Nashville has by no means been quick on storytellers, however few mix grit and glamour as seamlessly as Rip Gerber. His newest single, Restricted Velocity, takes listeners on a high-octane journey by way of the push-and-pull of a love shifting at mismatched tempos, joined by skilled race automobile driver Zoë Barry for the journey.
In a metropolis the place slow-burn ballads dominate, Gerber takes a distinct lane. The tune blends his confessional songwriting with cinematic manufacturing, crafting an emotional parallel between romance and racing. “It’s about when love’s timing is off,” Gerber says. “One individual’s soaking in the second whereas the opposite’s already in the quick lane.”
That idea involves life in the Restricted Velocity music video, which Gerber directed himself. It cuts between serene photographs of him gliding by way of Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood and Barry tearing down the monitor in a McLaren Artura GT4. The visible distinction is electrical; Gerber’s regular rhythm towards Barry’s no-holds-barred acceleration. Because the founder of the all-women-led DART Racing Workforce, Barry provides a fierce, plain presence that mirrors the tune’s stressed power.
Lyrically, Restricted Velocity doesn’t maintain again:
“There’s a restricted pace that my love can go
You bought me falling to the earth
Sooner than the pull of gravity…”
The monitor resonates with anybody who’s felt that emotional disconnect, when hearts beat to completely different clocks. “Typically you’re nonetheless figuring issues out,” Gerber says, “however they’ve already crossed the end line.”
The only follows his chart-topping Three-Chord City, which hit #1 on Amazon Music and launched the world to his deeply private songwriting model. Gerber’s personal backstory reads like a novel — former CIA analyst, Harvard MBA, and even a plumber, earlier than discovering his approach to music after a string of devastating private losses in 2020. That search for therapeutic turned the spark for his upcoming idea album, Three-Chord City, due later this yr.
Barry’s function in the mission goes past on-screen efficiency. Her DART Racing Workforce; piloting a McLaren Artura GT4 designed by TIME100 artist Mickalene Thomas; has been making waves in motorsports for its dedication to empowering girls in high-performance racing. They’ll shut out the 2025 season with an all-female lineup competing in the 24H Sequence Center East Trophy in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
For Gerber, the connection between his music and Barry’s racing profession is clear: “Each worlds dwell on adrenaline. Whether or not you’re chasing a melody or chasing a checkered flag, you’re driving the identical type of excessive.”
Restricted Velocity is out there now on all major streaming platforms.
SPIN Journal newsroom and editorial employees weren’t concerned in the creation of this content material.
