Occurrence Debut “Heels Over Head”

Occurrence have shared "Heels Over Head"

Occurrence are back with new single “Heels Over Head.” The NYC band’s track arrives ahead of the release of their album Slow Violence, available April 7th, 2023. Occurrence is Ken Urban (electronics, synths & beats), Cat Hollyer (vocals, flute) and Johnny Hager (vocals). The band describes their music as “experimental electronic pop with a nostalgic bent.” Based in New York City’s Washington Heights, the band formed when Ken reached out to college friend Cat on Facebook after not seeing each other for twenty years. Ken was in New York working as a playwright and Cat lived in Lawrence, Kansas, working as a writer for Hallmark. Ken asked if she would sing on new tracks he was writing. Both were in the midst of major life changes, looking for new creative outlets. She agreed, and the two embarked on a now six-year collaboration. When the duo began to perform live, they invited Ken’s romantic partner Johnny to join as a second vocalist, completing the band

Johnny and Ken started this song during lockdown in Summer 2020. Since Cat couldn’t be with Ken and Johnny in person, Ken sampled her vocals and played it on a keyboard, so it could be like she was there in the studio singing with Johnny. The band asked Kip Berman of The Natvral and Pains of Being Pure at Heart to play guitar on it. He sent this crazy awesome version where he turned it into a Weezer song. Though the band didn’t pursue that route, it cracked open the song for the band. Ken went in and re-thought the song from the ground up, all while keeping most of Kip’s lead guitar parts. It took ages to get the arrangement right.

Johnny set out to make this song all joy—pure happiness and pure bliss. Ken’s ability to bring parallel universes to life inside one song—the dark co-existing with something light—acted as a perfect backdrop to Johnny’s lyrics.. This song is about that moment you realize you’re in love. Nothing anyone does or says is going to change your mind. You don’t even question how long that moment will last. You just live in that moment during this song.

As a band, the trio has spent so much time on darker themes. A song like this feels very vulnerable and risky to them. Now that they’ve been together for over six years, each member feels like this is a risk worth taking. The band are also dropping a music video for the track, directed by Tato Giligashvili, and shot in New York City’s Upper West Side.

The band’s first album THE PAST WILL LAST FOREVER was the result of Cat and Ken’s remote collaboration. Released in 2016, the album featured contributions from Kip Berman of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Alejandro Necochea of Bang Camaro, plus actors Thomas Jay Ryan and Maulik Pancholy.