On Dime, Serebii (aka Callum Mower) has a gentle croon deceptive in its power— and using that voice, he’s created an album unlike anything he’s done before, rolling seamlessly from track to track—not just a collection of songs but a singular project conceived to work together as a unified statement.
Serebii explains the story behind first album single ‘Might As Well Be Watching‘ out now:
“Observation and involvement often come hand in hand, time and again I experience some form of conflict with feeling seen and heard, accepting that sometimes being in the background is the most natural place to be. I wrote this song towards the end of summer in 2023 in my home studio in Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand, I finished mixing it in January 2024. I remember this being the first time I felt the urge to have strings on a record. I reached out to Arjuna Oakes who had just settled in London at the time, he circled back with some incredible charts and demo strings, he said.. you need to do this properly and get good string players. We reached out to Tom Broome who got together the right people and we went on to do the thing.”
Listen: https://lnk.to/
For his second full-length LP and most realised release as Serebii yet, Callum Mower had one thing he had to overcome first: he was “terrified” of himself.
After establishing the Serebii project with several albums’ worth of trancing neo-soul and shape-shifting ballads, much of it done in collaboration with fellow New Zealander Arjuna Oakes, Mower had no lack of confidence in his musical abilities. But much of Mower’s focus in the past was on instruments and production under his own name or funky art-pop jams with others on vocals. On Dime, however, Mower knew he wanted to push forward with his own singing placed center stage. “It’s exposing,” Mower says of releasing music so heavy on his singing. “It feels like you’re walking into the public naked.”
For a few months, Mower did little besides eat, sleep, and make music. Outside of a deep love for the music of Aldous Harding, which he takes as inspiration, Mower didn’t listen to much outside of his own work. Instead, he focused on developing a routine: yoga, walks, free writing in the morning to get everything out instead of letting it bottle in. “Just trying to feel, trying to release, and then going in and conjuring that while you’re hovering over a chord progression,” he explains. “Just focus on expression.”
Serebii – Dime Tracklisting
Lungs ft Tessa Dillon
Feet For Pegs
Goji
Verrans Corner ft Leith Sye Towers
Telling Lies
By Design
Dime
Might As Well Be Watching
The Randan
Assembly ft Carla Camilleri
About Serebii:
Serebii is a Kiwi composer, producer, mixing engineer, and multi-instrumentalist residing in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand).
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 centering 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, KÉDU CARLÖ and Ayaluna. He has played the festival and touring circuits in New Zealand including opening for Moondchild & 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.
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