The Band Explains: Xul Zolar - 'Perfume'
Cologne based indie four-piece Xul Zolar talk to us about their powerful single and music video for ‘Perfume’, which explores the themes of intimacy, blind trust, togetherness, as well as anxiety and fear of loss.
Where was the video for ‘Perfume’ filmed?
During the rehearsals for a theatre piece entitled "Hanxiety".
How does the video connect with the song?
The images are cut to match the song but the slow images contrast the track, which is relatively fast paced, rather than just going at the "same" speed.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
The director of the video , Stee van Stark, originally went to the rehearsal to make some test shoots with the dancers because he wanted them for a different video idea we had. When he saw them dance he was so struck by what he saw that he just started recording and went with it. No further images were shot.
Can you tell us about the ideas/themes/imagery used?
The video captures some of the key ideas of the track: intimacy, blind trust, togetherness but also anxiety and fear of loss. The dance is of course highly symbolic and leaves it open to the viewer to interpret what's going on. That's something we aim for in our music as well.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
We are no big fans of clear and simple messages, so no, there's not a particular message we wanted to convey. The video is rather an invitation to make up your mind about yourself and your surroundings.
Interview feature by Karla Harris