Sound
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This was not music dropped onto a launch. It was a launch song designed from the inside out: written for the moment IRTH Group put HQ by Rove in front of its first audience.
Working with Haus of Hendricks, WithFeeling built the track in-house, then mixed it for the contexts it would actually live in: campaign films, social, event reveals and the kind of moments where a brand only gets seconds to make an impression.
THE CHALLENGE
HQ by Rove needed more than a tagline.
It needed a song that could capture the playful contradiction at the heart of the brand: the workaholic and the carefree, the spreadsheet and the sunshine, the cubicle and the sand. The track had to feel cheeky but never throwaway, fast but never frantic, confident but never forced.
It also had to be useful. The song needed to land in a launch context: short-form social, campaign films, event reveals, and the kind of moments where a brand only gets a few seconds to make an impression.
THE APPROACH
WithFeeling built a custom pop-punk track from the ground up, written and performed in-house.
Led by composer and WithFeeling co-founder Joe Dickinson, the song channelled Blink-182 and Paramore: palm-muted electric guitars, punchy drums with the snare on 2 and 4, bass riding the riff, and bright, slightly doubled vocals for attitude. Tempo around 160 to 170 BPM, fast but danceable.
The lyrics played up the “rebel from the office” energy with cheeky juxtapositions. Lines like You love your desk. I love my shades. You chase the clock. I chase the rays. Each line tightly rhythmic, each line a little smirk.
This was not a jingle. It was a song designed to feel like a band actually wrote it.
THE RESULT
The final track gave HQ by Rove a launch anthem with the energy, personality and confidence the space deserved.
It became part of the brand’s roll-out, used across campaign moments and content to introduce the building to its first audience.
For WithFeeling, the project showed how sonic branding doesn’t have to mean atmospheric pads and soft piano. Sometimes it means turning the amp up to 11.
A song that makes you want to clock out and clock in at the same time.
THE LYRICS
Verse 1
You love your desk. I love my shades.
You chase the clock. I chase the rays.
You’re in the zone. I’m in my robe.
You lead the team. I lead the globe. Oh. Oh.
You do the grind. I do the glide.
You set the chairs. I flip the vibe.
Your desk is dusty. My lunch is sweet.
HQ is where the cool ones meet.
Verse 2
You stress the task. I stress the tan.
You’re in a spreadsheet. I’m in the sand.
You have deadlines. I have days.
HQ is better in every way.
Bridge / Outro
You bring a crown, I bring a tear.
Each stay, but I love it here.
You’re in the cubicle. I’m in the sun.
You book a meeting and I book some fun.
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