Expanding from the gated snares and pounding kicks of Sydney rock band Dappled Cities, Tim Derricourt is broadening his horizons to a more mellow, atmospheric sound with his DIY recording alias Swimwear. Giving us the chance to deep dive into this project, Derricourt recently shared Chapter One of his anticipated debut full-length Night Air. ‘Happyness’, the album’s first single, is the funk disco pop track of your dreams that begins to unravel the themes of the forthcoming concept album, and partnered with today’s new clip masterfully entails themes of uncertainty, while the captivating visuals remind us that being alone doesn’t necessarily have to mean you’re lonely.

Beginning with an image of a luminous beach coming into focus, the video starts to showcase a positive twist to the typical story of lonesome late-nights. Derricourt himself enters the scene, swaying and dancing gracefully alone under a moonlit sky. The movements are smooth yet jangly, capturing the freedom of being isolated on your own accord. From raw, magnetic shots on a night time beach, to exquisite choreography within a local Kmart, there’s an undeniable joyousness to the clip, which is only heightened by close-ups of Tim’s fancy footwork that anyone would be jealous of. It’s authentic, it’s energetic, it’s carefree.

The spoken word samples tangled with Brooke Goldfinch’s directing and editing techniques echo each other perfectly. The song is laced with funky basslines and woozy synths to create the perfect dream pop track. With melodic vocals and a steady soft drum rhythm, listeners are taken to a boogie wonderland where they are free to move around with every inch of their body.

Tim explains about the video, “this is a story that is becoming all too familiar - an idea, a dream that was disrupted, altered, due to COVID - and had to become something else. I had always wanted to make a clip of me dancing, the way I do on stage - with total abandon, weirdly, ungainly, with no plan. And this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I enlisted the help of good friend and brilliant filmmaker Brooke Goldfinch to join me on the ride. We made a test clip using our phones, and took to the oddest and quietest of places to do a test shoot of me, a dancing man, on his own, in his own world. But then - COVID. And what was test footage, quickly made on a phone, ended up being the footage we had! But from a set-back came the challenge. And the clip became its own thing - a wonky, odd little gem, capturing the weirdness of one man, dancing alone, in the face of oncoming change in the way we live our lives.”