In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the technical side, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Letting Go” and the accompanying music video made by Emily Weeks. The track is taken from the 2013 Psy’Aviah EP “Future Past“.
Behind “Letting Go”, the music and the video…
With this track, we wanted to make a kind of electronic ballad, influenced by both triphop and EBM. From our perspective we think the EBM influences can mostly be found in the typical bassline, and a more triphop approach is used with the drums and crackles (as percussion elements). The lyrics themselve deal with “moving on”, literally “breaking up with the past” as the chorus part describes. To dive deeper yourself, read the lyrics below…!
A story that begged for visualisation…
From the moment I started working on the lyrics & music, I quickly knew I had to reinvite animator & director Emily Weeks to make an animated music video, with a story based on our lyrics. This time though we asked her to limit the decors and color usage, to make the video a bit grimmer in contrast to the “On My Own” music video she procuded for us. ”I really liked Psy’Aviah’s idea to restrict the color palette of the video to black, white, and a little bit of red, which corresponds to the aesthetics that the band has established for themselves, and also works excellently in the context of this story.” - says Emily Weeks, and she adds:
Powell & Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus”
“The story grew really out of films and artists that I enjoy, as well as my own emotions and memories. Starting from Yves’s initial concepts for the film, I then looked at a lot of reference and the story was shaped from there. I find references to be formative in the creation of my work, as these are works that are important in film history and are very effective at what they do. Therefore, a lot can by learned from them. Some of the inspirations included German Expressionist films, Egon Schiele, and classic films from the 50s and 60s about nuns, such as Powell and Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus” and Zinneman’s “The Nun’s Story”. I found Catholicism to hold a wealth of inspirational material. It is so full of symbolism and metaphor, which I exploited. I am drawn to non-linear storytelling and surrealism, as I think this way of approching filmmaking has the potential to reveal more than linear narrative or extreme (self)consciousness.”
The black and white minimalist look…
Dogville (Lars von Trier)
The music video has a distinct minimalist look in decors and color use. I hinted Emily Weeks at some movies where I saw minimalism could focus attention more on the story and on certain parts of the animation/”dialogue”… For me this was in particular the film “Dogville” by Lars von Trier - where the scene is in fact nothing more than a black & white canvas where the actors perform their part. No props, no buildings, nothing… It’s extreme, but it puts a lot of focus on the story.
Emily Weeks explains: “The look was driven by Psy’Aviah’s suggestions and by their music, especially the content of this particular song about living with painful memories and a traumatic past. I think the visual elements of the video work well with the sounds and themes of the music. I love old black and white cinema, and the restricted palette let me very much be inspired by films from German Expressionism like “Metropolis”, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, and “Vampyr”, for example.
Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
The monochromatic palette brings shot composition and sculpturalism of forms to the forefront, which I enjoy playing with. As in German Expressionist greats, I wanted any decors or backgrounds to reflect the psychological state of the characters. The statues play an important thematic role in this film.”
“We wanted to make the look thus stark in order to focus more intently on the story and the naked emotions of it. In reducing the backgrounds, I was able to focus more on the animation, which I think made it stronger and more expressive. The minimalism can also tie into themes of death and isolation, or an emptiness of the soul.”, adds Emily Weeks.
Valerie’s hair
Valerie’s hair (concept sketch), Emily Weeks
One example of the german expressionist influence in “Letting Go” that I want to highlight is something Emily Weeks already hinted at: “I wanted any decors or backgrounds to reflect the psychological state of the characters“. The most noteable appearance of that is I think Valerie’s hair, which mirrors her progression and devastation as a character in the story, and it reflects the deterioration and eventual dormancy or death of her psyche.
