Wellington seven-piece TOI are back with the second single off their upcoming new full-length album, today unveiling the feelgood track ‘We Got This’.
Listen to ‘We Got This’ HERE
Spacious guitars, soulful hooks, a killer bass line and laid back vocals are central to ‘We Got This’; with TOI’s signature style of R&B-meets-funk-meets-soul on full display. Darker undertones emerge particularly within the bridge, before emerging back out into the track’s feel-good, hopeful vibe; sonically mirroring the lyrical message throughout the song.
“‘We Got This’ is about keeping your head up and never losing hope in yourself,” explains TOI. “It’s a message of resilience, self-belief, and the importance of staying true to oneself despite challenges and external pressures.”
“We wrote this tune right in the heat of covid lockdowns and were sharing a sort of distorted uneasy feeling of the current reality and change of the social climate. Covid had a heavy effect on everyone's lives and we felt this hardship. But we also felt that it wouldn’t last, and that we needed to keep our heads up and not lose our sense of self and hope.”
With Ben O’Leary on production, Neil MacLeod on mixing, Benny Tones on mastering and the whole TOI whānau offering invaluable support, TOI says the single came together with a “supportive community around us, helping us foster the track’s message and expression.”
“We go through hard times too, but are lucky to have a medium like music to express ourselves,” reflects TOI. “We want to give a big shout out to our crew that helped us to bring this tune and message to fruition - we couldn’t do this without you all!”
‘We Got This’ is the second single to be released off TOI’s upcoming album, following the soulful track ‘Essence’ which received widespread radio support across Aotearoa, including ZM, The Edge, Sun FM and more. The new music comes after TOI’s 2022 single ‘Way That We Feel’ featuring Zoe Moon and their 2021 self-titled EP, which saw them exploring indie-pop landscapes with tracks such as ‘I Want You’, ‘Tangerine’ and ‘Thinking Too Much’. The EP amassed more than three million streams on Spotify alone and saw the band embark on a headline New Zealand tour.
With a hard-earned reputation as one of the tightest bands around, TOI has traveled the breadth and width of the country performing their own headlining shows; playing killer sets at festivals and sharing stages with heavyweights such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ocean Alley, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Katchafire, L.A.B. and Tash Sultana.
‘We Got This’ gives an exciting preview of the upcoming album, which is being made with support from NZ On Air. Keep your eyes peeled and get ready; today’s release is “just the start of what we think is an exciting and diverse collection of music to come”.
Listen to ‘We Got This’ HERE