To say the least, it’s been a big year for Roland Tings. After the release of his debut self-titled LP and chart-topping single ‘Hedonist’, everyone’s wanted a piece of him. He’s just finished supporting Chrome Sparks across the US and Canada, and is right now back on the roads of the United States with RÜFUS before returning home to play Beyond the Valley and Laneway. Obviously not staying quiet on the road, he’s just released his latest single. It’s called ‘Eyes Closed’, and you’ll be hearing it plenty from here on out.

It’s the same subtly thumping house that we’ve come to know from Tings, filled with a multitude of noises that uncover themselves more and more listen after listen. ‘Eyes Closed’ is all build, moving from strength to strength with the same pattern and beat, but adding in bass lines and different little noises throughout to make it feel like a real journey.

The man himself had some words to share on that exact journey, and the way he sees it.

“I wanted to make a song that would capture what I could only describe as cold euphoria. The exhilaration of being feeling untethered after a long time in the same routine. The intoxicating smell of eucalyptus after a long time in the city. I wanted to make something that captured the beauty of that coastal landscape in winter. The way the trees on the windward side of the headland grow with twisted branches, braced against the southerly storms. I wanted to make something that sounded like total release, coming out of a dark place into somewhere filled with light.”

Whether that’s the journey ‘Eyes Closed’ sends you on or not, there’s no denying how infectiously groovy the track is. Here’s hoping this is the first taste of a buffet of new material from him, and here’s hoping we get a taste of that at all the shows he’s doing once he gets back home. Beyond the Valley tickets are still available, and check availability on Laneway dates at their website.

ROLAND TINGS TOUR DATES:

Sat December 31 – Beyond the Valley, Victoria
Thu January 26 – Laneway Festival, Brisbane
Sat January 28 – Laneway Festival, Melbourne
Fri February 3 – Laneway Festival, Adelaide
Sat February 4 – Laneway Festival, Sydney
Sun February 5 – Laneway Festival, Fremantle