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Inside is the debut solo album from Kiwi composer, producer, mixing engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Serebii. Having mostly worked on collaborative projects in the past, the record reflects his innate connection with music as a vehicle for communication and expression. For Serebii, Inside is an introspective body of work and an invitation for listeners to take a glimpse inside the artist’s musical prowess.
Written, recorded, and mixed himself in 2022, it was birthed between the artist’s
home studio in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and his travels in Germany. Serebii shares hypnotic first single ‘Really You,’ alongside a visualizer of the track. He has this to say on it: “I wanted to make something cheeky and mesmeric. From memory I was looking for a little drama, something I could sink my teeth into creatively, so I instigated a quarrel, I lost. I then locked myself in my room until I had a refrain that had substance. I guess 'Really You' is about my impulsive behaviour and journey with navigating integrity”
Serebii resides in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand,) and inspired by the Japanese concept of Komorebi 木漏れ日 which encapsulates sunlight leaking through trees, Serebii is a portmanteau that embodies the essence of serenity. For the artist the intention of this alias is to conjure up a feeling that represents the glistening light dancing in nature’s seasonal cycles through his musical offerings. In blending elements of meditative sounds, soul, folk, electronic and R&B.
Serebii generates a production that invites listeners to a soundscape where they have the freedom to shape what the mix reflects to them. By centring dance and the sensuous physicality of movement, the composer considers the role that sonic sound plays in creating an experience that belongs to the listener. Whereby they can get lost in a world of their creation. Primarily known for his unique and
creative production style, Serebii has worked alongside artists such as Leisure and Ayaluna.
He has played the festival and touring circuits in New Zealand including opening for Moonchild & Allen Stone. In 2021 and 2022 he released collaborations with long-time friend and co-producer Arjuna Oakes through LA-based record label Innovative Leisure (BADBADNOTGOOD, Allah-Las). Their 2021 release First Nights debuted at #5 on KCRW's top 30 Albums chart and has had extensive play on BBC6 and BBC1xtra.
By producing Inside, Serebii creates an oeuvre that intends to be a space holder for the experiences and moments listeners flow through. His provocation is for listeners to feel the expansiveness of the contours of their body as they move to the album’s chords, melodies, and tones, feeling into the power of their personal truth and connection to the sonic vibrations. Set for release on September 15th
via Innovative Leisure, Inside is a deeply personal debut packing an emotional punch.
New Zealand's Arjuna Oakes and Serebii, a.k.a. Callum Mower release their Final Days EP.
Oakes and Mower, met while playing sold out shows together, but they knew then that it was just the beginning of something bigger. They were serving as hired guns in a popular surf rock band, touring their native Aotearoa New Zealand in mid-size venues, tearing it up, helping others realize their musical vision. That was great, but the friendship forged between the two of them in the process was the real bounty: “We got on like a house on fire,” says Mower. “And we’d end up sticking together through festivals or hanging out at parties.”
“Just like a brother,” Oakes jumps in.
Back in their base of Wellington, Oakes and Mower kept hanging out and playing together—except this time they were making music more like what was calling to them personally. When Oakes was working on his solo work—jazzy chill-hop with an alt-rock twist—he would call on Mower to pop in to help with some of his velvet-y production skills. And when Mower needed a killer voice or a compositional tweak on something he was working on—often psych-infused grooves—he had Oakes on speed-dial. It wasn’t long before they realized that they should be working together in earnest.
Something like if Portishead collaborated with Flying Lotus, 2021’s First Nights EP was an introduction to the duo as a singular act, and “Even When You’re Gone,” a funky chiller Oakes wrote while going through a tough breakup, quickly found its way onto endless streaming playlists looking to harness the vibe. The EP sounds like a million bucks, but was in fact largely recorded over several months in Mower’s bedroom, “with just an SM57 [mic] and no gear whatsoever,” laughs Oakes. “It’s quite nice recording over a longer period of time,” says Oakes, “because you can really mold the songs the way that you want to.”
They soon decided to keep the momentum going, creating a second EP, Final Days, designed to be “a sister record” for First Nights. This new one was put together in much the same way as the first: songwriting duties were shared between the two, with Oakes handling most of the singing and all of the keys and synths, and Mower leading the production duties and playing almost all the guitar and bass parts. (A few friends also helped with drums/percussion and trumpet parts.) By and large, it was recorded in Mower’s bedroom, his cat crawling on their shoulders throughout.
You can feel the push and pull of each personality on certain tracks, swirling together in a collage of various talents and sensibilities. On “Flavour,” a club-ready track that Oakes brought in, Mower’s Chic-ish guitar licks shimmy into the mix, and on “Tired Faces,” a track that Mower brought in, Oakes’ Thom Yorke–reminiscent pipes turn the song into a pure vapor—more a gas hovering in the landscape than a file on a computer. “We both grew up in thick, thick nature,” notes Mower. “I’m forever searching for ways to recreate what nature does.”
Like First Nights, Final Days was also similarly inspired by a form of grief. Rather than a breakup, Oakes was dealing with the impending loss of a beloved grandparent this time around, and was trying to process the experience through music. “I was losing my granddad to cancer, and I knew it was coming,” he explains. “So it’s a kind of a thing of letting go of people you love.”
Arjuna Oakes & Serebii release "Tired Faces," the first single off the forthcoming Final Days EP due out on October 14, 2022
Oakes and Serebii, a.k.a. Callum Mower, met while playing sold out shows together, but they knew then that it was just the beginning of something bigger. They were serving as hired guns in a popular surf rock band, touring their native Aotearoa New Zealand in mid-size venues, tearing it up, helping others realize their musical vision. That was great, but the friendship forged between the two of them in the process was the real bounty: “We got on like a house on fire,” says Mower. “And we’d end up sticking together through festivals or hanging out at parties.”
Arjuna Oakes & Serebii perform "Satellites," from the EP First Nights.
Arjuna Oakes & Serebii recently released their six track First Nights EP. Since then, the group have shared several live performance videos, including "Reset". Today, the group shares a live version of "Even When You're Gone," featuring an expanded band including guitars, flutes and more.