Track of the Day: Dashoda - 'Fooling Around Again'

Electro-pop artist Dashoda (Gavin MacDermott) has released his hotly-anticipated debut EP Never Enough earlier this week - accompanied by a stunning alt-pop video for focus track, ‘Fooling Around Again’.

Dashoda explores the fragmented versions of himself in this dystopian video. Marking the final in a trilogy of clips filmed in a stunning 1970s-style architect-designed house in Co. Wexford, the video is saturated with visually-stunning shots and striking contrasting colours of blue and red.

"I don't wanna lie/ There's something inside of me/ Quiet and lonely/ Fooling around again/ You know what it’s like/ Got something to hide again," Dashoda sings on the track's soaring chorus.

The influence of artists like The Blue Nile, Blood Orange, Roxy Music, Japan, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Prefab Sprout can be heard, seeping into the track's DNA. The carefree song is carefully balanced with pop, synth, whilst delivering an overall retro sound.

“We wanted to play with colour and setting for aesthetic reasons, and the idea of the fragmented self. We lived in this 70s-styled house for four days and made three videos so it felt like a complete escape from reality for a while. There is a playful, juvenile quality to the imagery and I think this is a reflection of the absurdity of self-sabotage,” says Dashoda.

“Much of the EP is inspired by self-sabotage in my personal life. The video is a literal yet absurd interpretation of these themes and experiences, which can often make for sombre reflection,” he continues.

Dashoda.

“I also feel the video is a nod to artists like Connan Mockasin and Donny Benét, both of whom were important to me during the making of the EP for their use of humour in exploring the forbidden.”

The video’s director Ror Conaty also chimed in on the inspiration for the visual: “I was drawn to the 80s style hook of ‘Fooling Around Again’ which I found reminiscent of Don Henley’s ‘Boys of Summer’. Lyrically the EP circles around internal struggle and self deprecation which is set against the backdrop of lush and warming alt pop. I wanted to reflect this juxtaposition in the video, which is a series of vignettes toying with Dashoda’s penchant for self sabotage; using the house as a decadent metaphor for the self and internalisation.”

Never Enough was recorded by MacDermott at home and in several studios across Dublin, Wexford and London with friends both old and new, predominantly over lockdown.

The intimate EP was produced by both Dashoda and Ross Fortune, who has previously worked alongside Ellie Goulding, King Krule, and Ed Sheeran.

Speaking on the new track, Fortune says, “‘1979’ by Smashing Pumpkins was a key vibe reference for ‘Fooling Around Again’.

“I love wearing influences on my sleeve - no matter how directly I try to draw from the music I love, it’s always going to be filtered through the lens of my own technical leanings and emotional experiences. When you add all that in the context of a new song, it comes out as something new,” he adds.

Listen to ‘Fooling Around Again’ below.