Austel - The Beach In December
Field recordings, quiet ache, and a voice that lingers — Austel’s “The Beach In December” is a small cinematic world.
“The Beach In December” took me straight to my own upcoming getaway — eight days by the ocean with sunsets, wildlife, and the constant breaking of the waves. Unsurprisingly, singer/songwriter and producer Austel had a very different beach in mind when she created her new single.
Originally from Devon and now based in London, Annie Rew Shaw — aka Austel — revisits a moment from her past. Watching her self-filmed, self-edited video, I immediately recognized Brighton’s shoreline: not the bustling amusement-park side, but the open sea, framed by the haunting skeleton remains of the West Pier.
The song itself unfolds with rich, soothing instrumentation and meticulous lyricism, reflecting on the imprint childhood leaves on our adult relationships. Beautifully cinematic, it was written after a fleeting summer romance in Brighton ended amicably, yet with a quiet ache. And at the center of it all: her stunning, effortlessly present voice.
Austel shares:
"I returned to the beach during the winter months (Bon Iver season) and reflected on how our childhood experiences impact how we move through the world. I decided to record the entire journey from Brighton beach to the train station, then the train back to London, on a Zoom recorder. I wanted to create a memory for people to get lost in for a few minutes - travelling with the song along the beach, on the train. It still evokes a lot of memories - it’s a bit of a time capsule, which I think is the work of the field recordings."
Listen to “The Beach In December,” our Song Pick of the Day — and let the atmospheric video carry you somewhere familiar, somewhere new.
Connect with Austel and add "The Beach In December" to your playlist as we add it to our #glamglarepick playlist on Spotify and YouTube. Listen to our Song Pick of the Day on Spotify or Apple Music.