Tristan Courtney-Prior is stepping out for the first time as a solo artist with his single ‘Elevator‘.

Best known as guitarist for Sydney bands Peabody and Shearin’, Tristan takes a darker, moodier swing into post-punk rhythms and guitar shapes on this track. A stately and stentorian vocal marches the song along, distorted guitars swaying and riding the propulsive bass and drums. It’s heady, hypnotic and possessing a gloomy psychedelic swirl at times.

“In its simplest form, ‘Elevator’ is about grief,” Tristan ventures. “But the song is also about the human brain’s inability to process moments of great magnitude and how our pain can manifest in interesting ways – such as an out-of-body experience – when confronted with an incomprehensible event.”

‘Elevator’ explores these ideas through a short moment between two close friends in a hospital elevator. “The song is based on an experience I had some years back,” says Tristan. “I was rushing to the deathbed of a loved one and suddenly found myself sharing an elevator with some good friends celebrating the birth of a child.” 

A full album is out early in 2023.