Auckland artist, songwriter and producer Calileo has today released his debut single ‘Weightless’ – a catchy indie-rock tune with melancholic undertones, which is all about belonging, being yourself and releasing yourself from the things you don’t need in your life.
Calileo - AKA Callum Martin, who first made his mark in Auckland’s renowned and now defunct indie-rock band The Checks – recorded ‘Weightless’ partly in his bedroom in Auckland. The track was finished at The Lab in Auckland with mixing and engineering by Tom Healy.
He describes ‘Weightless’ as feeling like the bittersweet “last day of the festival” and adds “The vibe is like a sonic smoothie of your favourite sounds, blended and served. It's fun to sing and sounds a bit like if Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) started a band with Dr Dre and Nelly Furtado.”
‘Weightless’ is the first single from Callum who says he settled on the artist name of Calileo as a homage to the historic character, Galileo.
“I'm inspired by great explorers and artists who approach creativity with curiosity. I played classical music as a youngster and studied pop music after the band finished. I love the scored lineages and silent musical languages that are the backdrops between genres. I think this is a reason I'm drawn to writing and producing music. I have a natural curiosity and love artists who are not afraid to push the boundaries and bend genres, artists such as Outkast, Talking Heads; James Blake; and Four Tet. I also thought Galileo was a cool character who presented some very progressive (although not necessarily initially popular) ideas which pushed us forward as a group of humans, as well as challenged the powers that were prominent during that time,” says Callum.
As a songwriter and guitarist in the 2000s for The Checks, Callum developed an ear for production from a young age. The band spent 10 years together, and found themselves opening for and touring with international heavyweights such as REM, The Killers, The Hives, AC/DC, Muse, and Oasis.
Now a decade on, and with a master’s degree in music therapy under his belt, Callum is ready to reveal Calileo and his lush harmonies dipped in heartbreak to the world.
“I wanted to create something unapologetically different that people can sing to and that is fun to play live.”