jan 2024: angel era
hey,
january was a whirlwind, in the best way. as I mentioned in my last letter, I headed down to melbourne to create the visual world for my next EP with some new friends down there. I loved it so much that I went back 2 weeks later! here’s how it went…
I met Roman last year when I played a show with my band in fitzroy, he liked my music and asked if he could come down and shoot some videos of the show. I checked out some of his work and was super into it, and stoked to have him along. from there we got to know each other and really clicked. I told him about my vision for the next project and he instantly got it, bringing his own ideas to the table that I loved. we went back and forth for a few months until jan, when I followed my gut, got on a plane and headed down to get to work. I knew he was the right guy for the job. he rallied a bunch of his friends to help out and it was the most fun and serendipitous and wholesome experience I’ve ever had bringing a vision to life. the goal wasn’t to make a traditional music video, but rather create a visual language for the new music to exist within. paint a picture… each shot telling its own story and building a world for each song on the project. this meant we could be light on our feet, chasing beautiful locations and set ups instead of a narrative or over the top performances that you might see in a typical ‘music video’. Roman’s family were kind enough to let me stay with them while I was in town, which was so lovely, and convenient for Roman and me to make the most of the 6 days we had together. we were shooting mostly at sunset, into the night, so the hours were wild, every day from like 3pm-3am. it destroyed my sleep schedule but it was well worth it.
we went all around victoria to find the best spots. from geelong to heathcote to the mornington peninsula and flinders, and we captured some magic in some truly stunning places. I can’t wait to begin sharing it with you.
I enjoyed the trip so much, that 2 weeks later I decided to roadtrip back down, bringing Lara along with me to show her the sights. I’d always wanted to drive from sydney to melbourne and this was a great excuse to - the shoot had ended abruptly so I wanted to see the crew again to celebrate together, and I also wanted an opportunity for Roman and me to start editing in person. we had 9 hours of footage to sort through, so it was worth making a start on it together.
the roadtrip was a great time. we saw the big ned kelly in glenrowan, the big marino in goulburn, the killer whale museum in eden. we snorkelled and camped and explored and soaked up the last of the summer while we could. I’m glad to be home and there’s more work to be done to get these songs into the world. so that’s where I’m at now.
I hope your january was just as good as mine.
more to come. thanks for everything.
much love,
chris