After the success of their debut single “Building a Windmill”, picked up for airplay on Radio 1, and follow-up “Third time’s a charm”, Paulien Rondou (Catbug) and Gaëtan Vandewoude (Isbells) return with a third single: “Runaway robin”, which is also receiving airplay on Radio 1.
“‘Runaway Robin’ is an old English name for ground ivy: a small, aromatic plant with round, fan-shaped leaves that hides among nettles, along roadsides and forest edges,” explains Paulien Rondou. “If you get stung by a nettle or a red ant, you just pick a leaf and rub it over the bite. The pain almost instantly fades away. As if the plant whispers: it’s going to be alright.”
The song was born after a long walk: “An attempt to clear my head after days of worrying about the future in uncertain times,” says Rondou. “When I got home, I wrote it in one flowing motion, without thinking. It felt as if the song was already there, waiting to be found.”
As with their previous releases, Peter Broderick adds something quietly magical, a sense of space and movement, like wind brushing through tall grass. The playful dialogue between drums and bass was recorded in Rondou’s living room, with the windows open so that the sounds of the street and the birds became part of the song.
“‘Runaway robin’ is about softness amid unrest,” Rondou concludes. “About how something small, a scent, a leaf, a touch, can be healing.”
