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Winston Hightower—the creatively restless, do-it-yourself musician out of Columbus, Ohio—has been quietly releasing music on the internet over the last few years. A staple in the Midwest underground scene, his first work under the eponymous moniker was a self-released tape in January 2015. Since then, he has put out over 100 songs on various formats, causing many to refer to him as "the Black R Stevie Moore." K Records and Perennial got a hold of Hightower to release his first-ever proper album titled Winston Hytwr, which flawlessly pairs previous and impossible to find tracks with newly recorded ones, brimming with fertile outsider pop sensibilities and clever one-man studio tricks. Today, Hightower has shared with us a new music video to the mildly psychedelic and sweetly overcast melodies of "Hue Nose." Discussing the track, Hightower says, "It's about learning that sometimes you think all the world is against you and the clarity you find when you're the only one standing in your own way and the possibilities are endless if you allow them to be."
Jolie M-A, a visual artist for K/Perennial and guitarist in the New York group Ribbon Stage, directed the music video and kindly shared some words about her discovery of Hightower's music and the new super 8mm footage:
This video is for my favorite track from Winston's first LP. The album came to be after I became obsessed with Winston's tape Short Stories, released by our friend Emmy's short lived tape label in 2020. The two of them had played in a punk band together, but Winston's solo recording (under his actual name) spans a much more expansive and genre-defying project. Whether at home with his Juno or in the car recording vocals, Winston has composed hundreds of songs that effortlessly dance across a stylistic mix of guitar rock, synth pop, lo-fi rap and more, all in his singular voice.
Winston has his own tape label too, and despite putting out dozens of releases on tape, had never made a record. I lent a copy of my cassette to Calvin and Hayes at the Perennial/K HQ, who also fell in love with the catalog. Winston agreed to let me curate a "best of" his entire previous output. We also included three brand new songs, putting them all to tape at High Command Studio in Olympia, mixing with Capt Tripps Ballsington. The resulting LP is Winston Hytwr that brings his old catalog up to present and paves the way for Winston's exciting future on the label.
"Hue Nose" is a very special song to me, and I insisted it end up on the album even if it wasn't Winston's favorite. The track reminds me so much of the legendary Olympia band Naomi Punk, but of course with Winston's unique and dynamic flow. As luck would have it, we were able to shoot some footage on super 8mm when Winston was in Olympia for a week this past September. He came to town to play a show with The Messthetics from DC, as well as a music festival called Northern Sky that Hayes put on with other K alums Lois and Mariella. In between gigs, we recorded vocals at Mobile Control Studio for the next Winston Hightower album, to be released with K/Perennial next year. Winston also collaborated on some tracks with me at the studio, and did some recording with another local on the K roster, fish narc.
Obviously the visit was jam packed so to speak, but we managed to sneak in some footage on a few quick smoke breaks and walks around the block. The resulting video also has shots of Winston and Hayes mixing, and a special cameo from a celebrity dog named Snuffles, who happened to be in the neighborhood.
Winston Hytwr is out now on K and Perennial Records.