Fusilier
Shares New Single ‘Upstream’
Fusilier finds light with his newest single “Upstream” while highlighting themes that have run through his art for years.
Having spent much of 2019 wrestling with depression, the Brooklyn-based, Atlanta-born Fusilier explains: “‘Upstream’ is ‘a song for the next day.’ I decided it’s okay to enjoy the taste of eggs in the morning, and to have nothing else to smile about. It’s okay to treat the streetlamp like the sun when you need light at 3am. I’ll find light.”
In the video for the single, a long-established relationship with masks (2018’s Duty EP features a Shibori mask themed cover art) peeks through. Fusilier “checks in on himself” over FaceTime then offers personalized portraits of isolation ending with a shot of himself masked, sun-soaked, on a fire escape. The self-directed effort was shot on an iPhone in and around his apartment while under quarantine in Brooklyn. He says of his relationship to the symbols in the video: “Masks hide intent. Masks breed mystery. Mystery is a possibility.”
Upstream starts with a bleak outlook, dark discordant notes pluck and move the composition with the emotive and soothing vocals resonating across the formidable tone. The vocals captivate, the audience is hooked to every lyric being crafted within this bold track. Dark and desirable- this track builds on its atmosphere. This artist can skillfully mould and project raw emotion within their escapism- an incredible feat.
Fusilier—the mononym of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Blake Fusilier—was recently described by The Creative Independent as “an Atlanta native who moved to New York to make a name for himself by crafting his own decidedly queer hybrid of indie rock and experimental R&B.”
The music of Upstream shows that he is now ok making the kind of music he wants to make. It’s the beautiful, chaotic, punk revelry of a rebellion and the small victory of taking a long shower after being too sad to move for days.
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