“THE ROOM” AND “SHE PUT A SPELL ON ME”
LISTEN HERE || WATCH THE “SHE PUT A SPELL ON ME” VIDEO HERE
Bad Seeds guitarist GEORGE VJESTICA has released his first two cuts of solo music: “The Room” and “She Put A Spell On Me”.
As eerie as it is emotive, “The Room” was written while Vjestica worked as music director on the BBC’s recent TV adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s ‘The Pursuit of Love’. Blending stripped-back, melancholic guitar with crisp vocals, the artist explains:
“I spent the night in a house that belonged to the mistress of the Duke of Beaufort way back in the day and the house was 100% haunted, spirits were flying around all over the place. Lyrically it’s coming from a place of isolation and emptiness — that feeling of being rejected and abandoned but holding on to something that’s gone, we’ve all been there.”
Featuring a first-take vocal that entwine themselves around minimalist acoustics, Vjestica adds:
“I tried to re-record it but I just couldn’t capture the spirit and feeling of the original so I decided to stick with that one, it was a keeper. The vocal sounds vulnerable at the start.. It’s got an emotional thing going on and it’s not faking anything. I don’t know what inspired it musically but when I listen to it I can hear shades of unplugged Nirvana, not vocally but the guitar refrain has a kind of Kurt vibe to it.”
Contrastingly, “She Put A Spell On Me” takes a more dramatic turn. With soaring instrumental hooks and a menacing aura that feels both perilous and polished all at once, Vjestica explains how he “went all James Bond on it.” Evocative of a threatening thunderstorm or a high-stakes pursuit set against a scenic backdrop, the track’s cascading percussion and steady vocals conjure an austere sense of anxiety.
Written and produced by Vjestica himself, both tracks are available on all streaming services now. Watch the supernatural video for “She Put A Spell On Me” by Ana Ristovic here.
George Vjestica is currently on tour with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, headlining major festivals all over Europe this Summer. Having played guitar with the band for the last 10 years, he has appeared on Cave’s ‘Push The Sky Away’, ‘Skeleton Tree’ and ‘Ghosteen’ albums.
Vjestica has also recently formed his own band Bandante, as an outlet for his own musical creativity. After releasing 2017’s double-sided single “Bang Bang / My Friend”, the band released “So This Is Now” in 2020.
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