The Band Explains: Hearts Hearts - 'Phantom / Island'
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| Photo credit: David Meran |
Vienna experimental rock-pop quartet Hearts Hearts speak to us about their stunning lead single and visuals for 'Phantom/ Island' taken from their forthcoming album.
Hearts Hearts' Phantom / Island' expertly combines the best and most imaginative parts of electronica and experimental pop and have created a dramatic, vibrant and deeply intelligent song that gets bigger, brighter and more exciting on every listen.
Hearts Hearts Explains
Where was the video for 'Phantom/ Island' filmed?
Director Gabriel Hyden spent a week in Sicily to film most of the footage with actors Djoana Gueorguieva and Benjamin Kornfeld. He had just passed his driving test, bought a car and hit the road. In Italy he found these almost unearthly, supernatural spots which simply blew all our minds away when we first saw them. The scenes with David Österle, our singer, were filmed later on in Vienna.
How does the video connect with the song?
The song evoked a variety of ideas and pictures in our heads that we then discussed with Gabriel. We wanted the video to invite the viewer on a tense emotional journey where the bold gestures of the song could be understood on a more immediate level.
Any behind the scenes stories?
The scenes filmed in Italy were completely improvised. For example, the horse was found standing alone in the wilderness, so it took Djoana about half an hour to connect to it and gain its trust. The scene between her and the horse is a display of a tightrope walk of joy, fear, danger and quaint trust, all at once.
Could you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
A lot of impressions came from dream-like scenarios, abstract paintings and animated movies. Our goal was to challenge the viewers perspective and to create a story loose enough to leave the recipient with enough space for once own interpretation.
What is the message the video is trying to convey?
Our aim was to discuss the ability to forget, the ability to turn a blind eye to reality that takes place outside our illusive island of personal concerns. We strongly believe ourselves to be caring, we ponder about humanity, but in fact we tend to retreat into our shelves when confronted with real issues.
The video visually underscores this specific human ambiguity. Only for a spell, when our little world of maintained illusions turns out to be a phantom island, we feel pangs of remorse. But we are able to lay our shame, our felling of guilt beside by simply forgetting, ignoring or even inventing excusions.
Interview Feature by Karla Harris
The scenes filmed in Italy were completely improvised. For example, the horse was found standing alone in the wilderness, so it took Djoana about half an hour to connect to it and gain its trust. The scene between her and the horse is a display of a tightrope walk of joy, fear, danger and quaint trust, all at once.
Could you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
A lot of impressions came from dream-like scenarios, abstract paintings and animated movies. Our goal was to challenge the viewers perspective and to create a story loose enough to leave the recipient with enough space for once own interpretation.
What is the message the video is trying to convey?
Our aim was to discuss the ability to forget, the ability to turn a blind eye to reality that takes place outside our illusive island of personal concerns. We strongly believe ourselves to be caring, we ponder about humanity, but in fact we tend to retreat into our shelves when confronted with real issues.
The video visually underscores this specific human ambiguity. Only for a spell, when our little world of maintained illusions turns out to be a phantom island, we feel pangs of remorse. But we are able to lay our shame, our felling of guilt beside by simply forgetting, ignoring or even inventing excusions.
Interview Feature by Karla Harris
TOUR DATES
08.05.2018 Kantine am Berghain, Berlin (DE)
10.05.2018 Häkken, Hamburg (DE)
11.05.2018 Etepetete Festival, Dortmund (DE)
17.05.2018 WUK, Vienna (AT)