Olympia – New Single and Video ‘Star City’, National Tour for October

Olympia – New Single and Video ‘Star City’, National Tour for October

‘Star City’ is the first track from Olympia’s forthcoming new album, set for release in early 2019

View video by Alex Smith

After captivating Australian and UK audiences with her critically-acclaimed album Self Talk, Olympia has launched the first single, Star City off the upcoming sophomore release. Star Citymarks a distinct change of pace from the nuance and hip-hop rhythms of Self Talk, an album which earned Olympia an ARIA Award nomination for ‘Breakthrough Artist’, was shortlisted in the 2016 Australian Music Prize and selected as triple j feature album. The album’s lead single ‘Smoke Signals’ reached #2 most played on triple j and scored UK BBC Radio 1 airplay. Olympia stole the show at Golden Plains 2017 and played a host of international and local Festivals, headlined a sold out national tour and opened for the likes of Holy Holy and San Cisco.

Swirling omnichords open the track like millions of brilliant stars before being shot down with opening line: “Thinking ‘bout it, believed the future bright. Back when we were dumb kids”, plunging the song into spirited, catchy rock. This track is brimming with electricity – full of syncopated rhythms, The Strokes-like strumming, a striking vocal urgency – and like peers Methyl Ethel and King Krule, the artist’s desire to create something new and original.

Olivia Bartley, creative force behind the project, describes the song, produced by herself and Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, DMAs), as drunk karaoke, something you’d belt unselfconsciously, full of life, self-conviction and volume.

Star City most significantly represents a departure from the art-lead ideas present in Self Talk and a move towards more visceral expression. Bartley explains, “I didn’t want to write something that needed a lot of explaining, instead I wanted the song to be like something you’d try on – I wanted it to be immersive.”

Following on from Olympia’s celebrated video for Smoke Signals from Self Talk, director Alex Smith (Metronomy, Coldplay, Iggy Pop) has created another world in the music video of Star City. It features Bartley dancing a routine of ‘rhythmic-domesticities’ in a boldly irreverent clip, extending the vision of the song, if not the artists own perspective of the world. Smith’s incredible work with Olympia was recognised via a nomination for Video of the Year for Smoke Signals in the 2016 J Awards.

After the release of Star City, Olympia will head to Brisbane to perform live at Bigsound 2018 before travelling to the UK for a run of shows including an opening slot for Alex The Astronaut in London on October 8.

Olympia will then tour nationally in October, unveiling Star City live to Australian audiences for the first time along with her back catalogue of songs— Honey, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, Tourists, and Smoke Signals — as she gears up to release further new music in 2018/19.

Star City National Tour
THURS 11 OCT – MOJO’S, FREMANTLE
FRI 12 OCT – THE ROSEMOUNT, PERTH
SAT 13 OCT – THE EDINBURGH CASTLE, ADELAIDE
FRI 19 OCT – NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE
SAT 20 OCT – LANSDOWNE HOTEL, SYDNEY
SAT 27 OCT – BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE

Category: News