TENNYSON KING RELEASES NEW SINGLE IT AIN’T EASY
GOOD COMPANY ALBUM OUT JANUARY 21, 2022
TORONTO, ON – January 7, 2022 – Today, nomad indie-folk rocker, Tennyson King, releases the new single, It Ain’t Easy, from his upcoming album, Good Company, out January 21, 2022. Listen here and watch the official arm wrestling competition-styled video (featuring Tennyson, Kelowna's actress/spoken word artist, Sian Flanagan, and members of the Okanagan Arm Wrestling Club [Richard Henson, Dan Marcelino, Tim Gelinas, & Jacob Metz]) here.
The catchy, rhythmic and synth-chorus upbeat track sounds light in nature but was written from an emotionally difficult tough time Tennyson experienced.
“I felt pressure to have to fit in with the white Canadian music that was being made, the way the artists looked, acted, what they sang about, in order to have the same type of success they did,” Tennyson says on the track. “There aren’t many ethnic musicians in my genre to look up to as stories of success. I found that I couldn’t fully be myself because if I wanted to be successful, I couldn’t be exactly how I looked and who I was.
“While writing this song to understand these emotions, I then realized that this had been a recurring theme in my life growing up in Canada as an immigrant. This is my anthem to deal with these struggles and to extend my hand out to others who struggle.”
The video sees the six participants warming up with various exercises for the arm wrestling battle of their lives. And then of course, features the battle! The inspiration for the video came from a show Tennyson played in Cobalt, Ontario where in the small, seated venue, people began arm wrestling one another while he played through his set. It got rowdy with people drinking, and flexing their muscles in celebration while throwing fits in defeat. Watch it here.
"I couldn't help but just laugh," reflects Tennyson. "It turns out that after the show, everyone was actually really stoked about the music and it got their adrenaline pumping. So the arm wrestling in the music video is the physical metaphor for the challenges that we face on a daily basis. Watching each character work out and mentally prepare for the arm wrestling battle is a symbol of all our individual pre battle routines, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual."
It Ain’t Easy will accompany the previously released Share This Moment – an ode to sharing experiences with other humans through travel and vulnerability – on Tennyson’s Good Company album, due out in two weeks. The album also features the singles: Life On Shore (Carry Me Away) – which comes from a state of interconnectedness with nature and water, and Slow Down – an elemental and earthy take on acknowledging our surroundings and appreciating nature.
“Life isn’t easy in the music industry or with any dream you want to achieve,” adds Tennyson. “It’s full of ups and downs, people who don’t believe in you, but we need to acknowledge this, step out of our comfort zone and keep at it.”
Stay tuned for more from Tennyson King in the coming weeks as the Good Company adventure unfolds.
Good Company Tracklisting
1. Share This Moment
2. Life on Shore (Carry Me Away)
3. Loving You
4. Slow Down
5. This Life
6. Fall
7. It Ain't Easy
8. What Am I Doing
DOWNLOAD – hi res single art | DOWNLOAD - hi res album art
DOWNLOAD – hi res press photo
About Tennyson King:
A traveler at heart, Tennyson writes chill soundtracks to rich, diverse landscapes as he explores the world's beauty, making connections with people, nature, and wildlife along the way. Having toured in Canada, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Brasil and Southeast Asia, Tennyson has captured audiences worldwide with his reverberant and earthy folk-rock blend, jovial personality, and intimately humorous lyrical storytelling. His raw, gritty, and organic sound makes the soul feel wild and the heart comforted.
Despite being grounded from tours due to the pandemic, Tennyson has been productive with his time. He released the singles Wild Rose & Garden of Truth in collaboration with guitarist Daniel Rougeau (Kaia Kater) and Shawn Mendes’ bassist Dave Haskett. The singles were supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and featured on CBC Q, SiriusXM North Americana, Stingray Music, as well as select college, commercial, and community radio stations across Canada.
Tennyson was selected to participate in the 2020 Canadian Songwriter Challenge to work with Terra Lightfoot, Adrian X (Drake, The Weeknd), and Moe Berg (Pursuit of Happiness). In May 2021, Tennyson released his first Chinese language single, 生命的进度, in support of Asian Heritage Month and to represent a voice for Asian artists in Canada. Followed up by 自在 in June, these two songs garnered recognition by Mandarin, Cantonese, and English press alike, as Tennyson received airtime and was featured for an interview in Cantonese on Toronto’s prestigious Chinese-Canadian radio station, Fairchild Radio 1430.