North of Nowhere have emerged from quarantine just long enough to release “Memories”, the first single from their upcoming self-titled EP. Naturally, the new single is about everything that isn’t their newfound quarantine lifestyle.
If you’re a band during quarantine, do you have any choice but to choose your bandmates as your bubble? Is there some unspoken rule that demands you retreat to the nearest available studio, only to emerge when a vaccine has been developed or you run out of beer? It seems to have been the only option for North of Nowhere – and if there was some sort of blood oath involved, was it even really an option? – who immediately quarantined themselves to pen four new songs.
Written in March during the height of the band’s isolation, they say the new single draws on “memories of pre-pandemic times and the happiness found in simple liberties.”
“This recording means a lot to me, but we just had fun and tried to keep spirits light about the whole situation,” says singer, Dylan Ellis.
Taking advantage of the Atlantic Bubble, they made their way from Nova Scotia to Moncton, New Brunswick, (“masks and paperwork in hand”) to record the single with friend and producer Don Levandier (The Motorleague), before having it mastered by Harry Hess ( Monster Truck, Arkells) in Toronto, Ontario.
“It was important to us to feel like we captured our energy and kind of in-your-face mentality with this recording,” says guitarist Matt Dorey about the recording session.
The song, packed with all the energy of a band trapped in isolation, hits hard with a contrasting burst of positivity.
“The world is a dark place lately so it was important to try to figure out what our message was, and what we wanted to use our voice to say find your motivation. Find your Happiness. Cling to it, to get you through to better days, and don’t give up,” says Ellis.
The singly will appear as part of the North of Nowhere’s upcoming four-song EP, which is expected to drop sometime in 2021.