When Mitch Currie spent four months in South East Asia back in 2017, it was probably with the intention of getting some life experience and a bit of experience. He got more than he bargained for, and as his adventure wound down, he found himself in trouble on the far side of the planet.
On the bright side, he also got the makings of his latest single, “Shininin’.”
“Near the end of the trip, I was having some heart/health issues that became pretty serious. Fortunately, I made it home in one piece and came to terms that I wasn’t prioritizing my health and my passion for making music,” explains Currie.
“It was pretty terrifying. There were locations with fantastic hospitals and other locations that were not so great. I remember one area where I required a certain medication, but the pharmacist couldn’t speak English and could not understand what I needed. Instead, she handed me a syringe of mystery medication and directed me to administer the shot myself (which I did not). The health care system in Canada is something people always tell you to appreciate, but it wasn’t until I was on the other side of the world that I understood how much value it has.”
Having survived the ordeal, the resulting song, “Shininin’,” (which Currie clarifies is short for “Shining In”) is about taking advantage of a fresh start and all the freedom in the world.
“The whole trip was fantastic and I don’t regret going in the slightest. I just learned too much in that short span and needed some type of medium to lay it all out and understand it,” says Currie.
“I really matured after this trip, and I just wanted to have a song that represented personal growth and overcoming a difficult period of time; a theme I think all of us share to some extent. I had written the lyrics ‘dog days are gone, and light is shining in’ after leaving one of the last hospitals, and the song built itself from there.”
And Currie lays it all out with a classic, guitar-forward indie rock sound that’s reminiscent of early Plaskett, brought out in bite-size riffs until lighting a fire under the meat of the song.
The single, Currie notes, is meant as a little taster, while he finishes up the rest his solo EP–currently under the working-titled of Good Enough for Now, with no release date yet. Currie is also currently working on a ton of new songs and video material for his band, Sleepy Kicks, who will be releasing their first EP later this fall.