Pinc Louds battle the depressing demons of day-to-day existence in their revealing new single and cinematically surreal video Quotidien — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
Helmed by veteran producer Gordon Raphael (The Strokes) and taken from their upcoming album You Can’t Eat The Moon And Be A Werewolf Too, the latest compelling release from the N.Y.C. art-pop buskers is an intimately autobiographical song that documents bandleader Claudi’s struggle with the sudden pressures and responsibilities of parenthood — penned in the wake of a severe mental-health crisis.
“Quotidien was the first song I wrote after my breakdown, after I’d gotten out of the hospital, and it was as raw as it gets,” Claudi says. “Not so much melodically, but in a spiritual sense, it was influenced by Daniel Johnston. It’s about parenthood and struggling with depression — just not being able to get rid of this very deep pain, this feeling that you can’t do what you know you’re supposed to do. You know that you have this beautiful life in front of you that you made and are responsible for. And you know that so many things are right with the world, and yet it wasn’t enough to get me out of my depression.
‘I don’t think I’d ever truly been depressed before. I’d been sad, but nothing like this. The pressure of it all — of mixing my crazy artist life with being a parent — was a real struggle. It didn’t take away from the love I have for my kid, but still there was this sinking feeling — like no matter how beautiful it all is, I still can’t be the person I’m supposed to be for them. And that was really what ended up getting me in the hospital, just this feeling of uselessness, like I can’t — I can’t do it.”
Proving once again that less can be so much more, Quotidien is fashioned from gently pulsing keyboards, some tippy-tappy percussion, atmospheric sonics and Claudi‘s fragile, plaintive vocals. At first, it could almost be mistaken for a child’s lullaby. But as the music rises and falls, speeding up to match Claudi‘s growing agitation — and those bleep-bloop tones start to resemble hospital monitors — it becomes a desperate confession from a man on the edge.
Claudi credits producer Raphael for the song’s sonic artistry. “Gordon has a really great attitude toward working with musicians. He’s very sensitive to what an artist is looking for. He will even take examples that are very abstract. For Quotidien, I told him, I want it to sound like there’s somebody tap dancing during the song, but I also want it to sound like the tap dancer is far away, and is somehow floating in the singer’s conscience, contrasting and accentuating the sadness of the song. And he understood that perfectly.
“And then we were looking for how to achieve that, how to mic the guy that we brought in to tap dance. The drummer for those four singles Gordon produced was actually in Stomp. So apart from being an amazing drummer, he was also great with tapping and playing with the different little toys we brought in.”
The accompanying video adds a new visual dimension to the track. Rather than mirror the lyrics’ domestic setting, Claudi’s self-directed black-and-white clip — reminiscent of experimental European cinema from the ’60s — moves the action to the alienated setting of a rocky, barren shoreline. “I was recently in the north of Chile with my partner, and we filmed the video for Quotidien in this very prehistoric setting with these giant rocks on a beach, but it’s not what you would consider a nice beach,” Claudi says. “There are these crashing waves — it’s all very intense.
“It’s a more experimental video in black and white with a lot of strange images I conjured up. And I’m doing different camera tricks, where it looks like my body appears in one part of the rocks, and then in another, and then I’m kind of animating it through the space. You see this person struggling to get somewhere. It’s this constant struggle. There are octopuses and weird algae. I started throwing them into the air and filming them falling on the rocks, and then running it backwards so it looks like these weird aliens ascending into the sky. I’ve done a lot of the editing and directing of our videos in the past. This one I did myself on a $0 budget.”
Going to great lengths for art is nothing new to Claudi. They moved from Puerto Rico to N.Y.C. in 2015 to fulfill their dream of playing in the subway. This immersion into the city’s underground, performing daily for a steady stream of humans from all walks of life, sculpted the sound and look of the project. Through the literal underground, Claudi met the musicians (keyboard / bassist Marc Mosteirin and drummer Matt Dallal) and other artists that would turn Pinc Louds into the full-blown spectacle they are today. Busking in parks and tunnels opened doors for the band, who quickly gained a cult following. By 2018 they were selling out shows at chic venues, as well as tours throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, Europe and Chile.
Their music blends punk energy and crooner-style singing with elements of psych-folk, art-rock, electronica and Afro-Caribbean music to create a sound that is as exciting as it is unique. Their wide-ranging influences include everyone from Pixies and Animal Collective to Billie Holiday and Cortijo y su Combo. Self-proclaimed as an “imaginary band,” Pinc Louds add to the live experience by making their shows a participatory adventure. Traveling inside giant subway puppets, reviving atomic mutants, chanting spells to a watermelon god, as well as dance contests and prizes are all things you might expect at one of their immersive concerts.
In 2022, Claudi suffered a breakdown and quit music for a year. After a brief hospitalization and a job rejection from Trader Joe’s, Claudi decided to continue making art and music. Pinc Louds returned to the streets in 2023 with their most raw, vulnerable and unhinged songs. They also left behind the wig and high speaking voice which had been a part of Claudi’s persona since the beginning. This newfound honesty propels the songs on You Can’t Eat The Moon And Be A Werewolf Too, due Aug. 15. It’s music you can dance and crumble to at the same time. A party in the ward. A shout to the heavens, a kiss to the ells.
Watch the video for Quotidien above, hear more from Pinc Louds below, and find them on their website and Instagram.
