Coming off his 2020 debut album Memento, acclaimed guitarist, singer and songwriter IAN GOTHE has today (July 21) shared the video for his new single “Upside Down” via Blackbird Record Label. The moody guitar-driven rocker, produced by the Los Angeles-based artist and the revered
Fernando Perdomo, laments how advanced technology is affecting our quality of life. Watch the evocative video, lensed by director Martin Yernazian,
here. It was premiered yesterday (July 20) via
Glide Magazine. The single will be available this Friday (July 23) at all streaming platforms here:
https://smithmusic.ffm.to/iangothe_upsidedown.
“Ian Gothe certainly knows his way around a guitar and very well might be one of the greatest guitar players you haven’t heard,” noted Glide in its article (7/20/21). “With influences that dabble in ’70s British prog with a buff songwriting flair, Gothe combines shades of Jethro Tull and early King Crimson with a mixture of hearty folk.” The outlet added: “With his well-worn raspy vocals and dexterous guitar workmanship, Gothe’s ‘Upside Down’ awakens as a modern-day ‘Deep Track’ wonder.”
“Upside Down” marks IAN’s first new recording since Memento which presented a collection of wistful original songs and covers, reflecting his travels around the world and eclectic taste in music. It also featured GOTHE’s stellar guitar playing. Robbie Krieger from The Doors praised Ian’s rendition of “Spanish Caravan,” noting: “I love it! It’s tough to cover Doors songs because the originals are so iconic. But Ian wasn’t afraid to stick to the original format and did a great job of capturing the feel.” Guitar Player premiered Ian’s music video for the song, calling it “a beautiful, deeply personal cover.”
“I co-wrote it with my friend Cody LePow,” GOTHE says about “Upside Down.” “When he stopped by one evening, I said: ‘I’m sick and tired of corporations shaking me for information, always wanting to know our location…we should write a song about it.’ Cody replied, ‘you just did.’ So I grabbed a pen, and while writing, a fire engine siren got the dogs in the neighborhood to start howling. Cody commented: ‘the dogs are howling, cops on the chase, it seems like I’m in outer space.’”
GOTHE wrote the guitar riff next, created a demo and sent it to Perdomo, a multi-instrumentalist and producer who’s featured in the music documentary Echo in the Canyon, and who LA Weekly dubbed as “the millennial answer to Todd Rundgren.“ Working together in the recording studio turned out to be a nearly telepathic experience. “Fernando is highly gifted and the fastest and hardest working musician I know,” Gothe says, “but we also have similar tastes in music.” “If I describe a certain sound that I’m looking for, he knows what it is before I finish my sentence.”
“Upside Down” is accompanied by a music video that’s directed and edited by Martin Yernazian, marking the fourth video they’ve collaborated on. “Martin has what some would call an old-school approach to his directing work,” Gothe says. “I would describe it more like an eclipse, raw and present.” Making music videos is a creative outlet that Gothe has enjoyed very much lately: “My last two videos have been story-driven, and it’s so much fun to see and be a part of the process of having my vision come to life,” he says. “Part of me has always wanted to be a cinematographer.”
GOTHE now has enough songs to record a follow-up album to Memento. But he has also started an additional project with Perdomo: a tribute album to the English progressive rock band Camel.
“They’re one of my all-time favorite bands, and the soundtrack of my life,” he says. “I’m co-producing this project with Fernando, since he also is a huge Camel fan. We just had Durga McBroom come in to record backing vocals for one of the tracks. Years ago I saw Durga perform with Pink Floyd, and I never would have guessed that years later she’d be singing in one of my projects.”
