The Artist Explains: Yoke Lore - 'Hold Me Down' (Video)
 |
| Photo Credit: DeSean McClinton-Holland |
'Hold Me Down' is a slice of ethereal indie pop taken from Yoke Lore's debut EP 'Far Shore' released earlier this year via B3Sci Records.
Yoke Lore Explains:
Where was the video filmed?
Around our house in Bushwick, Brooklyn
How does the video compliment the song?
The song is about love as a form of protection. It's about feeling the need for someone to contain you and enfold you. We as faulty human beings tend to unravel, and it's nice to know that you have someone who will keep you held together. The video shows me rolling around, seeing people at night winding down, heading home, catching the last train. I roll in search of the one who will encompass me. I quest through Brooklyn to find her and the video ends with me journeying on, still rolling.
Any behind the scenes stories?
We shot the video around our house with my roommate's camera, and we stopped for fried chicken in the middle of the shoot. So the budget of the shoot was just about the budget of the chicken.
Tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
I wanted to shoot at night. Night time becomes about settling down and settling in. Having no where to go and no one to settle in with can make us feel unsafe... because the night is dark and full of terrors (lol). But seriously, the dark is scary, and it's nice to have someone to share it with. The daytime is all happy and open, but when night falls, it's safer together. I wanted to shoot in Brooklyn - where my community is and where real life happens for them. I wore my regular clothes because this is about me.
What is the message the video is trying to convey?
I'm not really trying to convey anything. I'm just trying to give people an insight into how I search. I process with movement and speed. I long for love with levity while spinning. I want to give people ways to dance with their feelings and to put themselves in everything they do. I make rollerblading into a therapeutic act; I'm rolling myself through a night alone in order to show you that I'm trying my best, striving for her. So that maybe you can turn things that you do into meditations. Maybe your cycling can be dedicated to an aunt, or an urge, or a goal. Maybe, while you sweat, you can sweat out doubt. I'm using my body to access and manipulate my very ethereal feeling self which I use to thrust myself into the world. I hope you will, too.
Interview featurey by Karla Harris
Live dates w/ Elliot Moss
Wed, Sep 21 // Boston, MA @ Cafe 939 (tix)
Thu, Sep 22 // NYC @ Bowery Ballroom (tix)
Fri, Sep 23 // Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live (tix)
Mon, Sep 26 // Chicago, IL @ Schubas (tix)
Tues, Sep 27 // Columbus, OH @ Basement (tix)
Wed, Sep 28 // Washington, DC @ DC9 (tix)
Fri, Sep 30 // Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel (tix)
Sat, Oct 1 // Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz (tix)
