Raphaella connects with the collaborators of Hybrid Rose’s Mr Spaceman music video and discusses creative predictions in a post-Covid world.
It’s a weird time to be alive, and a weirder time to be trying to make something creative. Lockdown and social distancing have changed the NZ landscape of collaborative creativity, yet there’s still a hunger for all the beautiful and transporting parts of the arts. So where to from here?
I connected with Sabrina (the creator behind @knifedgevisuals), Rose (electronica’s princess @hybridrosemusic) and Sam (Christchurch based rapper @andssum) over the interweb and discussed our predictions for the unpredictable times ahead. The four of us recently collaborated on Hybrid Rose’s Mr. Spaceman music video, which ended up being made, edited and released in the peak of New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown.
The pre-pandemic music video plan involved scenes that displayed the exact opposite of our Covid lives to come – friends, frolicking on beaches and even crowded parties (remember parties?). When Aunty Cindy announced lockdown, we had only shot a few b-roll clips up in Vogeltown. These clips ending up making the entire Mr. Spaceman video you see here. Because of our minimal footage (and the global pandemic) the video had to undergo a complete reconfiguration, where the footage was shared, edited and passed on between us until the final patchwork result emerged.
Funnily enough, the mishmash effect of collaborating remotely was what I loved about it most.
Long-distance collaboration looks like it’s going to stick around, so I sat down in virtual interview-space and eagerly listened to see if the Mr. Spaceman team saw some silver-linings to all this craziness too.
What do you all think that Covid-19 will do to the NZ music scene? What will we see more of?
Sabrina “I think it’s already changed the way we work together as creatives, which is awesome because I think we’ve all gotten used to collaborating without being together. ...I [also] reckon we’ll see heaps of small backyard gigs... I’m sure it’ll lead people to being creative with venues and things as well, hopefully there’ll be heaps of DIY gigs soon and we can at least party together in small groups!”
Sam “I think a lot of the DIY attitude will come through ... So whether people spend more time writing because they can't record, or finally finishing off a project they've been working on. I think a lot of it is what you make it, trying to see what you can and can't do and work with that”
Rose “I mean I think straight from the get-go I’ve seen some pretty new and innovative takes on things, especially with references to pop culture, so I think we’ll see people coming out of their creative bubble a little more for sure, putting a new spin on things which would be a super neat way to come out of quarantine”
Smaller and more unusual gig venues? Musicians in government enforced lockdowns with time to dive into long-procrastinated projects? I think a lot of my silver-linings were affirmed. However, I might have an unreasonably certain idea of how durable the NZ music scene is based on Welly’s insatiable hunger for gigs. I get the sense that this new New Zealand, full of necessary protective and restrictive health measures will force the music scene to seep and grow into new spaces. I’m thinking EP releases in unused office spaces, or a small gig in the park, recorded and shared with a wider internet crowd.
A peaceful still from the Mr. Spaceman music video
Another aspect which sprung to mind was how the necessity for remote collaboration also somehow makes the NZ music world a smaller place. If we can now collaborate on a video, track or project across town in our respective living rooms, why not collaborate between Bluff and Cape Reinga? Out of the four of us, it was only Rose and I who met up face-to-face before lockdown to shoot those few clips. I asked the team what this experience was like for them.
How did you find the making process of the video under lockdown conditions?
Sabrina “I found it to be quite different than what I’m used to because there was no face to face contact with Rose or any of the folks collaborating on the video, and because I didn’t come on board until later in the piece I didn’t actually get to meet the other people involved so that was kinda strange! Definitely not how I’m used to collaborating with people as there were no coffee meetups involved! It was still fun as though and I’m stoked with how it all came together.”
Sam “We've actually never met in person as it is! So all our comms had been online already. It was a pretty smooth process making the song just sending ideas and snippets back and forth. The video was a different matter. I'm staying at my parents and we happened to have a couple of English backpackers staying who were stranded because of the lockdown. One of them happened to have a degree in Film so it worked out quite well. She did all the filming and I sent it off to Rose”
Rose “[It] Was super enjoyable, there were creati “[It] Was super enjoyable, there were creative restrictions due to where we were at in the world at the time, but I genuinely believe we made it work, me and the team of people behind the video were all working so hard to make the best visual we can and I could not be more grateful.”
By the sounds of it, we are already well equipped for collaborating remotely in the tech sense. While this indicates some fun possibilities for more atypical collabs across cities, it’s yet to be said how essential it is to meet up in person over a coffee or cold one to bounce ideas creatively. I personally feel more capable with some strong espresso in hand, so it’ll be interesting how various social distancing measures change these sort of creative processes.
A happy Rose pre lockdown! Still taken from Music Video
Amidst the all the strange global implications of this Covid business, I wanted to zoom in on everyone’s personal experience of creativity during this isolating time.
How have you been finding creativity in lockdown?
Rose “I find personally it’s been quite easy to be creative, I’m not the most driven only because I want this time to be more than just an opportunity to grow as an artist, but also a little more as a person which is nice.”
Sabrina “Honestly I’ve been really struggling during this lockdown as my mental health has taken a bit of a nosedive- despite the fact that I want to be making cool shit and I have heaps of ideas I want to execute I don’t really have the motivation to carry any of it out. I’m sure a lot of people are experiencing the same thing as well. It’s hard when you don’t have a schedule or a deadline to push you forwards! I have come up with some cool ideas that I want to play around with in the future so at least I will have things to work on when my motivation finally comes back!”
Sam “Interesting! I'm lucky enough to have a wee bedroom studio at mine so i've got the ability to record which has been wicked. In terms of music i've been trying not to force it. I'll have a day where i'll write like three songs, then I might not do anything for a couple more. I think it's important not to put that pressure on yourself. I've been going for walks and doing photography which has made things feel a bit more normal. Just trying to ride the wave.”
So, I’d like to admit that I’m writing this during a bout of overt positivity. How great would it be to synthesize all this crazy pandemic-shit into an elegant metaphor. Like: with great restrictions, comes great creative innovation. Or: with great government enforced isolation, comes great human connections. I’m sensing a theme... with great power comes great responsibility? Maybe Mufasa would know how to synthesize all this, but I for one am at a loss for how to colour all these strange rippling changes we’re experiencing. One minute I’m dearly missing San Fran balcony crowds on a Wednesday and the next minute all I can see are more cosy-sized gigs radiating from peoples’ suburban backyards.
In reality, there’s going to be a lot of instant nostalgia for pre-Covid times, but certainly this remote-collab process and all these virtual chats are beckoning in some exciting possibilities for making . During the time I’ve been putting this article together, folks have already released collaborative EP’s, started news shows and even a mini-series diving into how NZ musicians are coping with these topsy-turvy times.
That’s all for now, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
Remote Collaboration: a patchwork dream by Raphaella Holder-Monk
