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PREMIERE: Dancing into the darkness with VRS.US

The realm of electronic music has become the Wild West of this business. Everyone is out to stake their claim in it, with every new comer ready to bring something new to the table. Not just limited to the music itself, but also live productions and music videos too; you can’t look me in the eye and say Gesaffelstien‘s Pursuit video would work with any other song. So upon learning that former Dead Letter Circus guitarist Tom Skerlj has started a new electronic project VRS.US with a new single Get Your Way, it is enough cause to pique plenty of interest.

VRS.US get your way

Tying together dark themes and breathtaking dancing, fresh electronic duo VRS.US deliver a stunning debut clip for Get Your Way.

Skerlj isn’t alone when it comes to VRS.US, the young man working with vocalist Madeleine Hunt. Skerlj has been tinkering away on his own electronic music the last few years now, and discovered Hunt after finding her EP on triple J Unearthed. The two soon  started sending demos back and forth. “I live in Brisbane and Maddy lives in Adelaide” Skerlj explains, “So a lot of the writing process has been us working separately. It felt like the time was right to put something out there, and see how people responded to it so we decided that Get Your Way would be a great first release.

Get Your Way is an impressive debut single, it certainly helps that the duo have had plenty of experience in songwriting. The dramatic shifts in pace are compelling and Skerlj should be applauded for his production skills. Let’s not forget Hunt either, her vocals are strong and demand your attention. It gives Get Your Way an anthemic quality that will no doubt get a few remixes in the club scene soon enough.

The video for the single is a striking thing, featuring a lone female dancer bathed in silver and in conflict with a…curtain? It sounds silly on paper but is just as compelling as the track it brings to life. Sitting in the director’s chair is Clint Gough, whom Skerlj met during the production of Dead Letter Circus’ video for I Am, the two becoming great friends since then.

One night we were hanging out, we showed him Get Your Way and he immediately loved it. Maddy and I started talking about getting him onboard to do some artwork for the single release, which evolved into an idea for a film clip which we fleshed out over a few months before shooting it.

We all sat down together when Maddy was in Brisbane during a recording session and talked about the clip, the themes, lyrics and ideas. That’s where we fleshed out the vague concept for the clip. We kept bouncing ideas off Clint and the idea kind of evolved into what the clip is now. Clint was really in tune with the dark mood of the song and wanted to capture that visually.

The video ebbs and flows between the quiet moments and the big, boisterous chorus. Dancer Demi Jenkins gives an emotionally charged performance, capturing the themes of doubt and free will. It’s very much a waltz with a personal demon. Gough does a good job of the video, his uses of slow motion and choppy cuts heightens the sense of drama and the dark aesthetic of Get Your Way.

If Get Your Way has you all hot and bothered be glad to know that VRS.US isn’t slowing down production any time soon, with Skerlj saying they have plenty more demos ready to be polished off. “It’s really exciting starting a new project, you have the ability to create anything you want and don’t have too many expectations. We’re embracing that and experimenting as much as possible while VRS.US is at this early stage.