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"Little Island" - music video with Julia Deans {official Thing} (Patreon)
Content
Kia ora loves.
Thank you for all the well-wishes regarding my family emergency.
It's strange times here in Boston. I'll have news for you later, but right now, just send love.
This post was always supposed to go out today, and the timing feels poetic.
I'll check in when I can. For now, just watch and listen and enjoy and keep me and mine in your thoughts.
This isn’t the first time I’ve released a video from a hospital. I went through this while riagmarole with Anthony. And my Dad last summer. It’s a blast.
...............
Ok so real life. Art.
Today's the day we're dropping the official MUSIC VIDEO for "Little Island".
Check out the video above, or here on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/peyyDUs8HAg?si=zugGAjNRAyUWcZaO
......
Since I never posted them on the previous audio post - and to help give you some context for the full song - here's the full lyrics:
jamie says the kiwis loved americans
the moonshot, JFK and lucky strikes
now there’s just this pity and embarrassment
the proud boys, covid deaths and oscar night
jamie says the old days here were simpler
no television coffee and no phones
and even people third, fourth generation
when they were talking about england they’d say “home”
oh i owe you little island
little island bigger than my mind
some of us are proud of what we brought here
some of us are proud of what we left behind
jamie took me to the family graveyard
up near where he grew up on the farm
his little sister died when he was six years old
she was buried there between his dad and mom
jamie went to gaze into the sunset
and i wandered around wondering what to do
that’s when i saw the headstone with the swastika
this mongrel mob guy next to a guy from world war two
oh i owe you little island
little island bigger than the sun
some of us are proud of what we fought for
some of us are proud of how far we could run
and there’s a cloud of doubt
hanging over the hangman’s back
and there’s a long white cloud
hanging over the union jack
jamie says that people always leave here
because europe and australia have work
jamie says he’s never left the country
but he swears he’ll come and see me in new york
oh i owe you little island
little island bigger than the sun
some of us are proud of what we fought for
some of us are proud of how far we could run
oh i love you little island
little island bigger than the whole UK
some of us are proud of where we came from
some of us have got to settle being proud
that we got away
that we got away
......
When I wrote the song, I knew I was leaving, and it feels to me a little bit like a parting kiss, a farewell letter.
Seeing as I was in the same place at the same time with Julia Deans, it felt right to cast around for a place to make a live performance video for “Little Island” before I left the country. But where? Waiheke is one of the most gorgeous places on earth - the cliffs, the beaches, the green-blue-blue water, the palms. It didn’t feel quite right, though. The song has such a darkness, and it would have been such an obvious choice.
And that’s when it occurred to me: the Stony Batter tunnels on Waiheke, which were built in WWII as an underground defense fortress….and I knew there was a piano we could use.
Here's the #1 Magazine Bunker (where we ended up recording) circa 1942...
And some photos of the tunnels today...
Not only would the acoustics be amazing, but it was the perfect metaphor to capture that pandemic feeling I had of being trapped in paradise, and the lyrical references to New Zealand’s dark history, World War Two and Colonialism in the song would ricochet painfully perfectly off those haunted walls and unused artillery. It was meant to be.
Julia and I worked with the film and sound crew to set everything up for a single take, and, in the end, we used one continuous performance for the final video. There’s something magic about a one-take video, flaws and all, and there’s something very healing about making a piece of art in a place of war. This is one of our most important jobs, as artists. Like water over a stone, we do our best to gradually remake the story of a place.
......
In case you don't know Julia Deans, here's a little bit of info about her:
Having first carved a path in local and international musical landscapes as the front woman for early 2000s band Fur Patrol, Julia Deans has since secured her reputation as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most celebrated musicians. Following the early success of 00’s Fur Patrol and their critically acclaimed album PET, Deans’s solo albums Modern Fables (2010) and We Light Fire (2018) earned nominations for coveted musical accolades the Taite Music Prize, the APRA Silver Scroll, and the NZ Music Awards.
But it’s not just rock n roll. As an engaged, charismatic and artistic collaborator Deans has been involved in a string of musical projects over the years including collaborations with SJD, Tami Neilson, and Neil Finn. From performing in an impressive array of arts festival shows (Jacques Brel, Joni Mitchell and David Bowie tributes), to musical theatre (Jesus Christ Superstar). Deans has also worked with the Auckland Philharmonia and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras, and even discovered her inner diva with a season with the Hawke's Bay Festival Opera to engaging as the Musical Director of the prestigious Silver Scroll Awards show in 2021.
(photo by Stephen Tilley)
Where to find her online:
www.instagram.com/julia_m_deans
......
Some words from Julia about the recording:
This was a wild recording. Wild for the location, and for the energy & focus required to conjure this performance in such a small window. I loved it. But the hardest part about this session was the regret for not having been able to coordinate our schedules (and Covid’s) over the last two years to do more–play more, sing more, commune more, talk more shit–either earlier or at the time. It felt incredibly poignant to be recording this song at the time Amanda was preparing to depart our islands.
Don’t be a stranger, Ms Palmer. Come back.
......
I'm coming Julia.
I'm coming
........
And here are a few photos from behind the scenes of the filming, all taken by Michael McComiskey...
The whole crew (let to right: Director of Photography Olly Harris, moi, Aura, Audio engineer Michael, David Wernham, Julia Deans, and Director Hugh Sundae)
Me and Julia with Tim Moon...
Me and beloved Michael in the beauty of the tunnel...
......
Don't forget, this song is from my upcoming EP "New Zealand Survival Songs" - the full EP (including The Ballad of the New York Times and The Man Who Ate Too Much, plus a couple new songs) will be coming to you next month.
I'll be heading back down under in January and playing a handful of shows to support the new EP.
Tickets are on sale NOW to the public:
January 21st - Sherwood, QUEENSTOWN NZ - Tickets
January 24th - Q Theatre, AUCKLAND NZ - Tickets
January 27th - Old St Pauls, WELLINGTON NZ - Tickets
February 1st - City Recital Hall, SYDNEY - Tickets
February 3rd - Hamer Hall, MELBOURNE - Tickets
......
VIDEO CREDITS:
Director of Photograpy - OLLY HARRIS
Colourist - JONATHAN GUEST
Audio - DAVID WERNHAM
Production Assistants:
MICHAEL MCCOMISKEY
BIANCA SCARLETT
Loving thanks to:
JORDAN VERZAR
AURA TORKINGTON
ALEX KNIGHT
and TIM MOON
Produced & Directed by HUGH SUNDAE
......
LOVE
AFP
------THE NEVER-ENDING AS ALWAYS---------
1. if you are a patron and new to my work, don’t forget your patronage allows you access to ALL of my patreon releases to date. HERE is the link to download my latest big solo record, “There Will Be No Intermission”, and HERE is a link to download the PDF of the art/essay book that goes with it.
2. if you’re a patron reading this post via an email notification, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol. that's always nice for me to see, so i know who's reading.
3. see All the Things (over 150 of them) i've made so far on patreon:
http://amandapalmer.net/things
4. JOIN THE SHADOWBOX COMMUNITY FORUM, find your people, and discuss everything: https://forum.theshadowbox.net/
5. new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff (at least up until a few years ago, this desperately needs updating) on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/
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