the band’s new direction, White Rabbit is ample sign that the band has found a comfortable space creating within the myriad of genres of music that inspire them, and a clear tight band dynamic that is sure to translate well to the live stage, and continue to serve them and their listeners well on future releases.
To celebrate the release, Planisphere will be putting on a hometown headliner at King Lear’s Throne in Brisbane on August 25th, with support from psych rockers Bonsai Bay and prog masterminds Magnesia.
