First single ‘Summer Rain feat. Hannah Williams’ by New Visionaries
New Visionaries are UK-based Australian artist Joel Sarakula and Dutch musician Phil Martin.
The story of New Visionaries starts with an unexpected rendezvous in the summer of 2019, when Phil joined Joel’s show as a conga player at the very last minute. From that point onwards, spontaneity becomes the cornerstone of their musical relationship. Fast forward a year and the narrative of New Visionaries truly unfolds in July 2020, when Joel found himself stranded in The Netherlands after playing a few club shows in Amsterdam, his first performances after the early pandemic lockdowns. He was waiting for the UK borders to reopen for those traveling from The Netherlands, allowing him to return home. Recognizing that he had some time to spare and already sharing a rapport with Phil, he set up camp in Dordrecht for an unpredictable period and they embarked on recording fresh material together.
Despite Phil’s involvement in the European funk and soul scene and Joel’s inclination towards soulful pop, what led them to create new music is their shared affinity for contemporary instrumental bands such as Khruangbin, Calibro 35 or Air, as well as classic influences like David Axelrod and the KPM library series. They started crafting tracks for what would become their debut album together, Roadmaps. The idea was to construct succinct mood pieces capable of transporting listeners on a three-minute odyssey, often traversing distant and distinct musical cultures. With Phil handling drums, percussion, keys, bass and guitar, and Joel contributing on keys, bass and guitar, they managed to flesh out most of the arrangements in Phil’s studio, packed with vintage instruments.
“Summer Rain” out digitally on Oct. 10th 2023 via Lovemonk Records
