El Mar
From the upcoming EP Walking With Dogs, El Mar shares a listen to the single “New Life” about life changes, renewals & new beginnings. The musical outfit of industry powerhouse Joey Primero, El Mar reflects on the interpersonal connection people share with one another along with all the intricacies that exist between the human ties that bind us together (not to mention break us all apart). El Mar offers music that features reflective qualities like the thoughts that stream along our consciousness during strolls in the park, long walks on the beach, to the routines of walking packs of dogs along the busy city sidewalks.
On “New Life”, El Mar depicts the discontinuity of a friendship in honest terms. The sound of moving onward from a toxic bond is portrayed in heartaches & the painstaking processes of growing up & out of a connection that proves to be worthless. The fallout from someone you thought you knew is stated in no uncertain terms where El Mar paints a picture of a failing friendship that is rapidly falling apart piece by piece, recounted measure for measure. The unraveling is documented in both chorus & verse where the portrait of a cynic is stated in terms of aggressive displacement like I know the world has been cruel, but so have you, along with the characteristics of a 24-hour news cycle addict in the somewhat humorous line of, I hope you’re happy with your new life baby, I hope you quit watching the news. The litany of reasons why friends drift apart resonates in real ways that resonates with anyone that has gone through a painful buddy-breakup.
El Mar’s own Joey Primero shared the following exclusive insights reflecting on the making of the EP Walking With Dogs, dog-walking, the single “New Life” & more:
Walking With Dogs is probably the most special collection I have ever worked on to date. I was scared and nervous to leave my career as a music publicist. I wasn’t sure how I’d pay rent and make it all work, and I ended up working as a dog walker in Manhattan while I was focusing on putting out an album and playing shows. It was a rollercoaster and I’ve got some good stories out of it, but most importantly it led to this EP. I was used to being in an office, talking to so many people all of the time and suddenly I was just out exploring Central Park with dogs. Just me and dogs. All day, every day. I started humming on these walks and getting so many ideas—lyrically and musically. I would stop and make voice memos so I would remember everything. So yeah, this EP was totally inspired by dogs. Not to mention, I got my own dog the same year, too. He’s the best. His name is Ozzy, after Ozzy Osbourne OBVIOUSLY.
As for the recording process, the band and I got together for two days in Brooklyn and just tracked everything. I wanted it to sound like what we sound like live. We all played in a big live room. We went in with the goal of having everything done and just having to focus on mixing and mastering once we left. The process can sometimes drag on forever and I wanted to avoid that. Also, this was our first time working with a producer, which was rad! It was an awesome experience. I really wanted to start this new chapter of El Mar, and that’s why we also decided to put out “New Life” first. Felt like the right move given everything that had gone down leading to this point.
Oh also, this song “New Life” is not about love. Like, it is, but it’s about a friendship that’s falling apart, not a lover or romantic sort of love. But sometimes friend breakups are the hardest to get over.
Listen to more from El Mar via Spotify & Soundcloud.