“I really liked Psy’Aviah’s idea to restrict the color palette of the video to black, white, and a little bit of red, which corresponds to the aesthetics that the band has established for themselves, and also works excellently in the context of this story. Valerie’s hair is one of the few red items in the scheme of the film. Red in the film always signifies some kind of emotion or vitality-I’ll let the viewers work that out for themselves. I am drawn to the idea of cutting one’s hair as an act of mourning or an expression of deep loss. The metaphor of dying in the eyes of the world when becoming a nun is played out in the cutting of her hair and the subsequent loss of all color in the palette of the film.“, Emily Weeks adds.
Software used in “Letting Go”…
“All of the animation and drawings in the video are digitally hand-drawn in Photoshop. The added textures (watercolor paintings and splotches, paper, etcetera) I scanned in and composited with the digital lines in order to try to achieve the look of the traditional media that I used during character design.”
“Overall I’m still experimenting and using many different techniques in my animation practice. I prefer hand-drawn techniques and traditional media as much as possible. This particular video used mostly digital technology, and I mainly use Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, etc. My workflow takes me through many programs in conjunction in order to acheive the final film.However, I do not view the software as important to the work itself. Creativity, vision, and the ability to express something specific are most important.”
“The intersection of digital and analog techonologies is always an interesting question for me. I try to use digital as seldom as possible, but digital is an important part of my process. I think, no matter whether the media I use is mostly digital or traditional, I’m always looking for a handmade quality; there is such a thing as digital handmade.”
Listen to the track & watch the music video
Lyrics
she wants the cage she lives in to vanish
clean out her closet and break through the walls
that stop her from dreaming, that make it impossible to live her life
she wants to clean the mess inside her head
clear old dusty boxes with memories
of stories she wanted forgotten, but never really could
facts, eveidence, figures, clues and hints
tangible evidence of a crime at hand
bruises, injuries, black eyes and tears
tangible evidence of a painful past
break up with the past, leave it all behind it’s easier said then done break up with the past, leave it all behind i know, it’s easier said then done
if only the days would move a little faste
sleep would last just a little bit longer
and being awake and conscious, wouldn’t have to be so endless
come let waves erase all the past
let them wash it away and bury
everything that once was, ’cause some things are meant to be forgotten
facts, eveidence, figures, clues and hints
tangible evidence of a crime at hand
bruises, injuries, black eyes and tears
tangible evidence of a painful past
break up with the past, leave it all behind it’s easier said then done break up with the past, leave it all behind i know, it’s easier said then done
Since we’re making music 10 years of music - we have a contest running at the moment, deadline is 07/07/2013 - and three people are eligible to win 3 of our releases, we’ll ship them! Read more about it at http://www.psyaviah.com/2013/06/shareyourpsyaviahstory/
Experimentation is on our DNA! - [10 Years Psy'Aviah ~#experimentation is at the heart of our philosophy.. If I had to give one example, besides musical examples, it would be the#UrbanSharing-project we launched 2 years ago.. Simply put: “Take a brown envelope, or brown box, decorate it with words/colors/etc.. Embed a ‘gift’ (in this case ‘t was one of our cds) Place it in the middle of the city, and see what happens”.. Through the help of #fans and enthousiasts we managed to get those packaged not only in belgium, but also Netherlands, United States, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, etc.. It was a nice experiment & adventure for us and for those who participated, and ofcourse for those who found or were staring at one - deciding to pick it up or not. We recieved e-mails & reactions from “lucky finders”, explaining what went through them, explaining how they found it, and eventually why they picked it up. Always ending with “thx for this gift”, because it’s rarely you get something trylu for free ofcourse… Over the course of the #experiment we interviewed some people, among of themPatrick Janssens (then mayor of antwerp), but also Ikrame Kastit, Vanessa Sue Smith, Bert Gabriels, Carlos Dyckmans, street interviews, and many more people.. Here’s a video playlist on youtube with all our videos bundled on the subject [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBs2fmGl3yk&list=PL06913B888D2B7E11&shuffle=681 ].
