Sublime new video from the excellent Austinn

Austinn's new release 'Rush' was recorded in anything but. Personal battles now thankfully a thing of the past the duo, comprising Jimmy and David (Marx) are back with a bang.

Though the initial giddy (cough) rush of releasing new material and being back in the studio needs to be contained, both are chomping at the bit to get new material out there.

More importantly, they cannot wait for fans to hear it.

As of now, Rush has clocked over 10K in Spotify spins. That's pretty good numbers by any comparison.

After a bit of a break how excited are you to be back making music?

I’m more excited than ever to release new music. We’ve been silent for a year now and I’m very bad at being patient. A lot has happened during the break that we took. It was a rough time recovering from my mental break down. I dealt with anxieties (am still dealing, but I’m way better) and I asked myself too many questions about the meaning of life.

What was the cause of the breakdown, would you say? Did you identify it?

I became a major over thinker. It was ups and downs really and it took me a very long time to become master of my negative thoughts. I had to learn to deal with my thoughts and it’s like training a muscle until you can control them. It just takes time. Anyway, the whole break ended up being a spring of inspiration. We’re back, stronger than ever before, with a lot of song ideas that we want to share with you. We are buzzing!

Has this result in a change in your approach this time out?

Yes it has! During the break I got rid of everything that doesn’t have any value for me in my life. I’ve been losing myself in so many unnecessary details over the past years. Things which cost me a lot of energy. Now I just focus on the most important things: emotions and vibe.

Has the experience, then, flowed into your songs?

I only sing about stuff that really means something to me. A song can be perfectly written and produced, but if it doesn’t make you feel anything then the most important part is missing. So from now on, quality is more important to me than quantity.

And the new single, 'Rush', it's a little different to what people may have been expecting...

For the song Rush I’ve tried out new things regarding my voice. I wanted to surprise people with this song and give them something new, the voice that is in my head. I’ve erased all the barriers in my head and I’m gonna try out whatever feels right at the moment when creativity kicks in. 'Rush‘ to me is a perfect example regarding that new approach to make a song. To me ‚Rush‘ is the best tune we’ve ever released. It’s the first time that I still can listen to one of our songs after it’s been released. That is a very satisfying feeling.

© Amy Watson

What are your plans for the rest of 2018?

Writing music and putting music out. We have to get back on our feet and that’s gonna take some time. We’re gonna focus on new music first and then when we feel ready we’re gonna think about live shows again, but right now it’s still too early.

What are your hopes for the song's success?

The fact that today, for the first time, I’ve heard an Austinn song (Rush) on the radio that was 100 percent produced by myself. Producing songs on our own gives us so much freedom and independence. It took us a long time to get here, and it’s still a long road to go, but being able to put our own production out there that gets the attention of the national radio stations is such a satisfying feeling.

Luxembourg's music scene has taken a HUGE step up this year in terms of quality and diversity, why do you think this is?

I think we (people) are starting to realize that stabbing backs won’t lead us anywhere. I feel positive vibes arising in Luxembourg. More respect, support and care for each other in the music scene. We have so much talent in Luxembourg, and I think that working together and supporting each other can make us go places. I think that’s what’s happening right now and I love it. There’s always been quality in Luxembourg but too much negativity. Let’s change that! 

How was the process of making the vid - and the feedback so far?

It was a lot of fun working with Amy Watson. She shot our video and she did an amazing job. It was such a smooth and natural process, lots of positive vibes and emotions. We love the outcome. The feedback for Rush has been good so far, I’m really happy. Some people still have to recover from the sound of my new voice though, haha. I understand that people take a step back after being surprised but I hope they’re gonna give the second a second try. If not, then that’s okay too. You can’t please everyone!

Amy Watson - Director, Blogger, Photographer

What drew you to this project in particular?

I’ve been working for nearly 2 years with the Summer Sky Agency, a Luxembourgish artist development company which aims to support national and international artists. We’ve collaborated on projects such as Krick, Elle Hollis, Gezza and, of course, Austinn, one of their main focuses. My role was mainly to support the artists of the Summer Sky Agency when it comes to their visual appearance. I designed cover artwork for new singles, filmed Austinn’s video “Again”, co-direction of music videos and I even acted as the main character in Austinn’s music video “Chardonnay”. Since it always was a pleasure to work with Austinn and the Summer Sky Agency I was also willing to collaborate with them this time. Over the last 2 years, we have really built up a strong and dynamic team.

Chardonnay

How did the theme for the video come about, was it an artistic choice or a directorial decision?

Adriel, the manager of Austinn and the Summer Sky Agency, came up with the first ideas and set the fundamentals for the music video. For me it was important to capture the authenticity of David and Jimmy. I wanted people to feel something when they see the music video. I wanted them to feel the vibe of the song that the boys are expressing. This is why we didn’t got more into detail with the script. By intention, we only had a slight idea of how the music video should look like. The one thing we were sure about, was the mood of the video. It should be a breezy and sunny one. Spontaneously, we found one location after the other and it all evolved pretty naturally.

© Amy Watson

Where did the shoot take place, looks lovely?

In Luxembourg we were shooting for 2 days and then we were in Greece, the island of Crete. It took us another 4 days to get it all together. There we were shooting the main parts of the footage you can see in the music video.

As someone highly involved in the creative world the GD has to offer, how do you see the development of local talent and where can you see improvement?

In my opinion, the music video production field in Luxembourg is rising. Every day there are more young and creative people who launch themselves in the “filming area”. I’ve got that feeling, that people dare more nowadays. They dare to express themselves and they invest themselves in what they love doing. This is something I support wholeheartedly.

What other projects are you involved in?

Besides working together with the Summer Sky Agency, I own a lifestyle blog at Eldoradio. Every Thursday I come up with a new subject which either concerns me in my daily life or I share my thoughts about the latest trends from all around the world. Mostly I write about my travel experiences, fashion trends or what occupies me in daily life.