Ant Enoch helps you beat the January blues by tuning into his debut single and video Television — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
On this preview from his upcoming debut EP Big Talk Big Party (due May 17), the Sydney solo artist born Anthony Beard sends some much-needed Antipodean optimism and retro-style analogue warmth our way. Introducing his special variety of vivid lo-fi pop made of bare essentials — a piano, a vintage drum machine, and a slice of life vocals with great emotional granularity — Enoch places himself smack-bang in the middle of Berlin’s blossoming DIY scene amidst kindred spirits Okay Kaya, Lover Buffet and The Zenmenn.
Television is a story about watching a friend’s house burn down on the news, juxtaposed against the song’s upbeat energy and understated production. The steady drumbeat, tambourines and journeying melody is pop songwriting at its most satisfying, while maintaining emotional connection to the song’s underdog story. This is Enoch’s rare ability, forever writing the songbook for life’s big-hearted moments. “We wanted to paint a vivid picture of the underdog,” says Enoch. “A clear triumphant song that saw people choosing to carry on and choose love as the way through hardship.”
A happenstance of lockdown, Enoch’s project was born in a DIY studio at the back of a mattress factory in Sydney, counting the weeks alone making music after hours with drumbeats and synthesizers echoing across the empty industrial precinct. The single was brought to a fruition together with a tight-knit Berlin community of close collaborators and friends including co-producers Georgia Potter of Moreton and Riverside Studios resident engineer Julia Borelli (Anyma, Christian Löffler).
“This song was born out of a very intense writing experience: Seeing myself write 100 songs in 10 days,” he says. “Television began as a small idea, no. 54 of 100. Then Georgia and I expanded on the story itself. We wanted to paint a vivid picture of the underdog. A clear triumphant song that saw people choosing to carry on and choose love as the way through hardship. We started with a basic drum machine pattern and wrote the entire song with the piano, vocals and drum machine. Myka Wallace (drums) came and added that superhuman swagger, furthering the humanity of the song.”
For Enoch, Jeff Buckley was the artist who started it all. Although he was only four years old when Buckley’s seminal alt-rock album Grace came out in 1994, it had a huge impact on young Anthony. Bewildered at how emotion could be so powerfully expressed and communicated, Beard began obsessing over writing his own songs. “Spellbound with Buckley’s voice, I knew this was me for life,” he describes. “Forever in pursuit of writing that song, that melody, that lyric that made me feel as close to humanity as that record did.”
DIY spirit was there too from Day 1. “I inherited an old upright piano and taught myself to play piano. Still with no formal clue on how to play it, it’s my favourite instrument to write on.” These early experiments in songwriting led him to study music at university before heading to Toronto, where he played at tiny clubs. Beard has spent the past 10 years touring with his band Caravãna Sun. To date, his track record includes nine international tours in the EU and the U.K., slots at numerous festivals and more than 3 million streams.
His solo project Ant Enoch began from pure playtime in the studio with friends. It soon became apparent that the soft sad boy inside him was longing to soundtrack life’s big-hearted moments. Channelling Buckley’s emotional range with his own hybrid of heartfelt bedroom pop and humble lo-fi, Beard invites his listeners to an intimate and honest conversation about life.
This dialogue with the audience is only expected to grow in the future. “I see this project moving into a beautiful live show,” Beard predicts. “Touring and playing live has been my passion. I really envision a hugely immersive and emotive stage show to accompany the music. Harnessing all the sonic landscapes across the record and really expanding them. Lights and huge electronic sweeps. Intimate vocals and heavenly strings.”
Watch the video for Television above, check out the song below, and tune into Ant Enoch at his website and Instagram.