Bad luck? Try taking the best out of a situation gone wrong - [10 Years Psy'Aviah ~ #Iduna in Drachten(Netherlands), with Schwarzblut and NG-Pro, we had to replace our then lead singer and lead guitarists.. Luckily though we could count on Geert de Wilde of IC 434 for vocals, Ben Van de Cruys on guitars and Lis Van den Akker of Misery for female vocals.. Out of both collaborations grew a track/remix/cover version later on: “Tired”, but then performed by then now defunct Misery [ listen athttps://soundcloud.com/psyaviah/tired-misery-rendition?in=psyaviah%2Fsets%2Ffull-length-previews-from-2 ] and “Anger Mangement”, but then performed by IC 434 [ listen athttp://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Psy'Aviah+Anger+Management+(IC+434+Re-take) ]! So, it’s how you percieve bad planning & bad luck ;) - I thought it turned out just fine!
In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Look Beyond”, taken from the 2013 EP “Future Past”.
Behind “Look Beyond”
“Look Beyond” explores the “Black and White” thinking present in much of todays society. Some of that thinking is, in my opinion at least, due to the fact we as humans try to defend (sometimes to the impossible, or into absurdity) our own views & believes. Examples are everywhere: politics, the anti-scientific movement (but even some scientist themselves fall into the trap), vendetta’s, taboos, homeopathy, and the list can go on and on and on… But I think you get the point: the black and white thinking is leading us nowehere, it’s important to sometimes look over the edge (hence “Look Beyond”), and discover what’s happening over there.. The truth is out there, but in my opinion it’s grey instead being black or white…
Lyrically the song enumerates a couple of “opposites”, if you can call it that way (blacks vs whites), e.g.: “There’s truth in lies”, or “Order in chaos”, or “Danger in a safe place”… Each of them represents the fact that if you’re in that situation, or moment, don’t be afraid to “Look Beyond”, be skeptical, open your mind towards other possibilities. Even if, after investigation, they lead to nothing at first, one has the knowledge & experience now.
Other lines are more personal, or less political if you will… “Good in jesus christ” is one important for me, one I need to remember myself to from time to time.. I’m atheist, I don’t believe in a god, multiple gods, or whatever.. But the values portrayed by certain religions are valuable, and why should I be blind for them.. Still, it’s not always easy to put aside prejudices (because we all have those) and have the courage to open ourselves to the good sides of certain things we’re opposed to at first.
So, that’s roughly the idea behind the track, you can read the full lyrics below and make your own interpretations ;).
For the techies…
In this track I used a lot of ethereal pads VS harsh electronic synths, this to get a contrast and make it a kind of hard hitting track while keeping some soft & mysterious pads working to enhance the “atmosphere”…
Most of the acid synthesiers you hear were created with NI FM8, as was the bassline. For those lush/mysterious pads I relied on a mixture of NI Massive and a long forgotten synth, and by some regarded as crap, the ReFX Vanguard. It did the job, it’s good at moving pads that need a certain amount of thickness, if layered with other synths/pads.
The difficulty of choosing these ambient pads and textures with a more electro-industrial/acid influenced track was: the mixing.. Honestly I feel I could’ve done better, but at the time I probably heard it x1000 times, and just couldn’t decide anylonger.. Hearing it back now, after the excellent mastering treatment at the IC 434 studio by Geert de Wilde, I feel quite happy how it turned out though!
Listen to the track
Lyrics
There’s truth in lies, order in chaos
A story behind those eyes
Danger in a safe place, lessons in mistakes
Beauty behind a face
Colors in black and white, loneliness in a crowded heart
Good in jesus christ
With love comes greed,
A difference in what we want, a difference in what we need
Look beyond your narrow mind,
Open eyes, see the light, realise the other side…
Poverty among the rich, demons democracy
Ideas through a glitch
Thunder in clear skies, tears of joy and grieves
Battles through compromise
Beauty in agony, controversial positives
With love comes greed,
A difference in what we want, a difference in what we need
