Just in time for Halloween and hot off the back of winning Show Me Shorts NZ On Air best music video for single ‘When You Went Away’, New Zealand-South African band The Transits have today released their 80s inspired, massive new single and chilling short-film, ‘Lost Ones’.
Listen to ‘Lost Ones’ HERE
Inspired by 80’s horror movie scores, with its synth-laden, 80’s drum machine verses, ‘Lost Ones’ expands into a rock-heavy chorus with massive drums and a wall of guitars in classic Transits fashion. The track pushes the boundaries of the trio; creating a new blend of two worlds which hits home in the enormous bridge.
Lyrically, ‘Lost Ones’ describes an “emotional vampire - not the blood sucking type, but rather the sort that suck the life out of you, draining you.”
“People like this, they waste your time; or use you,” says Dom Antelme. “This song is about standing your ground and fighting back.”
‘Lost Ones’ has been released along with a captivating short-film directed by Ian Sweeney, and features some great Kiwi actors such as Milo Crawford (Deathgasm, Power Rangers) and Jordan Mooney (Ash vs Evil Dead, The Panthers).
“We actually had the concept for this video before we had the song,” explains Dom. “We’ve been talking about this music video short film concept for sometime, so the song was written with the concept in mind. It had to feel like our unique take on the 80’s and all the things we love about it.”
“Because the song has such an 80s sound to it, we wanted to create a video that pays tribute to all the things we love about the 80s: skating, vampire movies, VHS tapes and rad sneakers and shoulder pads,” says Ian Sweeney. “We had a blast making it.”
Watch the short film HERE
Today’s single comes after their recently released track ‘Renegade Hearts’; which received big local media support, including being featured on Radio Hauraki and Juice TV. Previous to ‘Renegade Hearts’ was their smash debut single ‘When You Went Away’; a track which reached #19 on the Aotearoa RadioScope Alternative Chart, and reached #9 on the South African Top 40 Chart.
Ryan Lunn (vocals, guitars, synths), Dom Antelme (vocals, bass) and Tyrone Smith (drums) have been making music together on and off since forming their first band 30 years ago as teenagers in Durban, South Africa. “We’ve been close friends for even longer than that,” says Dom, “it’s like family.” They would practice before, after and even during school, finding inspiration in guitar-heavy pop outfits like Weezer and The Pixies.
Since that first band, each member has gone on to experience careers that have included label signings, live, chart, radio and award success. The decision to get the band back together came about during the pandemic, when they started to write and record together, regardless of being in different countries. The band says the timing feels serendipitous, with bands such as Blink-182 announcing the reunion of their original lineup and a resurgence of the vintage pop-punk sound.
With a debut full length album on the way, there’s so much more to come from this brilliant trio. Watch this space!
Listen to ‘Lost Ones’ HERE
Watch the short film HERE
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