Kino Motel is the duo of Ed Fraser and Rosa Mercedes, who hail from the the bands Heads and Josephine Foster Band, respectively. They formed this new group when they met in Berlin and have traveled the world together, including a stop in Bangkok, Thailand where they wrote their debut single “Waves,” which we are excited to premiere today.

The band describes their sound as “grit pop,” a term that perfectly ecapsulates the gritty, sometimes-dark, sometimes-manacing approach to pop music. The rough edges in Kino Motel’s sound is balanced by catchy hooks and beautiful harmonizing between the two vocalists. The song is influenced by cinema, which is apparent in its neo-noir aesthetic and also recalls the haunting desert soundtracks of decades-old spaghetti westerns.

“We recorded Waves between Germany and Australia, first we tracked the drums, violin and percussion at the beautiful Butterama Studio in Berlin, and we were really lucky to have two brilliant musicians join us on the recordings – Sweden’s Josefin Runsteen and Germany’s Sebastian Maschat,” said the band in a statement. “We then recorded all the vocals, guitars, bass and synths out the back of our place in Melbourne. There’s an old bungalow down there full of tools, a bunch of guitars and synths and stuff, but most importantly my sister is storing her pride and joy in there – a surfboard signed by shark-punching former Australian world surfing champion Mick Fanning. How could we not call this song ‘Waves?'”