Multi-talented Brisbane musician Jeremy Neale has been a little quiet of late, busy as he has been in the studio and overseas, but he's ready to make his long-awaited return to the limelight ahead of his debut solo album, Getting The Team Back Together.
And, man, does the guy know how to make a statement, stepping back to the fore with his ridiculously fun new single, Dancin' & Romancin', complementing the tune with a wonderfully ludicrous video clip featuring an absolute raft of awesome Brisbane creative folk.
The clip is positively overflowing with the genuine joy brought by a raft of long-time Neale collaborators and friends, including Weirdo Wasteland's James Frostick, Yuri Johnson and George Browning (both of Teen Sensations and Velociraptor), Browning's Babaganouj bandmates Charles Sale and Ruby McGregor , McGregor's fellow ex-Go Violets bandmate Phoebe Imhoff (also of Stevie), Lauren Jenkins (also Velociraptor, plus Strange Attractors and Running Guns), Izzy Mellor and Monica Sottile (Love Signs), Adrian Price and Mitch Exton (Teleprompter), Aimon Clark (The Creases), Katherine Gough (Oh Ye Denver Birds), Zoe Wilson, Amy-Rose Lawson and Sonya Chamberlain (WHALEHOUSE), Nash Johnston (Top Dollar), Jake Grossman (Gunk TV Records), and other multi-faceted creatives including artist Liam Shephard, musician and aspiring mathematician Seamus Albion, writer/musician Scott 'Mehaf' Mehaffey, filmmaker/screenwriter Arika Crotty, writer/editor Katherine Dionysius, gallery curator Hannah Williamson, and the adorable Monte the pug.
(Plus whoever/whatever Muppy is — pretty sure it's the orange puppet, but if it's a person, please let us know, and, also, we're really sorry for dehumanising them.)
Anyway, Jesus, that's a list, isn't it?
Directed by Jennifer Embelton, the clip was filmed on location at Heya Bar and The Plutonium, and encapsulates Neale's penchant for absurdist humour by painting him as a retro-style wash-up on the verge of a big comeback, with Frostick playing his enthusiastic manager-type, convinced that this song will be the one to bring the bigwigs and big bucks their way.
And, of course, that's exactly how it plays out.
"I met with my friend James Frostick and he told me of his brilliant plan to record the new single, live and in one take, at The Plutonium in Brisbane," Neale said in a statement. "As soon as we started playing the song he was fielding calls from industry power players and we were rollin' in cash and adoring fans."
Neale says that the song's origins started somewhat slower than the final cut, being "something much closer to a Sam Cooke track", but that "everything changed when the main hook came along".
"Dancin' & Romancin' is about how hard it can be to maintain a relationship when you and your partner have very different working schedules," he explained. "When the stars eventually align and you both get a night off together, however, it's a wonderful reunion and the trials in between are quickly forgotten."
You can hook in to the deliriously delightful new tune and clip below.
Getting The Team Back Together will be released on Friday 3 November via Dot Dash/Remote Control.
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