Wieuca Releases Latest Single "Human Shield"
Last Friday, while on tour in Nashville, Athens local band Wieuca released their single “Human Shield” featuring hip hop artist Javae on all platforms.
Wieuca
Wieuca has been busy with two singles dropping last month, going on tour in Birmingham and Nashville leading up to this release, and gearing up to hit the studio in February for a new project. Both the recording of the single “Human Shield” and the simultaneous release of the music video shot by @igobygoodie has been in the works for a long time. Javae, who made a big impact quickly on the Athens hip hop scene last year, moved to Brooklyn, NY at the end of summer and forced the guys to get creative with this collaboration.
“We recorded the song back when Javae lived here, that was recorded in Athens. It was like two weeks before he left, just to kind of give you a time frame of how long it’s been in the process as a collaboration. I’ve been talking with him quite a while about collaborating for a little less than a year prior to that. We just like each other’s stuff,” said Will Ingram of Wieuca.
In true Athens style, Javae went to Will’s house to hang out with the band and record his part in their home studio.
“He kind of asked Will so is there like a meaning to this song that you kind of want me to work around, and Will told him. It very much is reflected in Javae’s verse, which I found really impressive because he was just like alright where’s the booth, and it was just in the kitchen ya know. Just like a microphone on a stand in the kitchen,” said Jack Webster of Wieuca.
Will explained the meaning behind “Human Shield” as putting on a happy face for those around you instead of being open and honest about what you’re really going through.
“That’s something I’ve constantly struggled with in my own personal life, I like to be the fun guy around my friends. I’d say my first verse is pretty abstract, and I still don’t really open up. I just say this is what it looks like, and I guess you’ll never find out what else is going on. To me, that’s like the mask is on, and then Javae’s second verse comes in and it’s like the mask is off. It’s just this progression of the theme through different phases,” said Will.
Javae
Creating a music video to bridge the collaboration had to tie in different locations as well as genres. Jack had been following The Yod’s progress in the local hip hop scene, and after noticing Goodie’s logo on the music videos he took an interest. Jack was impressed by Goodie’s portfolio, and Will was further impressed by his knowledge of styles and aesthetics outside of hip hop.
“This being the first time we collaborated with a rapper, we just kind of wanted to edge into it as the song progresses. Goodie was able to modify the feel as we got through the video so it could be indie or alternative or hip hop,” said Will. “So we had to come up with a device to have Javae be in the video but not be able to shoot with us, so I came up with the idea to put him on a T.V. that we would all be watching, and that’s sort of what the concept came from. It all kind of started with the idea of sitting in the darkness with the flickering of the T.V. and you’re watching what you sort of want to become. Javae is that. He’s sort of the rockstar in the video, but once you see things from his perspective, he’s got issues too. Whichever side of the screen you’re on comes with it’s own baggage. It would have been nothing without Goodie. He was a lot more than just editing tricks and cinematography and directing. He truly kind of found this through-line of taking a concept all the way from basically our brains through execution in the shoot and then through effects to make it all conceptually tie in.”
After six years of being a band and going through several formations and members, this is the first Wieuca track to feature a rapper or the use of horns (saxophone played by Ben Hackett). Recording two albums, three EPs, and many more singles over the years completely from home, Wieuca has decided to “elevate” their production in 2019.
“We already have done a session with a producer we really like, and he’s definitely into working with us as well. I think the more we stick to that formula of getting the songs out, the closer we’re going to get to our goal of what we want the next album to be like,” said Jack.
One wish Wieuca has for the Athens music scene is to see more cross-genre shows and collaborations. That’s how consumers are taking in music in this era, and that’s what should be reflected in our music scene.
“One thing that I think indie bands need to sort of adopt from hip hop artists [is] the sort of more strategic way of promoting by giving people something to chew on more frequently. We’ve been sort of taking a page out of that book. Just gotta stay on the grind,” said Will.
Go listen to “Human Shield” on Spotify or the many other available music platforms, and check out the music video shot by @igobygoodie!