Winona Oak had a chat with us about her striking and captivating new single ‘Winter Rain’.
Last Autumn Winona Oak released her second EP SHE, and the body of work has since gone on to be a lauded and much celebrated success for the artist. Featuring what are now highlights of Winona Oak’s back catalog, tracks like “With Myself‘, ‘Piano In The Sky‘ and the EP’s incredible title track ‘SHE‘, continued to expand upon and establish the artists uniquely captivating and mesmeric sound.
Now, SHE has been expanded to feature the fiercely striking new single ‘Winter Rain’, the track effortlessly sloting alongside its predecessors and adding a blistering, ice cold edge to the EP. Searingly personal and impossibly captivating, the track showcases the emerging artists uncompromisingly creative cutting edge and solidifies the notion that the artist is operating at the peak of her powers. We had a chat with Winona Oak to find out a bit more about the release and the tracks absorbing and surreal music video.
What was the process of putting the track together like?
It was an amazing experience. I wrote “Winter Rain” with my friends Andrew Wells and Julia Karlsson back in Stockholm about three years ago. It was during the summer – a beautiful Swedish summer day – so it added a nice contrast to the coldness of the lyrics. It was the first time I met Andrew, actually, and we became really good friends immediately. The whole process was really magical – a really really good session!
Themes of winter and coldness are prevalent throughout both the music and the lyrics of the track. Where did this idea stem from?
“Winter Rain” is about how it feels when someone’s becoming guarded and cold and distant in a relationship. I wanted to find something that would symbolize the coldness, how it can feel when the season is ending, and you’re asking “what if this is the end of everything?” You feel like everything is just falling apart so we wanted something that would symbolize those emotions of coldness, and what’s better than a winter rain?
What is the story behind the track’s unique and often surreal video?
We wanted something that would symbolize how it feels when someone is watching over you and making sure that you don’t feel alone when you’re trying to do something that’s hard. The bear symbolizes introspection and the awakening of the strong force that is the unconscious. They’re there to guide you through your hard times. I wanted it to be funny but also beautiful and surreal. I really love how it all turned out.
How do you feel the track adds to the dynamic of SHE as an EP?
It’s so cinematic and I think it fits very well with all the other tracks. I feel like the whole EP could be a short film; all the songs have their own little story but are all part of the same book.
LISTEN TO ‘WINTER RAIN’ HERE
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
