The Band Explains: Courage My Love - 'Stereo' (Video)

We spoke to Mercedes from Canadian band Courage My Love about their recent emotional video for their track 'Stereo', taken from their new album Synesthesia. 



Courage My Love Explains:
Where was the video for 'Stereo' filmed?
M: We filmed it at Pie In The Sky studios in Toronto, ON. Because the concept of the video was supposed to be a dreamy, colorful, surreal world, we knew we'd have to film in a large, blank room. We picked dreamy colours, similar to the cover and artwork of the album. That, combined with the 70s and 80s video effects, as well as shooting on oldschool film and camcorders, gave the video a super trippy vibe.

How does the video compliment the song?
M: The song has a lot of vintage tones to it, so we decided to use vintage technology. All the colours and glitchy video effects are exactly how I imagined it when I close my eyes. I'd listen to the mixes of Stereo and picture overwhelming, visually stunning images. I wanted the first video of this album cycle to introduce the overall concept of "Synesthesia" and sort of take our fans into that world.

Any behind the scenes stories?
M: I actually cried on set several times during the filming of the video. Most of the closeup performance shots got emotional. The song is about not being able to communicate, and trying to reach back into someone's life after falling out. I wasn't really planning on getting into a place where I would cry on screen, but the lyrics of this song are really close to my sister and I, so it just sort of happened. Our director (Emma Higgins) loved it. I think at one point everyone in the room was crying. Sounds so somber and sad, but it was actually really fun and kind of a bonding moment.

Tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
 M: Since the song is about not being able to communicate, we wanted to use a lot of oldschool technology, including communication technology that is either irrelevant or doesn't work anymore. We filmed on 90s cameras and got shots of rotary phones, tin can phones, radios, microphones, etc. We used a lot of VHS glitch effects, and tape stretches, etc, to get that broken VCR effect. To further depict the imagery of losing contact with a loved one, we only had one band member alone per shot. There isn't one shot in the video with more than one live person in it.

What is the message of the video trying to convey?
M: After a falling out within our family, my sister and I became inspired to write this song. It's about two people who are estranged from one another. One tries to reach out to the other, but is always pushed away. The first verse is supposed to describe our mother and her sisters in their youth, walking home from a night of dancing and partying. It remembers the good times, tells the story of a falling out, and then in one last ditch effort to reach out, describes the hope that this elusive figure will hear the song on the radio and know it's about them.

Feature  by Ant Adams