Irish singer/songwriter Auld finds a moment of catharsis in “I’m Exercising” ft. Sere Trouble, a visceral, free-spirited song of reverie and reckoning caught between escapism and indulgence.
Stream: “I’m Exercising” – Auld ft. Sere Trouble
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1493994289?secret_token=s-oTlEQxW1rWY” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]
A deep, raw fervor runs through the core of Auld’s latest single. It’s bliss in the midst of turmoil; the calm found only in the eye of our emotional storms: An achingly raw, uninhibited passion, the likes of which we rarely experience and so seldom hear expressed in song. The Irish singer/songwriter finds a moment of catharsis in “I’m Exercising” ft. Sere Trouble, a free-spirited song of reverie and reckoning caught between escapism and indulgence. Auld is visceral and unfiltered for three minutes in which he steps out of his skin and embraces a kind of fleeting, transient euphoria for all it’s worth, before slipping back into the chaos of his present moment.
The night was young
But for some the night was old enough
This guilt-free fun
Don’t come around often
Some getting food
Some outside sucking on balloons
It’s hard to choose
Can’t ride a mood
I’m exercising
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “I’m Exercising,” Auld’s first single of 2023 and the lead single off his forthcoming album The Wholesome Centre (out later this year). The musical moniker for Irish singer/songwriter and producer Thom Pitts, Auld debuted in 2018 and has, to date, two EPs and three studio albums to his name.
He most recently released the album If I Stay Angry I Can Forget How Sad I Am, a heartrending and deeply emotive eight-track collection containing such beautiful songs as “My(a)game” and the breathtaking “Driftwood Beach,” in March 2022. Auld has taken many forms through the years, but Pitts now calls it an “open door to anyone that wants to join in.” We certainly feel that vulnerability both in his past work, and in the music off his upcoming record.
“I am obsessed with how we can be haunted by nostalgia and how it affects us,” Pitts tells Atwood Magazine. “I am currently in a state of absolute numbness which has been brought on by grief. I feel like my insides are covered in candle wax. I either feel numb or an extreme anxiety. It’s a bonus if I ever find myself somewhere between the two. I am under the impression that this won’t last forever so I am just riding it out for now. All memories seem like a blur. They are little ghosts flying around inside me.”
“So to help with all this I invented a place where I can relive memories. This place is called The Wholesome Centre. A place to bring your nostalgia to life. A dedicated place and time to relive your favourite memories so that you can then go about the rest of your day without the past weighing you down.”
You’d be forgiven for being surprised to learn that a song as upbeat as “I’m Exercising” comes off a record made in such a dark space, but bliss often comes with a shadow – and in Pitts’ case, it’s the intensity of a single moment that very nearly overwhelms him.
How we behaved
Was not concerned with content to create
Weekends, weekdays
They all hit the same
“‘I’m Exercising’ is set in the middle of a night out at a time in life when responsibility was not there and you didn’t feel guilty for taking part in the chaos of fun,” he explains. “The point in the night where you need to decide if you should go home and sleep and move on with your life or if you should stay out and party forever. Both decisions are appealing and both are scary.”
“I had the phrase ‘I’m Exercising’ in my head for a long time after watching a beautiful Irish short film called Dúirt Tú, directed by Shaun Dunne and Zoe Ní Riordáin. At one point the protagonist says, ‘I’m exercising‘ a few times, and it really took hold of me. It felt so powerful and felt like it meant ten different things to me all at once. I’m Exercising = I’m Changing. I’m Better than I was before… Maybe?”
“I like that ‘I’m Exercising’ could mean several different things,” he adds. “You exercise to keep your body looking good and staying healthy, but also you exercise your demons or exercise your rights to do or say something. So that is what the song is about. It’s about all of these things, but set in the memory of me on a night out with friends.”
Run you away
Doughy body
Devil Riddled Brain
I’m Exercising
Pitts sought to give “I’m Exercising” a sense of vulnerability and catharsis, and he certainly succeeded.
Together with London’s Sere Trouble, he crafts a journey that is as lush and lilting as it is haunting and breathtaking. Entrancing electric guitars play a mesmerizing pattern and drums push the beat (and song) forward, and atop the fray, Pitts’ voice is a radiant beacon of warmth. It’s an enchanting display of raw emotion channeled through softly stirring music, and one that helps make “I’m Exercising” among Auld’s most exhilarating, irresistible releases yet.
Stream “I’m Exercising” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and get lost in three minutes of unencumbered reverie (and reckoning)!
— —
Stream: “I’m Exercising” – Auld ft. Sere Trouble
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1493994289?secret_token=s-oTlEQxW1rWY” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]
— — — —
Connect to Auld on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© 2023
© 2023:: Stream Auld ::
