Yumi Zouma have released the video for “Half Hour,” the song, is off their current release Willowbank, available October 6th, via Cascine. The black and white video directed by the band.

Yumi Zouma’s Josh Burgess talks about “Half Hour”:

“The first time I experienced death in any significant way was when I was 7. My granddad died, and I still remember this feeling knowing that now he was no longer on the planet, and no matter how hard I searched, he could not be found – he ceased to exist. I worried that he needed someone to help him as he navigated his way into death. The line ‘I think I’ll need you when I die, when I’ve got no one on my side’ is one that I wrote a while ago, which for me, captures my biggest fear about dying. An intensely visceral experience with no assistance.”

For the making of Willowbank, the members of Yumi Zouma settled on a plan to head home for the New Zealand summer. To complete what would become their first significant work written and recorded entirely in their home country, they rented a studio in Christchurch’s semi-demolished CBD, on one of the few remaining blocks that still characterizes the city from before it was destroyed by a series of earthquakes.

Burgess says, “It was as though there was a brief pause in all of our lives and we finally felt like a band from New Zealand. We were on home turf and creating from a place that felt fundamentally natural.” That sensation was further underscored by Willowbank’s recording sessions falling over the cherished holiday season, during which the Yumis were surrounded by family. Burgess credits some of the small, often mundane Kiwi traditions of the time for influencing their mindset. “New Zealand has a distinct feel from Christmas to the end of January. Things shut down. It has a calming presence, it’s very peaceful.” That sense of holiday can be heard on lead single “December” where the melodies float and stir themselves into a series of swelling refrains that culminate in horns and handclaps.

Yumi Zouma
Tour Dates

Fri. Oct. 6 – London, UK @ Omeara
Sun. Oct. 8 – Brighton, UK @ The Joker
Mon. Oct. 9 – Paris, FR @ L’Espace B
Wed. Oct. 11 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Musikkens Hus – Ideal Bar
Thu. Oct. 12 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser
Sun. Oct. 15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Sugarfactory
Wed. Oct. 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater*
Thu. Oct. 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop*
Fri. Oct. 20 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios*
Sat. Oct. 21 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza*
Mon. Oct. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s ^
Tue. Oct. 24 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall ^
Wed. Oct. 25 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge ^
Thu. Oct. 26 – Boston, MA @ Lilypad ^
Fri. Oct. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz ^
Sat. Oct. 28 – Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha ^

*w/ Chad Valley
^ w/ She-Devils