The Duo Explains: XYLØ - 'America' (Video)

Who: XYLØ is a Southern California indie pop group comprised of producer  /drummer/songwriter Chase Duddy and his younger sister, vocalist/songwriter Paige Duddy.

About The Track: 'America' is the title track taken from XYLØ's debut EP, which is available in its entirety for download here, 'America' is a sultry, melodic track with haunting vocals, dark electronics and combines an atmospheric blend of indie rock, electronica, and dirty hip-hop beats .

The Duo Explains:

1.Who produced the video? Where was it filmed?
"Our manager Dylan Sosa and our Director Riley Harper handled a lot of the technical budget stuff. We got clothes loaned to us by Allsaints and free shoes from Doc Martens. We were working on a very small budget so we had to pull every favor possible, so that meant us using all of our friends and family to play the characters. A good friend Chris Blasman played the male role and Dree Hemingway (female lead) is my wife's cousin. I knew they would have good chemistry together and I feel like that came across really well on screen. The car location with Paige and I is in Decker Canyon in the Malibu Mountains. The beach scenes was El Matador (Malibu). The house was Dree's mother's Mariel. And the Garage chris was in with his motorcycle was Riley’s house." - Chase

2. How does the video compliment the song?
"The video and the song are both telling a story about forbidden love".- Paige

"It's a love song and I think Dree and Chris’ characters did a great job of expressing and representing that. The masked figure symbolize something coming between you and the person you love which is what the song is about." - Chase

3. Any behind the scenes stories?
"We almost got a ticket from a Park Ranger when we were shooting the performance car scenes. We had no permits and the car was unregistered. It was also boiling hot out that day." - Chase


4. Tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?

"The song is about a country that is forcing two people apart through immigration policy. It was a personal experience I went through with my boyfriend at the time who was forced to leave America because of his visa. The mask figures in the music video was something we created to symbolize that experience but they can represent any authority figure. It's up to the viewers interpretation."- Paige

"We started throwing ideas around, that were originally different then how it ended up turning out, but it always involved having a dark force to give that strong imagery and symbolize power and authority." - Chase

5. What is the message the video is trying to convey?
"Forbidden love sucks."- Paige


Interview by Karla Harris