Singled Out: Magdalena Bay's How To Get Physical

K. Wiggins | 02-13-2020

Cover art photo by Lissyelle Laricchia courtesy Press Here

Magdalena Bay just released their new single "How To Get Physical" and to celebrate we asked Mica Tenenbaum to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

"How to Get Physical" started out with a beat Matt made back in 2017. We ended up deconstructing that to create "How to Get Physical" as we now know it - as soon as we dropped in that disco-y groove we knew this song was a keeper. We mostly made our music long distance while in college, but I have a distinct memory of Matt visiting me, Mica, in Philly when we came up with the basic production and melody for this track. The song was so dancy that we decided to make it about not knowing how to dance-- we're both awkward dancers but are learning how to move our bodies in time through Magdalena Bay live shows.

It's the case with "How to Get Physical" and some other songs on our upcoming A Little Rhythm and a Wicked FeelingEP that we made them a long time ago but were hesitant to release them until we had a label partner on board. We were lucky enough to start working with Luminelle this past summer and have been releasing all of our finished songs through them. So, before its release, we dug back into "How to Get Physical" and re-did the vocals and reproduced sections. It can take a lot of work to freshen up a track that's been sitting there for over 2 years, but I think we did a good job of bringing it into 2020!

As for the video, it's a classic Magdalena Bay green screen creation. I drew inspiration from anime and video games to make a retro vid for the track. I think I get more and more elaborate with the editing with each music video, and this one is definitely the most over the top. I ended up editing it over the winter holidays, so my whole family had to sit through watching drafts of the video while I worked out the perfect sailor moon graphics.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself right here!