Koretsky To Release New EP MMXX On July 10th

30th June 2020 Rob Cella 593 Views

“Summer 2018 was very hazy… I vaguely remember recording the song,” says multi-instrumentalist and producer, Olé Koretsky to American Songwriter who premiered his new single/video for “Call It A Day.” “I forgot about [the track] for a year. Next time I heard it, I was like, ‘Hold up, this sounds intense.’ There was a certain energy there and a kind of subtle grace about it, so I spent a day or two with a good friend and great engineer, Mike Dextro. We cleaned up the demo and sent it off to get mixed.” American Songwriter lauds “Call It A Day,” saying that it fits in perfectly with the rest of Koretsky’s post-punk songs, which are often overlaid with a darkwave electronica sheen and tend to be deeply intense and emotionally intimate.

Prior to striking out on his own solo project as Koretsky, the multifaceted artist, producer and DJ, first met Andy Rourke (The Smiths) in 2003 and in 2009, while the two worked as presenters at NYC-based internet radio station East Village Radio. Striking up a quick friendship, they formed the DJ outfit/band Jetlag. When The Cranberries’ vocalist Dolores O’Riordan (and Olé’s life partner) decided to join the band, the trio changed their name to D.A.R.K. and in 2016, released the critically-hailed debut album Science Agrees. Olé also worked with The Cranberries, having toured and recorded two albums with them. Tragically, in January 2018, before the release of their final album (the GRAMMY®-nominated In The End), Dolores passed away.

“I spent a couple years self-isolating,” he explains about the following two years after Dolores passed. Ultimately, he emerged with a new outlook on life and a handful of songs. “I felt it was time for me to shift focus and rejoin society.”

The video features footage from the past six years of his life, including bits of rehearsals before the last Cranberries tour and some b-roll from the D.A.R.K. EPK.

“Call It A Day” follows his debut single “The One” released under the band name Koretsky. Both tracks are now available on DSPs at https://lnk.to/koretsky and will be included on his EP – MMXX – that’s set for a summer release.

“This release is my way to start looking ahead, and rejoin the world in a way that helps me feel more hopeful about the future,” says multi-instrumentalist and producer, Olé Koretsky about his latest foray into music, which includes his new single and video “The One.” Released under his band name Koretsky, the song premiered via Post-Punk.com, the alternative music tome who calls the song “a hauntingly atmospheric opening track, while sombre, dark, and on the surface, acidly cynical, has an innate catharsis showcasing both strength of heart and resolve in spirit.”

A multifaceted artist, producer and DJ, Olé first met friend and bandmate Andy Rourke (The Smiths) in 2003 and in 2009, while the two worked as presenters at NYC-based internet radio station East Village Radio, they decided to form DJ outfit and band Jetlag. When The Cranberries’ vocalist Dolores O’Riordan (and Olé’s life partner) decided to join the band, the trio decided to change the band name to D.A.R.K. and in 2016, released the critically-hailed debut album Science Agrees. In addition, Olé also worked with The Cranberries, having toured and recorded two albums with them. Tragically, in January 2018, before the release of their final album (the GRAMMY®-nominated In The End), Dolores passed away.

“I spent a couple years self-isolating,” he explains about the following two years after Dolores passed, but ultimately he emerged with a new outlook on life and a handful of songs. “I felt it was time for me to shift focus and rejoin society.”

Overlaid with a darkwave electronica sheen, “The One” echoes a deeply intense, intense and aching beauty. “I’m not the one / I’m not the light you seek,” Olé sings, as if to chronicle his unsettled but ultimately indomitable spirit during the last two years.

The first of a handful of tracks from the EP MMXX which is to be released July 10, “The One” contains lyrics that are timely prophetic during the current climate of quarantine. “I try not to overthink lyrics,” Olé explains. “The words may reflect feelings of disconnection and isolation that I was dealing with at the time that I was writing the song. Oddly, it resonates again today during this pandemic.”

Hazy, and, at times, out-of-focus and oversaturated, the accompanying lyric video shows Olé on a directionless nighttime drive through Ireland. “I attached a little action camera to my sun visor and recorded the drive from Galway to Limerick a few years ago,” he recalls. “It triggered some memories and emotions when I found this footage and I thought, ‘that’s a really strong visual – I don’t need to make a video if I can use this.’ Adding lyrics and playing with special effects was an afterthought.”

With more music on the horizon and an overwhelming need to create, Olé is prepping for the release of new music in a future that feels uncertain. “What the future’s gonna look like now, is a bit of mystery,” he ponders, somberly but yet hopeful. “Music or art in general is meant to be an escape. Creativity is the only good drug.”

“The One” is taken from the upcoming EP MMXX which will be released on July 10th.