Okay Embrace is the new project from Los Angeles-based songwriter and guitarist David Schaefer. Schaefer himself — now 20 years old — has been a part of the local music scene in Los Angeles since his early teens, having collaborated with artists such as Phoebe Bridgers and Girlpool.
Most recently, Schaefer has done work under he moniker of French Negative, which garnered some national attention from the young, but quickly rising LA musician. Now, he has began working and releasing music with his new project Okay Embrace and continues to travel around the city performing countless shows.
Back in October, Okay Embrace dropped a new single called “Drought (Song of California).” The track showcases Schaefer’s formally experimental brand of pop songs, literary lyrics, and carefully constructed interlocking guitars. Now, we are excited to be bringing you the music video for the track, which you can find below.
The video, at first, has what appears to be a 90’s quality to it, as if it was meant to be copied to a VHS player in your home. However, the more you watch this video from Okay Embrace, it’s clear that there is more to it. Schaefer explains that, “For this video, I asked my good friend Gabe Shestack, a filmmaker and digital painter, to film me on my favorite hike in LA. The rest is his vision. I wanted Gabe specifically to make this video because we share an impulse towards complexity and excessive layering. In a way, I think he does with imagery what I do with guitars.”
Schaefer actually recorded the first album from Okay Embrace during his studies over two years at Hampshire college. He had been working with Pixies/Dinosaur Jr. engineer Justin Pizzoferrato at Sonelab Studios. The record is titled Moving/Improving and is expected to be released sometime before the end of the year.
