The Artist Explains: Leena Ojala - 'Why' (Video)
Who: Leena Ojala is an electro-pop/ alternative artist based in London, UK.
About The Track: 'Why' is taken from Leena Ojala's debut EP, 'EP1' which was released in November of last year. 'Why' has some great pop sensibilities, but it is the use of turbulent electronics that adds emphasis to the emotion in Ojala's vocals and heighten the turmoil of the song's less-than-chipper themes.
The Artist Explains: "The initial idea behind the track was a parent / teenager conflict resulting in the teenager rebelling and fleeing home for whatever reason. While she wants to come back home, she has a misplacedpride preventing that. Months turn to years, and it’s only growing maturity that allows amends. The central message of ‘time we lost, we’ll never gain’, tells of the pain on both sides that will never heal.
Aella Jordan-Edge directed the video and came up with a great story line with myself as a narrator in black and white shots, and the story being told in colour.
The video was filmed in London: Kentish Town (home scenes), King’s Cross (narration in a studio) and Hampstead Heath (outdoor scenes). When writing the track I had a completely different idea in mind. I feel that while Aella’sinterpretation was a bit different, her delivery of the song’s emotion was spot on, and I’m really happy with the outcome.
The whole video was shot in one day, starting at 9am and finishing at night fall back in August. While not there, I heard from Aella that they just managed to get the final shots in before darkness fell.The idea in the video was that the child had run away from home and was a bit wild at heart, displayed through scenes of partying, smoking and drinking.
‘Why’ is a very emotional track, but Aella captured the joy of youth and the sadness of missing out on the family life against the song’s melancholic theme. The girl in the video breaks into her family home after years on the run, excitedly going through ordinary items and making herself home. The black and white narration emphasises the dark motive of the song." - Leena Ojala
Feature by Karla Harris