Hailing from Johns Island, South Carolina, the cinematic Funk/Soul duo Hot Mustard grooves through our speakers with a new soulful single and accompanying music video entitled "Window Seat."
Comprised of producer/guitarist Jack Powell and bassist Nick Carusos, Hot Mustard draws influence from the late 60s and early 70s funk/soul, which makes their tunes all the more memorable and nostalgic. Proud to announce the release of their forthcoming debut album, 'Mother Sauce,' on September 3rd, Hot Mustard kicks off the venture with the project's lead single and music video, "Window Seat."
Expanding on their single and music video, "Window Seat," listeners are able to tap their feet to Hot Mustard's soulful and funk-inspired instrumentation that's equally as cinematic as it is soulful. Regarding the song's animated music video, Jack Powell mentioned, "The video, to me, is basically a day in the life of a creative introvert. I try not to indulge much of what the video means to me personally because I think that it's important to give the viewer an opportunity to apply it to their own lives in the way they feel it."
Diving into the single, "Window Seat," the track takes off with Nick Carusos' hefty bassline and tight drum arrangements alongside a sweet and savory brass section. As Jack Powell's plucky and soulful electric guitar makes its way in, the track quickly transforms into this deeply groovy, refined, and cinematic listening experience.
Taking a peek at the song's music video, we're met with a wonderfully odd and unique animation that takes us through the experience of a crow and its many encounters with life, death, and transformation. A highly original animation, we're deeply impressed with the music video's ability to tell several different stories in one watch.
Catch Hot Mustard's latest single and music video, "Window Seat," on YouTube and all digital streaming platforms, and mark your calendars for their forthcoming debut album, 'Mother Sauce,' on September 3rd, 2021.
We're genuinely fascinated with the idea and concept you've tied into your recent music video for "Window Seat." What inspired you to take this unconventional approach to animation and create this unique storyline? I have always had a fascination with creating art from found objects, scouring flea markets/junk stores, and the like. The animation is an extension of that, only digging through old public domain art, photography, and texts. The material that I find always sparks ideas and these ideas often lead to little stories. To me, this story is very loosely 'a day in the life of a creative introvert'. It's full of metaphors that can be applied to one's personal life in whatever way makes sense to them, though. I'm sure it will mean something different to me years from now. Regarding the single itself, "Window Seat," what sort of atmosphere and feel did you want the song to offer? How did you want the song to make your audience feel? It starts with a boom-bap style groove to get the head bobbing before dropping into the main, feel-good theme. The middle section is designed to lull the listener into a trance, with brass parts intensifying layer by layer, before dropping back into the main theme which we hope has the potential to spark a spontaneous living room dance party. The synth theme from the darker middle section is reintroduced over the reprise bringing the darkness into the light and giving it a new perspective. This track felt a little heavier than some of the others, so I took that as an opportunity to slip some more serious themes into the animation. Could you expand on your duo's creative process when formulating songs like "Window Seat"? How did you begin laying down ideas and navigating your way through? Everything starts with a percussion groove which, much like the animation, is often cobbled together from bits and pieces of material we’ve recorded and collected over the years. Usually, I’ll prep a few grooves before Nick comes over with his bass and we’ll play around over them until something hits. We’ll record a few ideas for each groove and I’ll come back later by myself and try to figure out how to weave them into a song. After I arrange the basic structure, Nick will come back and help glue everything together before we send it off to Jordan to write horn parts for. The final step is to garnish the plate, which usually involves old synthesizers and more percussion, before sending it out for consumption. Should we expect to hear "Window Seat" on your forthcoming debut album, 'Mother Sauce'? How does the single fit into the vibe and feel of the album? Yes, Window Seat gets the second track placement on Mother Sauce and we think it settles the listener nicely into the vibe that follows.