Welsh indie post-punk project Private World, an act helmed by the duo of Tom Sanders and Harry Jowett, have returned with the perfectly 80s new wave pop track “Hypnagogia”. The song is the lead single from their forthcoming debut EP Aleph, the band’s debut album out in August on Dais Records.

“Lyrically, the song is inspired by dreams, paranoia and the hypnagogic state – not necessarily mine,” Tom Sanders told AnOther Mag for the video’s premiere.

“The grey area between wakefulness and sleep is where images usually begin to emerge from the mind of the sleeper. Somehow they make their way into or are relevant to our waking experience, conscience and fear, all of that stuff …

“Musically, the song is intended to ring like a sort of lullaby, or a mid-late 80’s R&B/Madonna song, without sinking too far into a feeling of parody,”  Sanders continues.

“I feel as though the main piano sound (Roland emulation of Fender Dyno-Rhodes Electric piano, or Yamaha DX7 sound) is very nostalgic for a generation of folks that grew up in the 1980s and & 90s – it was used on everything. I love the sound, so opted to make that a big blatant part of the song.”

Filmed at Cardiff’s Temple of Peace and Health, the video for “Hypnagogia” showcases Private World’s new live configuration, featuring the talents of William Dickins (bass), Nic James (guitar) and Stanley Fouracres (keys).

“The Temple of Peace and Health is of pretty symbolic and sentimental value to us,” explains Jowett. “It feels like it’s become part of our collective character as a band and as individuals.”

“The building was erected in 1938 as a memorial to the British soldiers of World War I,” shares Sanders. “It’s a Grade II listed building, with a 1930s German/Italian Art Deco design. There’s a feeling of homage to the brilliant masters of craft and design, stonemasons, architects and the good folks who commissioned the building: it is a monolithic and concrete representation of something good. We don’t make buildings like this anymore; neither do we build them as temples that represent and promote timeless, universal notions such as peace and health. If we had existed a hundred years earlier, we’d have been drafted [as soldiers]. Which makes you consider our sense of freedom.”

The music video for the “Hypnagogia” was directed by Sion Thomas, a director of films and documentaries over the past few years, such as Dirt Ash Meat (2019).

Private World describes him as “an old pal we know from the punk scene in Cardiff.”

Watch the video below:

Aleph is released August 28, 2020, via Dais Records, and can be pre-ordered here.