I am a singer/songwriter currently based between London and Cranleigh, Surrey, UK and I just released my latest single (on all platforms) called Paper Chasin' this Friday! You can listen to the song here: https://ditto.fm/paper-chasin and watch the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvv29QMGGC0
I wrote this song during my quarter life crisis. It's about breaking free from the mold by doing what you love!! In production, my producer George Rose and I added a drum beat to mimic the ticking of a clock which represents our race against time. I wanted to take listeners on a journey of letting go of what's programmed into us by societal standards and fighting for what brings us happiness and purpose, & that life isn't about chasing money. It's also about trusting the process and having the patience to get to where you want to be, and that it's okay to have bad days. It's a reminder that we are all human and have our own demons to fight, but we must conquer them in order to achieve happiness.
The music video was filmed in a warehouse with no heating, in a small inflatable pool which I spray painted black. When I was writing and producing the song, I felt like I was breathing for the first time, it was like I was breaking away from constraints, that's why the video was filmed in a small space (inflatable pool) filled with a thick heavy red slime, with my movement constrained and ankles in shackles with the key nowhere to be found.
The red slime hides objects that represent different things weighing me down. For example, in the beginning you see alarm clocks, bills, money, reports, a university degree, work documents.
In the video, there are two arms weighing me down which represent my inner demons. Just like the lyrics suggest “Fiiiiight all of your demons” - I am constantly fighting with them, they control my emotions, they dress me in a blazer and force me into the corporate world, handing me reports and work to do.
Throughout the video you see a human heart, which symbolizes my love and passions in life, but it keeps swimming away from me until towards the end of the video when the pool has already been filled with these props that the inner demons kept throwing into the pool. It’s then that I look for the heart and finally grab it and squeeze it open. As it bleeds, it reveals the key that unlocks the shackles and frees me. Throughout the video, I am trying to escape the slime and the two demon arms, in order to grab the microphone hanging above me which represents my dream of pursuing my passion for singing.
As soon as I have unlocked the shackles, the arms make their final appearance in the video. They slowly creep along my legs and I interlock fingers with them and hug them to show acceptance. I then let them go one final time and stand up and out of the slime and grab the microphone and leave.
I developed the concept and wrote the script for the music video while it was directed, filmed and edited by the talented young film-maker Ollie Paxton.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the song & video!
