We are very happy to present an original video for our song Cusp by French video artist DaBrainkilla aka Christophe Thockler
Watch a video showing the making of the Cusp video – with Oberon, one of the bonus instrumental tracks from the Limited Edition package.
Cusp – The Making of from DaBrainkilla on Vimeo.
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN VIDEO ARTIST CHRISTOPHE THOCKLER AKA DA BRAINKILLA AND BEN NEILL
Ben: Christophe, I wanted to talk to you about this wonderful new video for our song “Cusp” from Songs for Persephone. Our connection was a product of Facebook, I believe related to your response to some of my earlier music. Can you describe a little bit of why you were attracted to the music and how the video came about?
Christophe: It was amazing for me to collaborate with you on this project. I was a huge fan of your music and your previous albums when I was younger, I always thought your music was so intelligent and ahead of its time, very inspirational. When we met on the net and talked about a collaboration, I was very honored.
I listened to the album Songs for Persephone and was immediately astonished by the track “Cusp” I loved the perfect mix between a pop song and a more experimental instrumental track. The Mutantrumpet going kind of crazy sometimes, with the beautiful voice of Mimi. Really loved the smooth drums and the dark electric mood during all the track… the song immediately inspired me something cold and surreal. I knew there was a special edition of the album, with a box full of bibelots and objects, and I had the idea to play with these objects and create a sort of metaphor for time passing and souvenir by making cocoons and prisons of ice for these bibelots, and playing with the melting.
Ben: I’m not surprised you chose that song in that case, since it’s more like one of my instrumental tracks than some of the other songs. The mutantrumpet is more present too, as you described; it functions as an equal to Mimi’s voice.
When I first saw your work I was very impressed, particularly with the “Comedy” video you did for Doctor Flake. The visual quality of your video is quite unique, there is something about it that gives it a different feeling than most other videos I see. Can you talk a little bit about your process? Also what is your background artistically? Did you study video, film, photography?
Christophe: Thanks so much for your kind words. For each video, I try to do something artistic. In fact, for music videos I really try to listen to the song many times, then I write down all the feelings that the music inspires me, and then, I try to mix the music and my images to do something unique, something new, not simply illustrating the track. I work a lot in stop motion, only using still photos, I love the feeling it brings, a bit speed and magic at the same time. For Cusp I took 36 000 pictures, it was a huge work, but the only way to shape the ice during the melting. I have been influenced by all the movies, music videos I watched when I was younger, and also a lot by music. I studied literature and iconography, but I did not went to art, video or film school, it started as a passion. I must say Cusp is a bit different than the other videos I did, less focused on urban settings, I was a bit afraid, so I was really pleased when I knew you loved it ! Hope you noticed how the melting was representing multiple instruments and even the voice of Mimi.
Ben: That’s really interesting, I guess the still images and stop motion are what give the video its unique appearance. When you described the idea of the ice it sounded great, but honestly I couldn’t imagine what it would look like. The organic melting and growth of the ice is very much in sync with the movement of the music, enhancing it without ever becoming simplistic in its relationship.
Another thing I’d like to bring up is how the video relates to our limited edition packages. These packages are a unique component of Songs for Persephone, Mimi has been creating customized boxes that are tailor-made for each person who buys one through an online dialogue. We have also been working with a group of artists called Habitat for Artists led by Simon Draper. These artists have been making limited edition packages in the same size boxes Mimi uses, with each artist creating a work that is their response or interpretation of one or more of the songs. We feel this is a nice way to work, to extend our creative process to a community, and in your case a global community.
We plan to start incorporating live video imagery into our performances in the near future, and the Cusp video will certainly be great in a concert setting.
Christophe: I really enjoyed the concept of interactivity and the plurality of arts around this album. I made the video with the box, and added some personal objects too. I wanted the video to be aimed directly at the viewer, guessing the objects in there, mixing them with their personal experiences and feelings, the ice acting like a metaphor for time and souvenir. It’s really both a stand alone video and a continuity to the concept of the boxes. I’m very excited about the release of this video, it was really such an interesting thing to do, the song was so amazing and inspiring.
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