Perth collective Mal de Mer have released a funky new single Mirage, along with an accompanying video, marking the final glimpse into the group’s brand new EP Sanguine which is due for release on Friday, July 8.
Inspired by the likes of Parcels, Anderson .Paak and Lil Nas X, Mirage is permeated by jangly keys, wiry bass lines, bright guitars and sun-soaked melodics alongside the striking stylings of vocalist Saskia Fleming. Brandishing a bittersweet narrative beneath instrumentals, Mirage diverges slightly from the six-piece’s earlier funk roots, embracing lashings of electronic pop amongst their trademark wiles.
And while Mirage acts as the final peek into the impending EP, Sanguine, the song’s origin story stems from an extremely quick creation, as drummer James Marelich explained. “It’s always a great feeling finishing music and finally releasing it, but this one feels especially surreal as we only wrote it a couple of months ago,” he said. “Watching it transform from an idea into a full-fledged piece of music so quickly has been awesome.”
Also elaborating on the track, Fleming said, “Mirage is a nonchalant narration of leaving someone that you should have left a long time ago. To me, this song feels like a shower argument – you get to speak your truth, uninterrupted, and finally put that person in their place”.
Working with long-time Mal De Mer visual collaborator Sarah Gelmi on the video for Mirage, the resulting film clip is a comical ode to farewelling a lousy relationship. Expanding on the visual inspiration behind the video, Fleming said, “The video is a satirical send up of leaving a crappy relationship – it taps into the joy of moving on and looking back with relief.”
Mal de Mer teamed up with Broderick Madden-Scott on mixing and producing duties, and Joe Carra on mastering for their upcoming sophomore EP. “Sanguine as a body of work follows the disorienting journey out of a toxic situation, and the metamorphosis that takes place afterwards,” Fleming added. “I reckon the theme of Sanguine is best encapsulated by the definition of its title: optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.”
Mal De Mer’s new single and video Mirage is out now. Sanguine is out Friday, July 8, 2022, and is available to pre-save now.
