“Writing a song is pretty much like writing a movie,” Gee Casino says of his immersive new single Chinatown.
Gee Casino has released his new single Chinatown. Giving ancient sounds a modern twist, the track takes cues from its title with a dazzling array of Asian-infused elements.
From the tinkle of xylophones to the rhythmic thud of tanguu drums, Chinatown possesses a kind of anachronistic charm that effortlessly transitions between a bygone temple and the ambiance of a dimly-lit bar.
There’s a complexity to the production on Chinatown — at times glittering with regal strings and doo-wop harmonies, and elsewhere brooding with Gee’s rich baritone.
Sprinkled throughout the soundscape — so vivid you can almost picture walking through the namesake locale — are ear-catching flairs like chirping birds and traditional chimes.
Lyrically, the track sees Gee Casino connect with a newfound flame, who invites him to traipse through Chinatown.
It’s a testament to Gee Casino’s songwriting that the subject of Chinatown is so vividly sketched, with evocative details like her apathy toward “boring friends.”
In what’s become an all-too-rare yet sorely missed technique in pop music, Chinatown ends with a glorious fading outro, as if Gee Casino is bookending his tale of a wistful urban romance.
Gee Casino, who is based in Melbourne, is well-placed to revive former pop staples like this, since his single is bound by the catchy elements of the genre, from the call-and-response hook to the absolute earworm of a chorus.
All of this is not to say that Gee Casino is restricted to any one sound. Throughout Chinatown, the musician pulls from a diverse sonic palette spanning 70s groove to psychedelia and fuzz rock, without making it sound like a mish-mash or parody.
“I think that when you’re writing a song is pretty much like writing a movie,” Gee Casino explained in a press statement. “Everything has to belong to the same universe on which the action is happening.”
It’s an artist statement befitting of Chinatown, which immerses listeners into its scenery with cinematic finesse. Listen to Gee Casino’s new single Chinatown below.
