Basic Comfort began in 2017 as a solo project by Tony Mitchell, who brought creative ideas and compositions to various members of Kalamazoo’s music scene as a part of his senior thesis project. It was thoughtful and atmospheric neo-soul music. Now the group has taken on a permanent cast of members and embraced a more collaborative creative process; combining the aforementioned genres with the full-band’s new indie-rock, bedroom and synth pop sensibilities. They make music that is intentionally crafted, catchy and makes you want to dance; a mix not often seen (but is well received) in Kalamazoo’s music scene.

Today we’re premiering a music video for the song “Drift,” which the band released independently last week and can be heard here. The video was done in collaboration with J Ludeker (of Motherhouse Music and Hemlock Media) behind the camera and Catalina González on set design. Sonically, “Drift” is emblematic of the project’s growth as a band, highlighting their ability to write parts intentionally and leave space for one another. This is shown particularly well in the interplay between the guitars or the grouping of vocal parts. The song builds slowly, is driven by a remarkably tight drum shuffle and leads us to an impossibly catchy chorus paired with a tasteful and unexpected synth bass part. All of this is met briefly with a more relaxed and atmospheric break, akin to the band’s first self-titled release.

Conceptually, the song is inspired by the West African word Sankofa which means to “go back and get it,” expressing the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present in order to make positive progress. The video captures this notion by showing the members as they move through the stages of lacking fulfillment, self-actualization, and quite literally taking the steps forward to “go and get theirs.” 

Basic Comfort had to cancel a previously planned tour and have pushed back the recording and release of a full- length album due to the current state of the world. You can support the band directly by purchasing a tape (duped by our friend Rory), streaming their music, and/or following them on social media, all conveniently done here.