Video premiere: synth punk act Death Palmz introduce Clear In My Mind
When he isn’t onstage as the frontman of acidic noise punk act Exotic Fruitica, Seattle native turned Austin resident Jon French is hushed away in his residence cutting vinyl for artists in the city music scene and beyond. With a conditioned touring vehicle that’s two albums deep, French has duly chosen to have his own solo project, taking on a new synth-punk venture entitled Death Palmz. After the release of a debut EP produced by Xavier Juarez of Wall Of Fog Studios and released on Mr. Pink Records, the French solo outfit has released and premiered a new video for the brand-new single “Clear In My Mind.” The new single was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jonas Wilson. Since the conception of this outlet, French has gotten right to work in the scene with numerous live appearances already under his belt as 2025 has commenced.
On the track accompanied by the new music video, the Austin musician has embraced influences in the vein of Suicide, Liars, and Nine Inch Nails. With live performances that feature French planted onstage with a mere synth table and a microphone, it has become a full-fledged songwriting channel that has rapidly grown into a prolific local music entity.
“I put this project together out of necessity. I want to tour more, and my current band has five members, which makes it difficult to hop on a plane and play a show. I designed my entire electronic rig to fit in one checked flight case..pedals for noise, an MS20 for synth work, and my SP404, which I’ve used to collect analog instrument samples that I like,” French said of Death Palmz’s origins. The new release also features Exotic Fruitica guitarist Charlie Cruz, who also provided the photography for the artwork on the new single.
The accompanying video features a masked French with kaleidoscope glasses showing off some off-killer dance moves as the foreboding nature of the new cut progresses with exceedingly heavy bass distortion and all the bleeps and bloops you can handle before journeying off into a vortex of oscillating sampling patterns and retro noise-infused hysteria. The minimalism of the musician’s approach shines through on this new project, proving that less is more when creative tenacity knows no limits.
Listen to Death Palmz here.
Featured ph0to by Casey Chumbley
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