Silver Lining - Gentle, Dreamy Piano Music Video with Horses by the Sea & Tiny Flying Creatures..

“Silver Lining” is a sweet, jazz-inspired piano composition and expresses the title’s meaning of trying to find a positive focus when things are tough. For some time I’ve been inspired by Ludo Foster’s videos of the sea, fields and other natural scenes which I find very relaxing. Here’s the final video! You can read a bit more about it and Ludo’s response below..

HOW DID YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN?

Around July/ August, I had an idea for a jazz-inspired piano piece which was gentle and nostalgic. I notated it in order to remember it and recorded it. Soon after this, I reached out to Ludo and asked if I could have permission to use some of their videos for a little collaboration. They share their videos on Insta and Facebook. I like how one of the tags they include is #artiseverywhere because it fits with three of my main concepts about creativity. I believe that:

  • There is inspiration all around us.

  • Nature is an amazing source of inspiration.

  • It is human nature to be creative and we can all be creative.

Luckily for me, Ludo agreed to and was enthusiastic about collaborating. They sent me some videos which I downloaded and saved immediately to my computer.

August is a tough month for me personally, and for my family. It was also tough for a lot of people because of covid-19, the lockdown and also the intense heat.

About a month later, I got round to editing the video. I wanted it to be gentle, dreamy and escapist. I had the idea to make it look as though I am the pianist for a silent movie, so I added a graphic to create the feeling of being in a big room with a projector right in the middle of the piano. This conveys the idea that the sound and the image are linked.

I used my iphone to shoot the video, Studio One to edit the sound, and Adobe Premiere to make the video.

Finally, I checked with Ludo about how they wanted to be credited.

TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE STYLE & YOUR INTENTIONS

My life has had some turbulence, and so I am reluctant to be known purely for rose-tinted lense narratives. So, those familiar with my art and music, especially my recent work, might be surprised at the sentimental jazz style. The style of the music to me feels similar to romantic jazz music by Nat King Cole and Walt Disney’s “When you wish upon a star”.

I have been exploring the role of the classical/ex-classical musician in decolonial music so I asked myself: “How can I use my skills to help people who want to make the world a better place?” My answer is that a lot of people doing campaigning and NGO work or who are LGBTIQ+ are stressed and tired out. I thought if I make some music and art that is relaxing, because it is coming from a place where I know that the world is not ok but we are striving for a better world, it justifies (for me) making something that otherwise devoid of politics.

As a lover of pastiche, parody, satire and genre-switch, exploring different styles is a useful challenge! Finally, I am learning to rest more. Ludo’s imagery is very restful and this connects with the idea of luxury. However, the irony for me is that what is deemed as a luxury could be a necessity. E.g. REST is deemed as a luxury when in fact there could be many reasons why a lot of us have actually been overworking and not even realising it. My creations often contain some element of protest and subversion. The idea of learning to rest, re-learning our connection to nature and pleasure in our surroundings - from the space to tiny friends.

WHAT DO THE IMAGES MEAN TO YOU?

I love the idea of tiny worlds which comes across with footage of insects going about their daily business. I have started using images of horses recently as my surname actually means “horse” in Chinese. The sea is an image I keep returning to (literally, my new music video is called, “Take Me Back to the Ocean”!)

WHAT WAS LUDO’S INITIAL RESPONSE?

“Oh wow! This is absolutely beautiful. I love everything about it, the song, the way the images fit with the melody, the humorous moment with the seagulls, everything. You’ve really helped me to capture something of how I experience the world, thank you.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS PROJECT?

I was really pleased with the way the video turned out! It inspires me to approach other creatives for fun projects non-work / pressure-filled work. I look forward to collaborating with Ludo again!

 
creativity, art, songwriting, performanceThe Mollusc Dimensionmusic, piano, video