Hopetoun Brown Drop Foot-Stomping Single 'Put It Down' + Video

Brass-wielding Auckland duo Hopetoun Brown (Nick Atkinson and Tim Stewart) have unveiled a soulful foot-stomping single titled 'Put It Down', and announced their much-anticipated third studio album Don't Let Them Lock You Up, which is dropping this March. The new tune is a tender ode to putting life's worries to one side and moving forward, and is accompanied by a masterfully edited clip by Atkinson, comprised of vintage footage from a Canadian public education video. The band have been wowing audiences on the regular with a crowd-pleasing recent performance at Splore 2018 and an upcoming live slot at WOMAD 2018. We caught up with Atkinson who lifted the lid on the ideas behind 'Put It Down'...

"I don't know if you've ever watched 'Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee'? The idea for the chorus is actually stolen from one of those episodes. There's a touching moment where Jerry Seinfeld is getting coffee with Kramer [Michael Richards]. I don't know much about Michael Richards but... at one of his stand up shows he did a racist outburst at a heckler. It knackered his career in quite a big way and he really retreated from the public eye. Obviously Jerry and Michael have this very warm relationship, and at one point Jerry says to Michael "Look man, one day you've just got to put that bag down." And I just thought, that's such a nice metaphor for troubles in your life. You can carry it round, and it weighs you down and it slows you down, and at some point you've actually got to put the bag down.

All of the footage is cut from this Canadian public education video that went around schools in the 60s to discourage juvenile delinquency. But I've got to say, it just encourages it if you ask me. The guy in the video's really handsome, he's riding around with the pretty girl... he's having a great time!"

'Don't Let Them Lock You Up' is out Friday 16th March.