New Release – Parasites by Gefahrgeist
Gefahrgeist combines the different musical expertise of two of Scotland’s most promising young musicians – Fiona Liddell & Niall Rae. Fiona Liddell is a singer-songwriter from Glasgow with a ten year music career performing with various musical projects. Niall (Neel) Rae is a producer and bassist from Aberdeen. Their debut single ‘Graceless’ was one of The Herald’s Top 100 Scottish Songs of 2020, and their sophomore single ‘Nukular’ received critical acclaim. Their third single ‘Parasites’ will be out April 30th.
“The song was inspired by the 2019 film by Bong Joon-Ho named “Parasite” which discusses social inequality and the dark underbelly of class disputes. The lyrics of the song are from the perspective of a willing subservient to societal constraints happy to sacrifice themselves for the sake of those above them. As the song continues, murmurs of rebellion are sparked before the final chorus.”
“Niall composed the music during the 2020 lockdown and I wrote the lyrics and melody at the start of 2021. The pandemic and lockdown have exposed some worrying statistics on how we treat members of different races or class, so the song’s lyrics are an exploration of my thoughts on those matters. I tend to avoid writing about myself in my songs nowadays. I find myself drawn towards bigger subjects (often political) and exploring them in a poetic fashion. This song in particular sounds quite biblical! It is about my thoughts, but I’m definitely not the subject matter here.”
“Despite the subject matter, it’s probably the catchiest song we’re released so far. It’s very 80s and Blade Runner inspired as well. If you like artists like Kavinsky, this should be up your alley! ‘Graceless’ is very jazzy and dreamy, whereas ‘Nukular’ was a lot darker and dramatic. ‘Parasites’ is probably the most mainstream song we’ve done so far. It’s got more driving drums and hooks.”
“The artwork was designed by Gannucci Art who was a big fan of the song. We wanted to incorporate elements of our previous two single artworks. It again features a lone female figure, this time in an elegant dress standing on the balcony of a neon skyline. If you look closely, you can see small veins crawling up the buildings and the ground beneath, implying a sinister force lying under the surface of this seemingly elegant societal life.”
“We’re currently working with Lee Waters Lyrics to make a dynamic and colourful lyric video to accompany the release. We’re hoping for that to be out the week after the single!”
“Like a lot of indie artists, we don’t have a budget for PR so we’re doing it all ourselves. It can be rather stressful contacting hundreds of people and hoping they like what you’ve been working on for half a year. It’s also very rewarding to hear people’s warm responses to the songs and to see our audience grow organically.”
