Premiere: Dudley Benson Shares Totems Remix of 'It's Ōtepoti's Fault'
Reuben Samuel Winter's (Waitaha / Kāi Tahu / Te Aupōuri / Te Rarawa / Ngāti Kuri) irrepressible spirit took many musical forms, encompassing speaker-blasting electronic club tracks as Totems (which sometimes doubled as an ambient moniker), emotionally devastating guitar-shred workouts as the award-winning Milk, and a boundless variety of side projects and collaborative works. Winter passed in September 2020 at the young age of 26, leaving us with a staggeringly deep back catalogue of releases to be inspired by and memories to cherish.
A prolific artist, Winter often had many projects on the go, including a never-before-heard Totems remix of Ōtepoti-based singer / producer Dudley Benson's 'It's Ōtepoti's Fault' that we are proud to premiere here today (officially out on streaming services tomorrow). Originally featured on Benson's 2018 avant-pop opus Zealandia, Winter reimagined the song as an breakbeat-fuelled, piano rave rager, preceded for a good portion by blissful waves of abstracted ambience. Joyful yet centred, allow yourself to be swept away by the emotional energy rush of the blessed tune. Benson shared the origin of the new track, created by Winter from March to May 2020 — during and just after the first lockdown in Aotearoa...
"At a time when we all had quite a bit of fear and uncertainty, Reuben made this piece that to me is about all the opposite to that... Freedom, the sky, finding comfort in connecting to nature. I'm so grateful Reuben took this on, and made such a beautiful remix.” - Dudley Benson
Dudley would like to thank Reuben’s Mum, writer Iona Winter, for her support in sharing Reuben’s remix, and Ayesha Green for her artwork.
Pre-save It’s Ōtepoti’s Fault (Totems Remix) on Spotify / Apple Music, released Friday 4th March: https://bfan.link/dbotepotitotemsremix
totems.bandcamp.com/album/totems
milk420.bandcamp.com/
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