Sanguine indie pop artist Clark Twain has announced his debut single ‘Fly High (Like Richard Branson)’, a fun and upbeat track that is infectious with high positivity. Hailing from Austin, Texas, this song is the first single off his coming debut album ‘Life is Wonderful’.

The fun, high-flying accompanying video was directed by Vanessa Pla, who also co-produced it with Clark Nowlin. His music is influenced by Death Cab for Cutie, the Flaming Lips, Ben Kweller, and John Mayer. Thematically, for this single and the accompanying video, he also took inspiration from an unlikely, but intrepid source – Richard Branson.

‘Fly High’, which features a soundbite of Richard Branson speaking excitedly about flight at high speeds, is dedicated to the Virgin mogul and is timed to release on July 18, Branson’s birthday. With an ardent sense of optimism, he looks forward to a “world with color; a journey with many turns”, asserting “where we’re going, it’s going to be one hell of a ride”.

“I want to live a life like my biggest hero Sir Richard Branson, so I figured the best way to start was to do things that terrified me. I got my hands on a houseboat (Branson lived on one until he was 30) and then a private jet, and the vision for reenacting his life story in a music video was born. Making this music video terrified me. With it behind me, I learned that fear is always smaller when it’s behind you! Thanks for the inspiration Richard to challenge me and push my own boundaries,” says Clark Twain.

“Fun, adventure, and business as a force for good – these are the ingredients of Branson’s life and my own. We both love rock n’ roll and shaking things up for good. That’s what this video is all about it. It honors Sir Branson and I hope it inspires others to take this on!”

Clark Twain is the solo moniker of Clark Nowlin, who began playing guitar at 10, cutting his teeth on Metallica and Nirvana covers with friends in the attic and starting his first band a few years later. He eventually quit his day job to fully immerse himself in the world of music “because the gig money put enough gas in my tank”. After touring and recording with Tim Halperin and Marshall Young for a few years and supporting various artists, he amassed recording gear, learned the ropes, and began producing various musical projects.

“I knew that if I didn’t make a solo album and put out my own music, it would haunt me. That’s what I’m doing now. In an honest state of writing about what’s real for me – a song that embodies my own aspirations – that’s how this single was born,” says Clark Twain.

“Last November, I went to Cozumel for 11 days. The only book I brought with me was Richard Branson’s autobiography ‘Losing My Virginity’, which inspired me to write this song and make a music video re-enacting the big pieces of his story: adventure, business as a force for good, and of course fun. I decided to throw myself into all of these situations… a lifelike Sir Richard’s is one of great fun and chaos!”

Clark dedicated a solid 6-month block of time to working on his new material, beginning in January of this year, and splitting time between Elmwood Studios in Dallas, Clark’s home studio in Austin, and in Denton, Texas with Brack Cantrell, one of Clark’s all-time favorite producers, who also mixed his new material. Mastering was performed by Jon Törnblom.

“If music is to serve any purpose, it’s to remind us that we’re alive and that we’re not alone. For me, making it is a sign that I’m alive. Connecting with it is a sign that this big mysterious journey called life isn’t new territory and that whatever situation we’re in – someone’s already been there and has made it through,” says Clark Twain.

“I’m an eternal optimist and truly believe the best is yet to come in our experiences here on Earth. If there’s a shred of this hope embodied in this music, I’ve achieved my goal. I hope that these sounds put a little wind-in-your-sails when needed on a still day.”

The song eventually meshes into Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ – the first album released on Virgin Records. In fact, this label was created for the purpose of putting out this record. It quickly became an international sensation, selling tens of millions of records and becoming the theme for “The Exorcist”. This success allowed Virgin Records to sign the Sex Pistols, XTC, and many groundbreaking artists and eventually artists such as The Rolling Stones and Janet Jackson. ‘Tubular Bells’ was the initial snowball that got enough momentum to create the avalanche we know as the Virgin empire today.

LINKS:
http://clarktwain.com
https://www.facebook.com/Clark-Twain-1563597527101436
http://www.instagram.com/clarkin
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvpeieaYohK7OkHgeyk82KQ/videos
https://soundcloud.com/clarktwain
https://clarktwain.bandcamp.com