RIP Dunes LP Album Art
New York City, NY - March 1st, 2024 - Today marks the release of the self-titled debut album RIP Dunes, which is being celebrated by the band themselves. The album is a new project from Matthew Iwanusa (Caveman) and has been influenced by the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen, The Church, and The Cure. It offers a lush sonic landscape, featuring effortless melodies and a sense of euphoria, while also incorporating pangs of foreboding mystery and darkness to keep the listener engaged. Along with the new album, Iwanusa has also shared the music video for the album single, "Cruel Nature". This song takes the listener on a disorienting and illusory journey through the dark streets of NYC, mirroring the song's seductive after-hours vibe. To promote the new album, RIP Dunes will be performing songs from the album in the upcoming weeks at New Colossus, SXSW, and Treefort Music Festivals.
Watch the music video for “Cruel Nature” on YouTube
Order/Listen to RIP Dunes: https://lnk.to/RIPDunes
RIP Dunes is a new project from an acclaimed indie band (NPR Tiny Desk, FADER GEN F, Stereogum Progress Report) Caveman’s Matthew Iwanusa. When something captures Iwanusa’s attention, he tends to dive in all the way—whether it’s the city he grew up in (New York), the basketball team he obsesses over (The Knicks), or the indelible images of his youth. The songwriter grew up in Brooklyn, but every summer his family would make the 10-hour drive to a getaway home on Lake Michigan. And for someone whose music has always felt a bit nostalgic, it only makes sense that a new project would be named in honor of the dunes that loomed over his childhood.
Music-making and New York living have always been the fabric of Iwanusa’s life. His father’s a jazz composer, his mother a longtime music teacher in the New York City public school system. He got his first Mickey Mouse drum set at the age of three and started singing in the Metropolitan Opera’s Children’s Chorus at the age of six. So it wasn’t long before he started writing songs of his own. After a series of bands, things kicked into a new gear when he formed Caveman in 2010 with a few old friends. The band toured the world alongside artists like The War on Drugs, Weezer, Jeff Tweedy, Built to Spill, Ra Ra Riot, Frightened Rabbit, and Phosphorescent.
As evidenced by his work in Caveman, Iwanusa has always loved synths—but he wanted to move away from that as a driving force this time around. His work on RIP Dunes kicked off right before the pandemic, sparked in part by the purchase of a 12-string guitar. A growing love of a new instrument paired with an inability to leave the house opened up a new avenue into songwriting for him.
RIP Dunes is a new project from the acclaimed indie band Caveman. The band's lead singer, Matthew Iwanusa, is known for diving all the way into things that capture his attention, whether it's his hometown of New York, his beloved basketball team, the Knicks, or the indelible images of his youth. Growing up in Brooklyn, Iwanusa and his family would spend every summer at a getaway home on Lake Michigan, and these experiences have inspired his music, which often feels nostalgic.
Iwanusa's parents have always been involved in music, with his father being a jazz composer and his mother a music teacher in the NYC public school system. Iwanusa himself started singing in the Metropolitan Opera's Children's Chorus at the age of six and got his first drum set, a Mickey Mouse one, at the age of three. He has been writing his songs since he was young, and after playing in a series of bands, he formed Caveman in 2010 with some old friends.
Although Iwanusa has always loved synths, he wanted to move away from them as the driving force behind his music for RIP Dunes. He started working on the project just before the pandemic hit, sparked in part by his purchase of a 12-string guitar. Being stuck at home allowed him to explore a new instrument and delve deeper into songwriting. Throughout their career, Caveman has toured the world with artists such as The War on Drugs, Weezer, Jeff Tweedy, Built to Spill, Ra Ra Riot, Frightened Rabbit, and Phosphorescent.
Photo Credit: James Christopher Egan III
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
MARCH
08 - New York, NY @ Berlin (3:00 pm set time - New Colossus Festival)
09 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (9:15 pm set time - New Colossus Festival)
16 - Austin, TX @ Parish (SXSW)
20 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
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