Nashville-based folk rocker, Christopher Kessenich, along with his band, the Arts Fishing Club, keep their hopeful sights set on a boundless horizon with their latest single “keep on walking”.
A simple backbeat and a strumming guitar lead the charge with a slower pace but maintain purposeful stride that gradually transforms into a full-on sprint towards a rising sun. At the song’s climax, there is a moment of suspension where it feels the band has jumped off the edge of a cliff, and after the sound and momentum come crashing down, there’s still optimism in the soft and slow continuance of the guitar and vocals. The movement doesn’t stop entirely – with determination, there’s a sense of resilience despite there being long way to go.
The swell of the music seems to match the evolution of the atmospheric synthesizers, which go from singular sustained chords to full on tidal waves of sound. The song’s elastic sense of time is its greatest strength, using moments of suspension and drive to create engaging dynamic shifts. It’s an indie rock anthem with a romantic sense of optimism that feels relentless, and always ready to keep trucking along.
“I’m hopelessly optimistic and I love the idea that at any moment our lives can turn around for the better,” Says Chris. “‘Keep on walking’ is a story of walking in the middle of the night to clear one’s head from whatever ‘fckd’ up experience the listener might be going through… As the walk progresses, the intensity of the music and emotional processing increases while always returning to the mantra of moving forward (“keep on walking”). Finally, the sun rises and the listener is left with the hopeful thought of ‘who knows what today will bring?’”
“keep on walking” is available now on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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