This hunger is full of
People to devour
Drunk on a power
In the storied stretches of New York City’s Washington Heights, Occurrence—an LGBTQ indie electronic trio—appears once more with Feeding Time, the new single from their upcoming fifth album, Real Friend.
Occurrence formed in 2015 when Ken, a musician chasing fresh ideas, sought out his college companion Cat after two decades of distance. Social media bridged the years, and soon Cat’s voice breathed new life into Ken’s tunes, forging a bold collaboration. With shows stirring the city, the duo soon invited Ken’s partner, Johnny Hager, to share vocal duties.
This triple partnership sparks the synergy fueling Occurrence’s boundary-pushing tracks, combining deep reflection with electrifying experimentation. Rooted in Manhattan’s mosaic of cultures and connected by memory, their bond frames each composition with genuine affection.
Teeming with hearts unready to empathize, souls too timid to speak, Feeding Time‘s lines reveal a realm of raw disquiet. People hurry through with closed fists and closed minds, possessed by longing and louder appetites. There’s an unrelenting hunger for more, from an emptiness devouring kindness. Yearnings mount, reaching, feeding, and ultimately surrendering to an unknown release. Empathy trembles, somewhere unseen.
The rock sound of Feeding Time, bringing to mind Tuxedomoon, Crime and the City Solution, and fellow New Yorker Alan Vega, was achieved with the help of guitarist Damian Baldet: “I wrote that song about calling myself out on my bullshit, but I kept hearing a proper guitar solo, so I reached out and Damian brought the riffs.” Hager, still in disbelief in the power of his own voice, remembers the recording as a “a special night in the studio.”
Watch the lyric video below from the safety of a NYC kitchen:
“We were coming out of the pandemic and finally the band was together again in our recording studio,” bandleader Ken Urban explains about the creation of the new LP. “Some edibles were had. And we were talking about friendship. Cat just hugged me for a long time in the kitchen and said, ‘You’re my real friend.’
The band spoke with Post-Punk.com about the album, their inspirations, the feelings behind its creation, and collaboration.
The title ‘Feeding Time’ is intriguing. How does this single stand to represent what we can expect sonically or thematically from “Real Friend?”
Ken: This new album came about because the three of us were reflecting on how the pandemic impacted so many friendships. And as Cat hugged me in the kitchen for a long time, I was struck by how our friendship, how being in a band together, had survived, how it had gotten stronger. This song is connected to those themes but it’s a darker take. It’s about how those less-than-ideal friends sometimes make you recognize things about yourself that are hard to see. The things you complain about in them you come to realize our things that you yourself embody.
Johnny: In a way, the 10 songs on the album are all different parts of a journey. This is one of the darker moments. I love singing this song because it invites me to not keep it all inside. Ken never told me what the lyrics were about. But I could just feel it.
Were there any challenges in blending the rock elements with your electronic style on this track?
Ken: I always start with a title. I recorded the first version of the song in the woods of New Hampshire at MacDowell in 2022 during a particularly dark day. And it came through in the music. When we started working on the album in earnest in 2023, I came back to the song and just knew it needed guitar to bring out that edge. Like everything it took ages to get it right.
Cat: We are consummate fiddlers. And by “we” I mean Ken.
Ken: True.
What was it like bringing on Damian Baldet to add guitar on ‘Feeding Time?’
Ken: I asked Damian if he’d be interested in contributing some guitar to the track after Johnny and I had recorded a rough version of it. Damian is a friend from way back and when he was acting, he worked on a play of mine in Minneapolis. Damian enthusiastically agreed and sent me a ton of stems, lots of different takes. As I started comping them together, I ended up re-arranging the song. Then I sent it back to Damian and he sent me some more parts. It was exciting to rip it apart and build it back up.
Listen to Feeding Time below, and order the track here. Real Friend is out on January 9th.
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