"Take Me Back to the Ocean" - 6 Things you probably didn't know about the music video!

It’s like a dream come true! Thanks to your efforts of supporters of The Mollusc Dimension, “Take Me Back to the Ocean” has now had over 1000 views on YouTube in less than a week after it’s release. So, here are some little known background details about the song, video and the creative process.

“I looked at the sea. Dark gloom rose and fell before me for miles. I wanted to walk into it and forget about my life before. As I lost myself in despairing thoughts, my skin shivered as in the cold and wet, hours, perhaps years passed, and a vigorous gust of wind swept my ears behind me like flags. And then.. I noticed.... At first, I noticed that although my eyes were closed, I could feel a little biting light tearing at my senses. I opened them to see the inky waters alive with gold, waves tore through my heart like the sound of horns, and the sky too, seemed to have exploded from a broken seed into a luminous star. For a brief moment, I was there.” (The Mollusc Dimension)

1. Did you find a vintage pic of the dog & the sea?

I actually drew this picture of our dog and the sea. I first shared it on my old Facebook page with a miserable story (see above) about wanting to walk into the sea and never come back. Even though I'm good at hiding it, I experience depression and anxiety. Music, drawing, craft and creativity helps me get through the day and also transform my mood. The story of Polly and the sea also involved an amazing sunrise.

Side note: For the sunrise, I was inspired by the memory of a trip many moons ago, to see the sunrise on the beach in Scarborough..

2. Do you really like dogs?

I’m really much more of a cat person. When I was younger, we had a cat who I named Alice, after Alice in Wonderland.

My mum’s brother bought her a dog after we lost my dad in a traumatic bereavement.. The dog has eaten and / or destroyed MANY things such as glasses, music books (Bach and Grade 7 ABRSM pieces to be exact) and fake coal (these are just a few examples). As well as fixing the house and progress our work and personal projects, fixing what the dog has eaten or taking her to the vet and arguing about the best thing to do have been draining. Also unless I’m performing I’m usually a very shy person and having a dog means using your voice in public and potentially talking to other dog owners. (If only to apologise for your dog nicking their noms).

To help my mum, I take the dog out sometimes. Singing / humming/ whistling to oneself is an age old self-soothing activity. When I repeat a few words like a little chant to help me feel calmer. So the dog kind of helped me write the song.

3. Who made those weird squids?

I made the squids. I used to sell them at craft fairs. Some had bells & squeakers. They’re not weird. They’re my friends!

4. You recorded the song at home - it sounds really good.

I did record some of the keyboard sounds on the album at home. The quality of the album is really good because I recorded it with the sound engineer, Felix Macintosh. She has the same name as my dad, which I thought was a sign to work together. My friend Wild (they/them) sings & plays guitar on the song, Take Me Back to the Ocean.

Felix’s studio is Bassment Space (then called Smartmix Studio).

Guernsey - I put the phone on the grass and filmed this long shot - which even a professional award-winning film-makers thinks is a cool shot! :D

Guernsey - magical place — Guernsey - a magical place

5. Where is this video shot?

Essex, Brighton, Guernsey. Obviously travelling took place before Lockdown. These places are very meaningful to me.

Essex - I moved back to Essex when my dad died, to help my mum. But we disagree on many things and it’s not easy living together. But even in hard times, people always find ways to tell stories. So I decided to use the garden as a set. I felt self conscious doing so as neighbours can see into the garden but I focused on wanting to make a video and how pleased I would be after I had made it. It was also fun making it, and Polly likes it when we go in the garden as she she enjoys the company.

Brighton - my boyfriend, Benny used to live in Brighton. I enjoyed visiting him there so that we could have some space to ourselves and also I love the sea. I filmed the sea during visits after performing at Trans Pride 2019 & Devils Dykes Network Festival 2019. Brighton is not a problem free place, but it represents freedom to me (compared to Essex where I'm a bit scared to hold hands in public). I had created a performance video for Trans Pride 2020 and had performed the event in 2016 (with my band, Squid & The Krakens).

Guernsey - In August 2019, Benny & I visited this magical place. It was about 8-9 days but the longest holiday to a freely chosen destination. Swimming in the sea & checking out rockpools for seaweed created amazing memories which I collected in clips for my music video.

6. Do I have to hire a film crew to make my music video?

Nope! I’m fairly sure I shot all the scenes on iPhone myself except for the one where I burst out of the trees were selfies. That said, if you can afford a film-maker, there are some great ones.

While cinematographers like Chris Doyle (Wong Kar Wei) got me into hand-held work, I realised the power of the stillness of a shot.

I’m really passionate about DIY media-making. You can usually find something to balance your phone on to get it to be stationery. When we were on holiday, my boyfriend was already getting a bit annoyed about me working so I just set the phone on my bag. This method works if you are either in a place where no one is likely to steal your phone, or else you have someone with you who can keep an eye on it.

The Joby Gorilla Pod my boyfriend got me for a Christmas present has been very useful, and I used this extensively to film garden shots. This is a musicians’ house so there was a heavy-weight music stand with holes in it. I wrapped Gorilla pod around the holes. That is how this and other garden shots were filmed.

PS. WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?

My new music video, “Take Me Back to the Ocean”. It was released on 28th September 2020 and gained 1000 views in less than week. Curious? Check it out!

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art, creativity, video, DIY culture, songwriting, mental healthThe Mollusc Dimension8 October 2020music