VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: NEW YORK CITY WASTERS – Fill My Head With Sugar

Hartlepool’s well-loved musician James Leonard Hewitson has undertaken a new project with one main goal: to be present in his creativity. With strong influences from artists such as Daniel Johnston, BMX Bandits and Ariel Pink, New York City Wasters epitomises the freedom of artistry, or as James puts it: “NYCW is a healthy exercise in being present and alive”.

Debut single Fill My Head With Sugar was inspired by the indulgent world of TV. We all know the feeling of investing our time and emotions into a particular TV show or a certain character, only to be abruptly snapped back into reality once it finishes. But have you ever taken it one step further? James explains: “I was watching a bit too much Netflix last winter and I started to think about a scenario where I’d be consumed by it so much so that I started relying on these characters as emotional crutches and ignoring my family, all while being locked away in my room, stinking.” We’re delighted to have been given an exclusive look at the music video that accompanies this entertaining thought.

The beauty of this project is the emphasis on ‘being in the moment’. The song was recorded earlier in the month by Michael Kitching (Cosmic Cat Recording), mixed then mastered in a single day. Without too much thought, this project promotes spontaneity and freedom within music creativity.

Fill My Head With Sugar invites the listener to sit back and relax. From the airy, background synth sounds, to the drifting entries of guitar, this lo-fi song provides all the features for a chilled-out experience. The lyrics are somewhat comical, yet incredibly relatable to the average listener (perhaps too relatable as we depart from another technology-driven lockdown). The music video perfectly embodies this realism, a muted black and white frame contrasts from the colourful inflections in the song – the intense aromatic nature of a Netflix-consumed recluse.

James explains…“The video was really fun, I obviously just did it in one take and it felt good; you can tell I’ve put hours into this thing before, I wanted to be an actor when I was a child, but big school knocked that aspiration out of me.”