CRASH! Thomas Harpole's new single “Headlights” is a collision of Funk, Latin, Cuban, and Jazz sounds that you would hear walking down the streets of Havana, Cuba on a Friday night. "I took a trip to Cuba and there was music everywhere. Not only that, but amazing energy and smiles and sounds that I wanted to capture in a song." Making the song was no easy feat either, according to Harpole. "It took 300 audio tracks to make this, along with 12 musicians, 16 instruments, 3 video cameras, 800 shots we had to edit down, and about 100 hours of work between studio time and production... we swung for the fence!"
The music video, directed by Sam Ryan, twists full of color and high energy music, as Harpole's 10-piece band plays a Santana-like funk tune to start. The song quickly morphs into a Cuban outro in the Montuno style, complete with solos and a huge vocal ensemble.
“Headlights” is part of Thomas's upcoming album In Finite, to be released later this year.
"Above all, 'Headlights' is a song about the nature of human beings when we get close to each other," explains Harpole. "Our lives often look 'pretty' from far away, like a car driving through the hills at twilight. But sometimes when you get close to someone, you're blinded by your initial perceptions of them and keep coming back to this avatar you've made out of them. It's alluring, but it's not the complete picture of who they are. It not a bad thing really, but we are all blinded at first by the rush of meeting someone we love."
Harpole continues, “I think my favorite line that I've ever written is the crux of this song: 'Because a smile doesn't tell you about the girl beneath; and Headlights... don't drive the car.' It's so Freudian! Our underlying motivations go way further than just what someone sees in our pretty eyes, you know?"
Watch the official music video of “Headlights” here:
Harpole is a songwriter, producer, and acoustic guitar player from Denver, Colorado. His music draws on experiences living in New Zealand, Australia, and Cambodia in his 20s and being involved in humanitarian and music education projects for children. All of his show proceeds in Denver are donated to local music nonprofits providing instruments to disadvantaged communities and schools in the city. With over 175,000 streams on Spotify, some of his top singles include “Fifteen Steps” and "Hero," from his acoustic EP, Truth in the Mud. He is an active real estate investor in his spare time and holds 9 properties in his portfolio. Harpole can be found playing in independent venues in Denver and has supported artists Brad Corrigan (of Dispatch), Zach Heckendorf, Waker, and Graham Good and the Painters.
