The Duo Explains: Waterbaby - 'Universe of Blues' (Video)

Waterbaby is the project of Martha and Jessica Kilpatrick,  two music producers and filmmakers from Peckham, London, who combine avant-garde film, punk poetry and industrial experimental pop. ' Universe Of Blues' is taken from the duo's album 'Pink Noise' and we speak to them about their creative and artsy video which accompanies it. 

The Duo Explains:

 Where was the video filmed?

We live in an attic in Peckham, London, and we filmed the video in our kitchen. We covered the walls in drawings to look like we were stuck inside a giant painting. It is meant to look like a cell, like you have been trapped in a room for eternity.

How does the video compliment the song (if at all)?

The song ‘Universe of Blues’ is about being a loner, feeling like an outsider, feeling alienated, but not being afraid to go your own way. By using your imagination you can be free, even when the sky is heavy and grey and everywhere you go is a dead end. The video represents the extent you can travel in your mind to escape the mundane and that you can play any part you feel like. Our films and music are both magic realism, and we try and create surreal fantasy worlds with no resources at all, so they have a very DIY and punk aesthetic.

Any behind the scenes stories?

We had no money to film this but we had really big ideas. We bought everything from the pound shop on Peckham High Street and hand painted all the costumes and walls and made all the props. The giant hat was so big and her room so small that it took up Martha’s whole bedroom when we were making it! We turned household things like washing up gloves into creepy claws, and we printed all our lyrics onto our clothes.

Tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?

The general idea behind the video is being trapped in a room, so the absurdist plays such as Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Sartre’s No Exit were influential. In terms of the aesthetic and the editing style, we were influenced by the film ‘The Great Rock n Roll Swindle’ a music documentary about the Sex Pistols, which is punk and gritty but also bizarre and magical. We love the painter Basquiat, so the stream of consciousness graffiti on the walls was inspired by his work.

What is the message the video is trying to convey?

Our videos and music are all self made and produced, and are a representation of how you need nothing but your mind to escape reality into fantasy. ‘Universe of Blues’ is an ode to the outsiders of the world.

Interview feature by Karla Harris