Out now via Dome of Doom
Following the release of her debut EP MIDI In Motion last month, PENNYWILD unveils the visual accompaniment to the EP’s opening track “Intro: A Dancer’s World.”
The visual captures the grit and emotional dedication that dancers carry with them as they lace up, stretch, step into the groove, and let their bodies become an extension of their storytelling.
“Intro: A Dancer’s World” is a world of poetic examination within dance culture from Penny, who has performed on London’s prestigious West End in the Broadway musical West Side Story, amongst others. The track presents an oration from dance icon Martha Graham underscored by simmering house music, setting the floor for what's to come across the EP.
MIDI In Motion was created with Penny’s own invention, the Penny Pad - a MIDI Controller powered by your feet that seamlessly marries Choreography with Music Creation.
"I want people to understand that MIDI In Motion is an exploration of music through dance, and not the other way around. I have always strived to bridge the gap between dance music and dance performance, and that mission statement will innately be a part of my process until the end of time."
- PENNYWILD
The Penny Pad is a sound arena built from the exploratory and complex world of footwork, where dancing onto unique technology becomes the fuel for music creation. The process behind creating MIDI In Motion consisted of structured choreography steps performed on the Penny Pad that would then trigger the associated sound templates into sequence. Transcriptions from the original recordings would allow for enhancements in melody, harmony, and rhythm on extended takes and layering runs.
MIDI In Motion runs 18-minutes in length over the course of 5-tracks, with “Intro: A Dancer’s World” followed by "Shirley Temple” which features swarming bass lines, vocal recycling that jumps all around the mix, and percussive claps sourced directly from PENNYWILD's tap shoes performing a series of tap steps that gives the track its namesake. It lifts the music into a potent and heady territory, transfixing as each measure runs across the next. Following cut "Breaktime" pairs vintage '80s hip-hop drum breaks with spiraling vocal chops from legends Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. "Footsteps" builds off a melancholy piano loop that is immediately transformed from rubbery bass, entrancing 4/4 drum grooves, and another dose of vocal chops that gives the album undeniable flair. EP closer "Do It To Music" is a book end to the introduction, providing more dance instructional passages, this time more chopped and embedded into the grooves. PENNYWILD created the last piece of the EP as a homage to '90s era dance instructional videos, adding another sentiment into how critical dance was to the creation of the EP.
MIDI In Motion doesn't just encapsulate a record or a collection of songs, but has become a lifestyle transition for PENNYWILD. A driving force of influence in her own personal evolution and the inward/outward expression she's molded through various areas of her craft.
ABOUT PENNYWILD
PENNYWILD is a DJ / Music Producer / Choreographer / Digital Marketing Producer living in Los Angeles by way of New York City. She has performed at globally renowned festivals such as Coachella, SXSW, Splash House, Lightning in a Bottle, HARD Summer, BUKU, etc. Choreography credits include Ryan Murphy’s FUED: Bette & Joan, ANNIE at the iconic Hollywood Bowl (Associate Chor.), Enrique Iglesias, Marian Hill, Weird Al, RL Grime, Laidback Luke, RuPaul’s Drag Race, etc.
Penny appeared on London’s prestigious West End in the Broadway musical “West Side Story,” and toured with the production throughout the US and Europe. She digitally releases original dance concept videos under the series #PennyWildWednesdays, and you can find her original music on all streaming platforms.
Penny released her debut single "FOOTSTEPS" on Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records, and her debut EP “MIDI In Motion” on Dome of Doom in 2020. In 2018, PENNYWILD invented a MIDI Controller powered by your feet, in order to seamlessly marry Choreography with Music Creation. After releasing a mini-documentary regarding her creation with DanceOn, publications such as Billboard and Dancing Astronaut wrote features further exploring her concept.