What if the world past our perception actually welcomes us and poses no threat? What if alien-human connections were exploratory, familiar and casual?
“Blastin Pastem” by Annabelle Maginnis and Kenny Zhao invites listeners to imagine. As premiered on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic via DJ Anne Litt, the song calls to the capacity of ongoingness. Starting from a place of compromise, Annabelle urges listeners to join them in wondering what it may be like to overcome obstacles. Without the glamour of harmful “bootstrap” ideology, “Blastin Pastem” is an emotional offering that acknowledges what is unacceptable while doing the work to go beyond. Having made several other tracks together, Annabelle and Zhao transitioned from a duo jam session to starting this song. They resurrected a track that Kenny had initiated in the past.
Annabelle used the song as a forum for processing leaving a romantic relationship. Usually steering clear from writing love-related songs, Annabelle bridges this vulnerable gap by introducing a mundane science-fiction element into the mix. As Zhao puts it, “When something negative happens to you, you want to find ways to process it that doesn’t have to do with sitting in your room and turning off the lights. This song was a chance to do that, to escape gravitational pull and take flight.”
On production, Kenny Zhao left plenty of space and drew inspiration from Kraak & Smaak and Todd Terje, embracing sleek, spacey disco sounds. “Blastin Pastem” a vortex of thoughts, shortness of breath that builds and builds until it reaches escape velocity.
Annabelle and Zhao linked up with Rachel White who sound engineered and produced the final vocals. They sent the tune to Delwin Campbell of the group, CAPYAC, who completed the final master. Cover art was created while listening to the tune by Amanda Kaufman (aka Majestic Mija). Be on the lookout for additional visuals by Tori Nicole TBA.
"The second day we worked on the project, we took a break to go running on the beach by Kenny’s apartment. We ran all the way from the Venice Pier to Santa Monica Pier, which was further than Kenny had ever run. That corny old adage came to mind: “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Experiencing that in such a literal way lent its inspiration to the final workings of the song. Moved by conversations of earthly and interspecies continuation throughout the run, the spirit of interconnectedness provides a landscape more infinite than whatever hurdles we may be daunted by."
lyrics
CHORUS:
Imagine
I’m sitting and I’m laughin
Feelin fantastic
All intergalactic
Blastin past em, blastin past em
Imagine
I’m sitting and I’m laughin
Feelin fantastic
All intergalactic
Blastin past em, blastin past em - LIKE
V1:
Maybe I’m sappy
But you’re the best I ever had
You love me when I’m happy
But ya leave me when I’m sad
Under the weather
You’re nowhere to be found
Alone I’m gettin better
That’s why I ...
CHORUS:
Imagine
I’m sitting and I’m laughin
Feelin fantastic
All intergalactic
Blastin past em, blastin past em
Imagine
I’m sitting and I’m laughin
Feelin fantastic
All intergalactic
Blastin past em, blastin past em - LIKE
OOOOHHH
AHHHHHH
V2:
I’m not just a picture to put on your shelf
May need your help sometimes
I think your focus stays inside your lens
See me as just pretend
That all I long for is your touch
Like that could ever be enough
Is enough and I’m on my way
Look to the stars when I -
CHORUS:
Imagine
I’m sitting and I’m laughin
Feelin fantastic
All intergalactic
Blastin past em, blastin past em
Imagine
I’m sitting and I’m laughin
Feelin fantastic
All intergalactic
Blastin past em, blastin past em - LIKE
credits
released September 4, 2020
Annabelle Maginnis - Writing & vocals
Kenny Zhao - Production, bass, keys, mixing
Rachel White - Vocal engineering & vocal sound engineering
Delwin Campbell - Mastering
Amanda Kaufman - Cover Art
this album is a beautiful coalescence of conscious art and genre blending productions, with stellar performances from all the musicians involved harkmadley
Artists and friends across Virginia make up the collective 202; here, they work together to create folk-inflected R&B about love and loss. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 28, 2022
