Eora/Sydney bedroom pop act Harley Alaska has impressed me with his latest single “Déjà Vu.” This upbeat bop is absolutely infectious, in the best possible way.
“I loved the idea of writing a song about the saying ‘right place, wrong time’ but in a really tangible way – like this house is THE house / the right place, but I can’t tell whether the time I’m here is the right one – and it’s messing with me,” Harley said. “It’s like, when the person you’re with keeps reminding you of someone from your past, what does that mean? Is that a good or bad thing?”
“Déjà Vu” came out of a fairly intense period for Harley following an ADHD diagnosis. He spent the time honing his songwriting while adjusting his sleep schedule, habits, and medications to find the right combination.
“Being told I had ADHD didn’t feel too crazy at the time, but the ways in which that knowledge has changed my life since then has been actually quite profound,” Harley explained. “All these habits and behaviours are things that have been compounded over the years of my life… Now I understand so much of my self-sabotaging was essentially the result of parts of my brain. Having that knowledge means I can allow more freedom in where a song goes and how I feel about it – to me, there is nothing standing in my way anymore.”
“Déjà Vu” and Harley’s previous single, “Lose You Too”, are both set to appear on his EP, which is due next year.
Photo credit: Sam Cooper