Clipping Wings is the duo of New York City’s Ethan Levenson and Gianni de Falco, the culmination of their sixteen-year-long creative partnership.
They have returned with their new single “Mackerel Season”, which kicks off a brand new defining era for the duo.
The track, which was mixed by Jake Aron (Snail Mail, L’Rain, Protomatyr) and features no percussion. Instead the duo explore a rather hypnotic track that is both comforting and mysterious in an oddly alluring fashion in the style of Destroyer. Alto saxophones and pedal steel swoons contributed by Henry Birdsey of Old Saw only add to its defining sonic textures that create a trance-like state.
“Mackerel Season” traces the footsteps of a marine biologist as he paces around Grant’s Tomb, a federal monument on New York City’s Riverside Drive, only a stone’s throw from where the duo were raised. Their story started after a chance meeting at the legendary Cake Shop in 2010 and shaped by their high school years spent performing at Brooklyn DIY venues such as Shea Stadium and 285 Kent. All roads have led to this point.
The track’s mystique-driven nature gets the appropriate video representation directed by Moira Fett and Filmed inside a century-old German market on the outskirts of Flushing, Queens. It features appearances from a number of local celebrities from New York’s food scene, including a star chef and restaurant owner (Anthony Ha), a beloved South Brooklyn microinfluencer (Vadim “The Dream” Stern), and fourth-generation butcher and cookie baker who used to dance at Chippendales (John Lepine). The local New York nature and visual language gives it a bit of an early days Safdie bros quality that feels like a necessary companion piece.
It’s the start of an exciting new chapter for the band with more music due out very soon. For now, enjoy the music video below.
