FFO: Constellation Prize – Palm Springs

Darlington/Southampton synth-pop duo Constellation Prize release their brand new single, Palm Springs. Produced by Jamie Donnelly and inspired by fiction novel You and Me on Vacation, by Emily Henry is a hook and energy-filled, digitised Summer blast with melodious vocals and music reminiscent of any Mega Drive racing game set in sunny American cities.

Here, Palm Springs tell us more about the tracks that inspired it…

Palm Springs Drive – American Gigolo Soundtrack  – Giorgio Moroder

This song kicked off the inception of Palm Springs and we don’t just mean the title! Rich absolutely loves the clavinet and synths present throughout, and knew it would be a good starting point for moving onto the next level of sound for Constellation Prize. We wanted to make the next single sound a lot bigger and more epic and Palm Springs Drive was definitely in the background when we were writing Palm Springs. Our lyrics were inspired by a book Steph read called You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry, about, well, two people who go to Palm Springs (read it! It’s great), so the mix of the song and the literature gave us the perfect direction for this release.

The Jetzons – Hard Times

We have loved this track since we first heard it. It’s 2:59 of pure 80’s synth pop and we just adore the energy and drive behind it. A gem from Arizona-based New Wave band; The Jetzons, we have often returned to Hard Times when writing, and we’ve always tried to convey the energy and excitement from that song into ours.

California Gurls – Katy Perry 

We listen to a lot of pop music. A LOT of pop music. And clearly, we were looking for a summer-in-California vibe for Palm Springs. Nabbing a bit of inspo from California’s golden gurl seemed obvious, right? We love Katy’s celebration of the west coast and all things California in this song. California Gurls is a perfect summer pop track to dance to, sing along to, sip a cocktail to, hang out by the pool to… everything we wanted from a song about California.

And she’s right y’know, nothing does come close to the golden coast.