Orange County-based bedroom pop powerhouse Cameron Lew aka Ginger Root is set to release his new album Rikki at the end of the month. Following the amazing singles “Out Of State” and “Le Chateau,” he has now unveiled a new offering, “Why Try,” which establishes a bit more his Aggressive Elevator Soul signature. DIY and lush at its core, Ginger Root‘s music channels Japanese City Pop and ’70s American Disco as well as lo-fi and psyche artists such as Toro Y Moi, Neon Indian and Khruangbin.

Orange County-based City Pop artist Cameron Lew AKA Ginger Root has once again expanded his own cinematic universe with his latest single and video “Le Chateau”.

The track was born out of Ginger Root’s “mild obsession with ’60s French music”. Further adding to his inspiration for the track, he commented: “I wanted to try and write a song about a theoretical place you could go to help you escape from your problems, presented in a way that hopefully shares how I felt listening to France Gall, Jaqueline Taieb, and Serge Gainsbourg for the first time.”

Comprised of warped guitars and misty drum beats, “Le Chateau” has that swinging sensibility that comes from the yé-yé style that infused a lot of 60’s French pop. Ginger Root has channelled that sound and added his own twist to it with the buzzing DIY sounding synths that blast underneath the chorus.

Despite its French influence, it’s easy to hear the staple sounds of Ginger Root coming through. The self-described “Aggressive Elevator Soul” element is still present, with Lew’s breezy and muted vocals giving “Le Chateau” a dream-like and cosy atmosphere. There’s also a woozy edge to the track that gives it a sense of movement, a gentle swaying.

This is rather fitting, considering the half-asleep nature of the self-directed video accompaniment. “It’s loosely based on this strange dream I had about someone giving me a free boat,” he explained. “I think I drowned at the end of the dream sadly.”

Whilst he doesn’t drown in this version of the tale, we do have a twist of an ending. Instead of getting the full-sized boat that he wanted, we see Cameron Lew given a wooden figurine of a boat instead. Not quite the escape from your problems that you imagined, but it’s a fun and quirky way to end the video.

Self-describing his sound as “Aggressive Elevator Soul”, 24-year-old artist Ginger Root – real name Cameron Lew – has offered up his second single from forthcoming album Rikki, in the form of the off-kilter “Out Of State”.

Taking elements from contemporaries such as Toro y Moi and combining them with the Japanese City Pop genre, Ginger Root offers a dynamic and vitalising journey into the ever-growing genre of bedroom pop.

On “Out Of State”, the Orange County-based artist ruminates over a lover who moved away in the buoyant lyrics “I wish I knew what I wanted to/Now that you went out of state”. The cadence and rhythm of the track call funk music to mind, with a danceable bass line and more than palatable synths snaking over the whole. This is all accompanied by Ginger Roots sweet, airy vocals that are both playful and straight-laced with a muted sensibility. The combination is a heady one, that’s oddly relaxing despite the relentless bass driving the track.

When he’s not making music as Ginger Root, Lew edits films, videos and an array of multimedia, a skill which has aided him well in creating imaginative and inventive videos to accompany his music. The self-directed video to “Out Of State” is no exception as he pays homage to his grandfather and his love of table tennis, exploring as well his own love for martial arts.

Of the video, he commented: “Having trained in martial arts for most of my childhood, and having a grandfather that competed in local table tennis tournaments, I wanted to combine the two in form of a music video that also paid homage to the many Kung Fu movies I watched growing up. It’s no Drunken Master or Shaolin Soccer, but I had a lot of fun making it.”