Bandits on the Run release new single, “Radio,” and music video, ahead of Aug. 9 performance at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
A cellist taking the late train runs into a busker singing in a New York subway station. No this isn’t the set up to a joke, this is the origin story of indie folk outfit Bandits on the Run. The trio formed completely out of chance, and they have been changing each other’s lives since then.
Composed of Adrian Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Regina Strayhorn, the trio have been together since childhood and their college years. They recently released an enticing track titled, “Radio.”
“Radio” is the manifestation of Shepard’s deepest anxieties and fears pertaining to the world around them. The track was written during a time where things were uncertain in Shepherd’s life. She dealt with a great deal of disassociation and anxiety because of this uncertainty, and the lyrics just bubbled up inside her.
“Many songwriters talk about songwriting as therapy, and I suppose that’s true in this case, though it felt a bit more like expelling demons,” Shepherd explained.
The record is a narrow, quick passed indie folk snapper that easily conveys the anxieties Shepherd experienced. The track was released with an accompanying music video that plays heavily into the themes of anxiety and claustrophobia of a child. The video is shot in a narrow room painted in the style of a child’s bedroom. Different things are happening around the child, and it feels as though the walls are closing in on the family as the scenes continue to shift.
“Sometimes it’s hard to fully understand all the scary stuff that’s facing us out in the real world when we’re getting it through a limited perspective — whether it’s through the tiny window in your room, a broadcast on the radio, or the distorted visions of the world we see reflected in our phones — like the one you will probably use to watch this video. This piece is a rumination on the nature of that mystery,” the band stated.
Catch Bandits on the Run during a free Musikfest show in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on August 9.
“Radio” is available now on major streaming platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Kaiana Lee is a Journalism student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She has always had a passion for music and loves blending that passion with her love for storytelling. She loves going to DIY shows and practicing bass guitar.
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Flow-bending artist aSanTIS discusses art, culture, and whether sound can solve the world’s problems in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
My interview with Amy Santis aka aSanTIS began in the most unexpected way. The Maryland-based flow-bending artist and lyrical storyteller came prepared to engage in conversation around questions I had posed – and she also brought one or two of her own thoughtful prompts based on her curiosities around my view of learning.
This practice of taking in her surroundings deeply through observation and inquiry has come naturally to aSanTIS ever since she was a young child. In terms of her early starts in music, she notes that she began as a discerning listener. “Just listening to music from my mom, on the radio, just being a consumer in the world of sound. But I think mainly, my mom has always loved dancing and listening to music, so that was sort of like second nature. We play music at gatherings, we play music in the car, and these songs are sort of like diaries that take us into a specific place.”
Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
