With his debut EP a matter of weeks away, A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase (that is, the musical moniker of Angus Frederick Gardiner) has unveiled his latest single, the breezy “Predisposition”.
Though the name A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase might be a relatively new one, having only emerged earlier this year, it hides a well-known name, with Gardiner a long-serving staple of the local music scene. A member of the critically acclaimed Papa vs Pretty between 2008 and 2014, Gardiner has found himself working on stage and in the studio with a number of beloved local names, including the likes of Montaigne, Jarryd James, E^ST, Jack River, and Alex the Astronaut, to name a few.
Now, his attention has been focused on A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, which has seen him release a couple of songs so far this year, including “The Little Things” and “Don’t Stop Spinning”, with debut EP Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do due out at the end of the month.
As the release date gets ever-closer though, Gardiner has now given fans another taste of his work, sharing both the audio and video for new single “Predisposition” today. A blissful, breezy piece of euphoric indie-pop, “Predisposition” puts Gardiner’s poetic, introspective vocals atop a bed of sweeping strings and subtle guitar, turning it into a symphonic celebration of his standout talent.
“I wrote this song after reading the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl,” Gardiner explains. “My psychologist recommended it and it was a transformative thing for me to read at a time when I was really struggling.
“‘Predisposition’ is a song that came out of quite deep existential feelings about what it means to exist, persist, and make the world how you might like it to be while accepting that it won’t ever be that way. Hopefully there are enough layers of metaphor that it means different things to different people.”
Meanwhile, the accompanying Alex Bennison-directed video clip builds upon this, with the colourful, DIY affair showing Gardiner writing lyrics at his typewriter, while warm and vibrant shots of him performing the song are added into the mix.
“The clip feels very familiar to me since it was filmed in my apartment and neighbourhood, and features my trusty typewriter, which I use to keep a daily diary,” Gardiner explains. “I also did all the lyric writing on that typewriter. I love the mechanical feel and the physical and tactile routine of slotting the paper in, aligning the margins, and bashing out one letter at a time, with no backspace.”
“Predisposition” is set to appear on A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase’s Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do EP when it arrives on September 30th. In a statement regarding its origin and release, Gardiner explains that the EP was born out of a period of deep loss and heartbreak, and one that has helped him to deal with the processing of grief.
“In 2018 my best friend and bandmate Luke Liang passed away and I was shattered by grief and trauma,” he explains. “Making this EP has mapped and reflected some of my paths as I have begun to understand and process that event. I think I am still some way from what might be described as ‘healing’ and I don’t really like using that word but it is a gradual process and I do make progress every day.
“Some of the songs, like ‘Again, Either Way’ are quite raw and reactive and others are more metaphorical… I tried to distill things from a few different perspectives, but Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do is about living your life with fierce intention whilst accepting that there are things about the world that you simply cannot change.”
A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase’s “Predisposition” is officially released on September 9th, while his Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do EP is released on September 30th.
