Disconnectica does Christmas! There's harp, bells, and beautiful operatic vocals by Naomi Summers. It even has Santa in the title. But the lyrics never mention Christmas. Instead they describe being on hold, waiting to leave a complaint for some faceless but ever-so-polite corporation, and hoping your message will reach someone who matters. Hopeful messages sent into the void. Letters to Santa, if you will.
“I originally imagined it more as a nursery rhyme or a hymn, but the Christmas connection made sense in the end so I leant into that.” - Robert Webb
Letters to Santa was played on Antipodes Radio, in their Songs from the Edge show, both online and as a podcast.
Letters to Santa is the new single from Disconnectica's upcoming debut album Eclectic Dystopia. An unexpected Christmas track to cap off an otherwise alt-rock album.
Release Date: 9 Dec 2023 - Out now!Your call is so important to us
Now your call has progressed in the queue
Please hold on and wait a little longer
We'll be speaking with you very soon
We appreciate your feedback
I'll put that in the system right away
Do you have any other comments?
Do you have anything else to say?
Thank you for your contribution
You've helped us to create a better world
Send your thoughts off into the ether
And hope that someday somewhere they'll be heard
They travel through the air
They travel into space
They travel under water
Through fibre optic cable
All around the world
Right across the nation
Leave no leaf unturned
To find their destination
In the end they conclude their journey
Safe and sound with no more need to roam
Warm and cozy deep inside an archive
Settle in and make yourselves at home
Disconnectica is the solo project of singer/songwriter Robert Webb from Melbourne, Australia, delivering genre-hopping under a broad alternative rock umbrella. Quirky songwriting reminiscent of Bowie and Beatles, with elements of rock à la White Stripes and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the downright weirdness of Radiohead and Zappa. At times playful, at times sinister, often both. But always unique.
Disconnectica's debug album Eclectic Dystopia has finally been released after years of work and tweaking. Eight singles from the album received airplay on Australian FM radio, including 3RRR (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), RTRFM, 4ZZZ (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), Three D Radio, Tribe FM, Gippsland FM, Pulse FM (1, 2), 2MCE-FM, Valley FM, 107.3 HFM and played over 200 times on Antipodes Radio (1, 2, 3), and played on Big Satsuma Radio in the UK (1, 2. 3).
His music videos have won Best Music Video at the Aasha International Film Festival 2023, won Best Music Video, Best Original Idea, and Best FX (twice) and been nominated for Best Director, Best Music Video (twice), Best Original Idea (twice), Best Editing (twice), and Best FX at the Top Indie Film Awards 2023/2024, won Best Visual Effects, Best VFX in a Music Video, Best Avant Garde Music Film and Best New Wave Music Film at the Festival de Indie 2024, won Best Music Video at Italy's Giove International Film Festival 2024, won Best Music Video at the Cuckoo International Film Awards 2024, won Best Art Music Video and Best Experimental Music Video at the Parai International Musical Awards 2024, a winner in the Spring Film Festival of Kerala 2024, been finalists in the Rome Music Video Awards 2024 and the Prague International Music Video Awards 2023, received an honorable mention from the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival 2023, received a Special Mention from the United Kingdom Music Video Festival 2023, and been part of the official selection for the CUT International Short Film Festival 2024, Europe Music Video Awards 2023, Tokyo International Short Film Festival 2024.
“That was wild... Beatlesque” - Tim Shiel (host on Double J & Triple J)
“The psychotic madness of Disconnectica” - Kate Kingsmill, 3RRR
“I really enjoyed listening to this song. It is so different but familiar at the same time. I am intrigued and want to hear more” - Indie Music Insider Blog's review of Somewhere Always
“...tonight we'll be shining the spotlight on his latest single White Noise... With old-school wailing electric guitars and an amazing solo in the middle this is one to make you move and think at the same time.” - Dirty Harry, S.O.S., 2MCE FM
Disconnectica is a DIY artist using only virtual instruments on a computer, but gravitates towards realistic sounds, and has fooled musicians with his electric guitars and drums. However, only the vocals are are recorded from outside the computer.
“I've always been a bit of an outsider, a bit of a hermit, and felt the need to go my own way, divert from the pack. It's the same with music and everything else I do. I don't expect it to have mass appeal, but I hope it finds a cult niche corner in the alternative market somewhere”
Being interested in the whole package, he also designs his own cover art and makes trippy music videos. A programmer by trade, he writes software to create mind-bending geometric effects for these videos. He writes “It's great to have a single purpose that brings all my big interests together: music, film, geometry and programming.”
Robert played piano in his youth. His family had two synthesizers and a hardware sequencer, and he remembers spending many hours composing and recording long instrumental pieces on their primitive interfaces. Who needs a computer when you have two lines of dot-matrix text?! He moved onto other things for many years, writing the occasional piano solo. But eventually answered the call and returned to music production.
Website: disconnectica.com
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@disconnectica
Bandcamp:
https://disconnectica.bandcamp.com
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1L1vRCHFZ21DhYyyPui5ZE
Apple:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/disconnectica/1545220405
SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/disconnectica
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/mrdisconnectica/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Disconnectica
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@disconnectica