The Artist Explains: Johanna Glaza - 'Space Mermaid'

London-based ambient folk artist Johanna Glaza chats to us about her cinematic and elemental visuals for 'Space Mermaid' taken from her debut album, ‘Wind Sculptures'.

Johanna Glaza creates her own spiritual world in 'Space Mermaid' - an unfiltered and imaginative avant-garde folk song that pulls on natural textures to create a twilight of sounds, led by a billowing, versatile vocal. 

Johanna Glaza Explains
Where was the video for 'Space Mermaid' filmed?
It was filmed in north Devon, a place I know pretty well since I go there every year to escape from London.

How does the video compliment the song?The vast moon-like location with it’s austere beauty has amplified the song. It gave the track lungs to breathe.

Any behind the scenes stories?
I wanted to have a scene in the video where my character comes out of the ocean wearing a coat. I was haunted by this image and really keen to film it no matter what. The temperatures dropped to 4 degrees celsius when we were filming it. Even being barefoot for a few minutes was painful and our numb fingers were completely useless trying to perform some of the most simple tasks.

Yet it seams that being so uncomfortable while filming it helped us not only to stay focused but to keep the video free from any unnecessary accessories. There was no time to hesitate.

Tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
Old Rope Films who made the video shared with me the passion for Tarkovsky's films and we wanted the video to have cinematic feel to it. I had a couple of other scenes I wanted to try out. One of it- the earth falling upon me like snow. This image is the key to the song for me. The rest just came whilst singing the song in full lungs in the Northern wind.

Usually I go with the gut feeling on the spot and do whatever feels natural then. Location is very important to me and it's the only thing that has to be chosen in advance. It is like a character taking a part in the story, a certain personification of the song.

Is there a message you hope people take away from watching the video?Maybe they will follow the song to some lonesome windy places of their consciousness and spend some time there. It’s a good place to visit.

Interview Feature by Karla Harris