Chicago Trio PIXEL GRIP shares pounding new single and night-driving new video "Pursuit".
“Being in an audience of freaks, queers, fetish people, all in the same room sweating together, and we all knew our purpose, and we were manic and arrogant,”
Pixel Grip vocalist Rita Lukea says.
The Chicago trio takes inspiration from the dimly-lit stages they dominate from their forthcoming sophomore album ARENA, out later this year. With a distinct pulse to their music exploring avant pop, EBM, and minimal wave, their new single "Pursuit" is a taste of the pounding dance rhythms the trio creates.
Lukea gives some background on the meaning of the new single:
"'Pursuit' distills a very specific feeling to me: the feeling of surrendering power, the feeling of having your love chewed up and spit out, the feeling of getting toyed with. Sometimes love isn’t empowering; in fact it can be humiliating and disabling.
The only way I can take my power back is to pretend like it’s my decision. This song is designed to be screamed along with by an audience who understands the pain"
Lukea and bandmates Jonathan Freund and Tyler Ommen used crowded clubs as inspiration during the pandemic that cut off safe socializing, remembering nightlife as a respite from the combative conditions of everyday life.
Pixel Grip’s songs confront wealth disparity, mental illness, and gun violence alike with over-stimulated confidence, audible in the relentless beats, and Lukea’s unmistakable vocals.
No matter where or when, Pixel Grip's music is is meant to be screamed along with at maximum volume, as practice for the day they can share their energy with all in crowded venues once again.