Rising electro-pop artist Speelburg has released his new single “Crash & Burn,” the latest track off his forthcoming debut album Porsche, due out September 18th via Kartel Music Group. “Crash & Burn” is proof of Speelburg’s strong creativity and diverse influences, from early 90’s Dust Brothers and Cut Chemist to The Avalanches and Beck, with the briskly frenetic beats created by dipping into KPM’s seminal library for sampling.
The 90’s-inspired official music video for “Crash & Burn,” which expands on the recent visual for “When You Want Me,” is stylistically an homage to Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry’s iconic music videos as well as Wes Anderson symmetry. Written, produced, edited, colored and directed by Speelburg, with Alex Boundy and Beki MacGeekie on camera and cinematography, the fun new visual for “Crash & Burn,” filmed in Brighton, England, features the Brighton & Hove Scorpions American Football Club alongside Speelburg and the bass player and drummer in his live band.
“When my publisher told me they had the rights to the KPM library, I was suddenly like a kid in a candy store,” shares Speelburg (Noah Sacré). “I’ve spent a lot of my life chopping up samples that’ll never turn into anything because clearing that many samples would be a logistical nightmare, so when they told me I could do my thing with music I already loved, well, that was pretty cool!”
Of the new visual, he adds, “I love taking seemingly macho things like football and showing the brutal and tender sides. There doesn’t seem to be enough football players making out in music videos, so I thought we’d try and fill this current sports-less void with a little reflection on the culture around it. When we were shooting the two football players sharing a kiss, and me as a cheerleader dancing around the park with a couple pom-poms, there was a group of 7 or 8 young boys taking a break from playing soccer to just sit on a bench and watch us. We overheard them talking about gender politics and were all pleasantly surprised at the kinds of conversations 12-year-olds are having these days – makes you look forward to the future!”
Written and produced by Speelburg, with Laurie James Ross on select tracks, Porsche is an expansive collection living at the intersection of pop art and pop music. The 11 songs on the upcoming album range from love, happiness and grief as a result of his mom’s death a few years ago, with samples from childhood tapes woven throughout the album. Conceptually, the self-proclaimed movie buff, as evidenced by his stage name, also questions celebrity, without judgement, and touches upon pop culture and his huge love of cinema throughout the album. Porsche is available for pre-order now at all DSPs and each pre-order will include instant downloads of “Crash & Burn” and “When You Want Me” as well as previous single “World Is Falling Apart (this version)”. Album and bundle packages are also available HERE.
Known for his witty lyrics, crisp funk-influenced electro-pop beats, infectious hook-heavy choruses, and exciting visuals, Speelburg sounds like the musical child of Beck, Vampire Weekend and Paul Simon. The Belgian-American singer, songwriter and producer, who splits his time between Los Angeles and England, has already amassed over 11 million total streams from previous releases, including his 2019 single “Say Hello” which was prominently featured in commercials for Samsung and Google Pixel earlier this year. Since his debut in 2014, Speelburg has received accolades from Noisey, Ones To Watch, The Line of Best Fit, Pigeons & Planes, Clash Magazine and SPIN as well as support from BBC Radio and KCRW, among others. Speelburg is as much a compelling visual artist as he is an innovative musician, as best represented by his previous videos for “Screener Season,” his ode to Sofia Coppola films, and the animated “Headlights” video.