WL//WH Video Of The Day: ELBOWSWAY “Sleep Debt” (Official Music Video)

Video Of The Day ELBOWSWAY

One of the first Shoegaze voices to emerge from the vibrant heart of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the up-and-coming four-piece Elbowsway, made up of founder, bassist and vocalist Tomas Mollaev, lyricist and guitarist Aziz Ganiev (St. Waters), drummer Roman Shirshov (Bu Qala, Flyin Up), and guitarist Amir Shaykhutdinov, rolls out the second excerpt, “Sleep Debt”, paired with the Official Music Video, taken from the forthcoming debut EP “Common Sense”, due this Spring via local imprint Boshqa Musiqa.

In 2023, when I first started working on this song, I wasn’t in a very bright phase of my life. I was chronically tired, mentally and emotionally overwhelmed, and severely deprived of sleep. While researching the nature of my sleep deficit, I came across the term ‘sleep debt’—the snowball effect of not getting enough rest—and I immediately connected with the concept.Aziz Ganiev says

The foursome has developed, with the pivotal technical support of veteran guitarist/composer Anton Suraev (Wyym), a powerful, emotionally weighty sound, sitting at the intersection of heavy Shoegaze textures and the intricate songwriting of the Midwest/Post-Hardcore era. They mention Mineral and Braid, for the melodic tension, Cursive and Hum, for the grit and dynamics, and Title Fight and Nothing, for the modern energy, as influences for their latest delivery, on which Aziz Ganiev takes over the vocal duty.

I came up with the first iteration of the song during one of those sleepless nights on my acoustic guitar. I wrote the lyrics that same night, almost as if I were spilling out everything I wanted to say but had no one to say it to. It turned into one long whining session, though that wasn’t intentional.Aziz Ganiev says

An electrifying fusion of consuming stop-start dynamics with rip-roaring barrages of wall of sound, the song ignites a heavy, grinding turbulence, fueled by relentless heart-pounding drumming and gloomy bass lines, overlaid with squealing whizzes, wailing and abrasive fuzz-laced riffs, rushing over sad, jaded vocals, layered with surreal, ephemeral back-ups, rising into frustrated anger, “I wanna fucking feel alive.”

I wanted to capture the emotional swings—from feeling sorry for yourself to being angry at yourself. When you’re so sick and tired of everything, it first makes you cry, and then it makes you scream in rage. Living with the constant feeling of exhaustion, without ever having the chance to catch your breath and rest, wears you down until all that’s left is raw rage.Aziz Ganiev says

The visuals place a fisheye lens over Elbowsway as they perform “Sleep Debt” in sync with the soundtrack. Candid day and night shots at local hangouts give an inside look into other activities the group does for fun when they are not playing music. The camera lens shows how feelings, thoughts, and perception itself can become skewed under physically stressful conditions.

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