ALBUM FEATURE: WOMB - DREAMING OF THE FUTURE AGAIN

Pōneke’s Womb are thrilled to announce the trio’s upcoming sophomore album, Dreaming of the Future Again — out digitally and on 180g black vinyl on November 11th, 2022. Holiday Records was again the proud pressing plant behind this release from Flying Nun. Womb had an emphasis on producing this as sustainably as possible which included forgoing shrink-wrap in preference for reusable outer-sleeves and taking advantage of our strict use of 100% FSC-certified sustainable stock for all of the print.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE

Womb is made up of siblings Cello Forrester (vocals, guitar, strings), Haz Forrester (synth, guitar), and Georgette Brown (drums). Their music is a composite of the three and builds on the shoegaze and dream pop sounds they are inspired by. 

Dreaming of the Future Again is Womb’s sophomore album, recorded between 2020 and 2022, between living rooms and bedrooms, and at their dear friend and collaborator Bevan Smith’s backyard studio, Circle Blue Studios. “Dreaming of the future again” is a phrase that sprang to mind for Cello as they woke up one morning, and these are the words that tether each song on the album together.  

The trio have also released the first single from the album, ‘Oceans’, accompanied by a video (below) directed by none other than Martin Sagadin. The first spark of an idea for making this video came from wanting to build a rain machine. The band wanted to pay homage to the ever-iconic kissing-in-the-rain scene à la ‘All The Things She Said’ by t.A.T.u., and bring the line in their song, "I just want to bring you oceans", to life. 

“The shape of the spiral is at the heart of the ‘Oceans’ video. The thing about spirals is that they move in any direction, spiralling out, spiralling in, which is essentially what ‘Oceans’ is about: moving between feeling far from and close to someone.  At the start, we watch the lovers un-spiralling from one another; by the end they turn toward each other, literally standing under the spiral-shaped rain machine. “

“The ocean is one of the oldest things on the planet. More than half the human body is composed of water. We picture this song as a wave rising and then falling, all the tension smoothed over. Following this imagery, the instrumentation of this song emulates the rhythm of tides; layered and overlapping guitars and synths, with Georgette’s drums at the heart of this song; a constant presence mirroring the repetition of a tide.” 
— Womb

We had the pleasure of sitting down to have a chat with Cello, Haz and Georgette about the new album, their inspirations and their connection with vinyl. Read the interview below.

Tell us a bit about yourself - Names/Ages? Where are you from? Who are your favourite artists? 

We are Cello, Haz, and Georgette. We grew up first in a forest outside of Melbourne, and then later in the suburbs of midwestern USA, before moving to Pōneke in 2006. We grew up with various music floating around the house, with Georgette in particular sharing the likes of The Cure, Cocteau Twins, and Bright Eyes between the three of us. Our favourite artists these days are wide and sprawling, but to name a few right now, it would be The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Sega Bodega, Blood Orange, 070 Shake, Caroline Polacheck... the list goes on and on!

Tell us a bit about the album?

"Dreaming of the Future Again" is our sophomore album. It's been a couple years in the making, collaborating since the start of 2020 with our good friend Bevan Smith. The sound is anywhere between shoegaze and dreampop... and apparently it's good music to cry to.

Tell us about the album artwork - What was the inspiration? Who is the artist/photographer?

The album artwork is a drawing done a couple of years ago by our drummer, Georgette, and designed by our synth player, Haz. It's called "I want you to see above your head a beautiful, beautiful star", which is a line from a guided meditation Georgette's dad used to do with her when she was a kid. The drawing, and its title, seemed to be a perfect fit for the album.

Tell us why you chose to press it to vinyl - What do vinyl records mean to you? Why did you choose Holiday Records?

Having our album pressed on vinyl is extremely special: getting to hold our music in our hands, rather than it just floating in the ether! And, given that Georgette's drawing is on the front cover, it's also like owning a print of their artwork. We've been so excited to work with Holiday Records, especially being able to keep it local.

Any upcoming gigs we can plug? 

To celebrate our album release, we'll be going on tour around the country, starting in Whakatū on the 11 November, heading to Ōtautahi on the 12th, then Pōneke on the 19th, and finishing up in Tāmaki Makaurau on the 25th <3

BUY THE ALBUM HERE