Today, Auckland-based indie pop quartet Alae reveal a masterfully crafted music video for their latest single, “Help You Now.” Starring Antonia Prebble, one of New Zealand’s finest acting talents, the visuals tell the mysterious tale of an unsuspecting ticket holder to an Alae show, who arrives to find out that all is not as it seems. Shot in Avondale’s legendary Hollywood Cinema, the location lends an effortlessly eerie feel for what is about to unfold. “Antonia is a long time friend and fan of Alae, and it was a real pleasure to be able to work with her on this project,” director Mikee Carpinter reveals,”the Hollywood Avondale is over 100 years old, and we really got a spooky sense of that while setting up the shoot. It defintitely added to the authenticity of the performances on the day and Antonia of course totally nailed the role of a terrified fan.”
“Help You Now” is the first single from Alae’s forthcoming second album. The track heralds a fresh pop direction, while still retaining all their textured musicality and an anthemic chorus hook. Alex Farrell-Davey, vocalist, explains the bands evolution of sound; “Traditionally Allister and I have been the lead songwriters, but ‘Help You Now’ is one of the first songs that we’ve written as a collective, since Jayden and Marika joined the band. The change in how we write has injected a lot of new energy into the final result. We’re really excited about the progression of our next album; we’re working with (producer) Jol Mulholland again, but changing things up with this collaborative approach.” Elaborating on the themes of the song, Alex states, “’Help You Now‘ is about facing your fears. It’s about talking about what it is that’s hurting you, what it is that’s scaring you and allowing people to help. The lyrics are an attempt to normalize the process of opening up to others.”
Off the back of a landmark six months, which saw the release of debut album Henry St, a headline national tour and high-profile support slots for John Butler Trio and Angus and Julia Stone, the release of “Help You Now” adds another highlight to Alae’s 2019. After receiving support from over 40 USA college radio stations for single airplay, alongside the generation of over 2.7 million streams for their debut album Henry St, Alae have again received project funding from NZ On Air for the recording of their follow-up album.
This March, Alex Farrell-Davey was invited to APRA’s Songhubs initiative to further hone his songwriting skills. The week of collaboration enabled Alex to interact with local writers and producers in a studio setting. Alex was also partnered with international guest producer and writer Justin Gray (John Legend/Amy Winehouse) to create an original work.