Hamilton, ON blues-rock outfit Thomas Duxbury and New Mother Nature share “Istanbul” — an energetic, riff-driven release that pairs upbeat, sun-soaked guitar work with deeply melancholic reflection. Equal parts homesick postcard and blues-rock catharsis, the track captures the ache of being split between places, people, and past lives.

“I wrote the song when I was living abroad and feeling homesick,” Duxbury explains. “Before I left for Scotland, I was standing in my driveway talking with my buddy Bruce – who plays keys on this track/bass with us live – and we chatted about potentially doing a trip to Istanbul while I was in Europe. That’s where the line I’m leaving but my heart’s still full, I can’t wait to see you in Istanbul came from. Fast forward about a month – I’m sitting in my dorm room with my guitar, playing what eventually became the riff for this song. I’m writing some words about being alone, feeling away from home… but I can’t find a chorus. Then that memory of the driveway comes to me and I think, ‘that’s the line.’”

The trip never happened – at least not yet – but the emotional imprint stuck. “Once I got over being homesick, I really loved my time in Scotland,” Duxbury adds. “There is no winning when it comes to feeling like your heart is in two places at once. ‘Istanbul’ is about that feeling of wanting to be somewhere you cannot be right now – even if where you are currently is full of magic.”

The track is full of lived-in detail, including a moment during the solo where every part snaps together in a way the band didn’t plan but couldn’t let go of. There’s also one especially meaningful element. “At the end of the song, my guitar slipped into this unique feedback loop that sounded exactly like my cat meowing,” Duxbury recalls. “He had passed away maybe three days prior. It sounded so eerily similar that I kept it in. I like to think that was Woodstock’s little feature on this track.”

Lyrically bittersweet but musically bright, “Istanbul” channels the rawness of Duxbury’s writing process – a space where travel, depression, grief, longing, and gratitude collide. “A lot of my songs are just me trying to process my battle with depression,” he says. “I feel deeply for people. I miss my friends and family whether they’re far away, busy, or gone. The love is still there. We just have to make the most of the time we have and be grateful. It’s like that bittersweet feeling of neither here nor there.”

With its blend of driving blues, rock grit, and emotional undercurrents, “Istanbul” delivers the band’s signature mix of swagger and vulnerability – a bright, melodic tune carrying a heavy, human heart.