ITHACA, NY (January 11, 2021) – Indie pop auteur and multi-instrumentalist Gerald Slevin is dropping his timely debut single “Kiss to the Future” on February 12. After fronting Brooklyn NY’s psychedelic artpop outfit The Color Bars, Slevin is gearing up to release his debut solo album, Quantum Jitters, in 2021. He sings and records every instrument himself, layering copious amounts of synths, drums, guitars, and lush vocal harmonies in his private Upstate NY studio. Slevin’s sound is a textured blend of Beatles-esque melodies and vocals within a modern sonic-palette, much in the same vein of Tame Impala, HAIM, and Vampire Weekend.
The idea for the single came quite unexpectedly. “On a recent morning nature walk with my 4 year-old daughter, I was explaining about the pandemic and why we had to wear masks, and I caught her blowing a kiss to the sky.” says Slevin. “When I asked her about it, she replied, ‘I’m blowing a kiss to the future’.” Slevin was so moved by the gesture that he wrote the entire song in about 15 minutes that same day. The result was a message of unity and humanity in a time of profound darkness. “After so many years with The Color Bars, I knew my first release as a solo artist needed to be something optimistic and forward-looking, so it was kind of perfect.”
An accomplished visual artist, Slevin designed the artwork for the single himself. His surreal collage-work reflects the colorful and layered aural experiences of his music. Born out of a desire to create musical experiences as colorful and varied as his visual art, Slevin continues the work he started with The Color Bars -which was primarily his brainchild- by seeking out the interplay between the challenging and the accessible.