Attempting to define Neon Dreams under a single genre would be a disservice to the band’s distinct sound. The duo, consisting of vocalist Frank Kadillac and drummer Adrian Morris, met during high school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and officially formed Neon Dreams in 2015. Their musical style evolved constantly as they experimented with various genres, taking inspiration from rock, folk, electronic, and reggae. In the near decade that they have been writing and performing music, Neon Dreams’ efforts have been widely recognized, including gold and platinum-certified singles and winning a highly-coveted JUNO Award for Breakout Group of the Year in 2020. After their song “Life Without Fantasies” went viral in South Africa, the duo made the country their second home, touring regularly and immersing themselves in the local music and arts scene.
One of the people they befriended while in South Africa is the critically acclaimed artist Matthew Mole. Hailing from Cape Town, Mole is a lifelong musician who found his breakout in 2012, winning a “Get Out of the Garage” competition sponsored by Converse. His debut album The Home We Built in 2013 elevated his name even higher throughout his home country, topping iTunes charts and garnering numerous award nominations. As is the case with Neon Dreams, Mole uses his fascination with fusing genres to his advantage; a common ground that eventually drew the two acts together.
After deciding to collaborate on a track, the two acts got together in the studio and instantly bonded over their mutual love of pop-punk. “The Art Of Letting Go” is a celebration of how music impacts all of us during the defining years of our youths. Music is a form of therapy that we all use in our most troubling times. As the title implies, it’s about letting everything go and allowing yourself to be absorbed by the music. The song shifts between traditional rock choruses and talk-sung verses, before surprising listeners with an iconically-reggae-inspired bridge in the middle of the track. As with all of Neon Dream’s music, it is a song that would make even the most introverted of people absolve their fears, let their hair down…and dance.
The music video for “The Art Of Letting Go” is co-directed by Neon Dream’s own Frank Kadillac and Dan Lewis Cole, a South African director and regular collaborator of Neon Dreams. As with the song itself, the video captures the magic of youth and how music defines us. The video begins with Mole singing in a room featuring posters of the three musicians parodying various artists such as Green Day, Nirvana, and The Bee Gees. As the three of them come together, nostalgic imagery dominates the visuals, from an incredible VHS aesthetic over the verses being sung to displaying clipart over the unmistakable desktop of a Windows XP computer during the bridge. Neon Dreams, as usual, goes the extra mile to create the perfect visual companion piece to compliment their incredible tracks.
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