jman & the pigs - 'SEA OF DREAMS'
Aussie outfit jman & the pigs talk to us about chasing storms, canoe incident and sacrificing an organ to the sea whilst shooting their music video for gloomy, alt rock single, ‘SEA OF DREAMS’.
Where was the video for 'SEA OF DREAMS' filmed?
SEA OF DREAMS was filmed in quite a few locations but mainly in National parks around NSW, Cradle mountain in TASMANIA and the BRISBANE CBD. We are based in Byron Bay, but many scenes I took while on surfing or camping trips when i saw a landscape that looked a bit different - Lennox Head, Point Plumber, Bald rock, Minnie Water, brooms head (kangaroos). I was constantly stopping the car and sussing spots out! The sand dunes were at Mango brush, an hour north of Newcastle - (such a magic spot). The boat scenes were filmed in Belongil Beach in Byron and also Broken Head. On the Belongil day I knew a storm was coming and how cool that would look so we went to Tallows beach and unloaded the organ. The storm then disappeared around the headland so we had to chase it over to Belongil! I felt like I was in that movie ‘Twister’
The more Tim burtonny and snow dragging landscapes we took while on a trip in Tasmania. Vanessa is a very patient camera woman with an awesome eye. Such beautiful landscapes down there everywhere you look. I’ve never been so cold as trying to get that dragging shot in the snow, But I was excited at the same time! The city shots we took in Brisbane. We put the organ in the back of the car and just drove up there to see what we could find - it was a full on but a really fun day and we encountered loads of nice people, many trying to help with the organ not realising we were making a clip.
How does the video connect with the song?
When I started the song it was about family, and the lyrics refer to that nostalgic feeling you sometimes get when you’re with family and you realise it may never be exactly that same way again as change is always just around the corner. The Sea of Dreams refers to all the distractions, both good and bad which pull us outwards as we go and find our place in the world.
The video is the story of someone going out and chasing those dreams and persevering through whatever obstacles they have to, even if it doesn’t always make sense. It ended up kind of becoming a thank you video to my family who have always made an effort to back my life decisions even when they may have seemed absurd! I think it’s such a great and loving way to be a parent/brother.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
Apart from almost getting a $500 fine for dragging the organ on the M1, or getting chased off a Bangalow property by an aggressive guy riding a quad bike, one incident that sticks with me is the broken head organ boat scene. The surf was supposed to be 1-2 foot so I organised my friend to come and film in the water and my other friend to bring his drone. When we got there, the surf had picked up a bit earlier than expected and it was about 3-4 foot and kind of chunky. I had it in my head that we must get out to the three sisters with the organ in the boat no matter what.
After suggesting rescheduling, my legend friend agreed to come on the mission. We loaded up the boat and off we went.
I got so painfully close.. I was in the boat with the organ past the main area of breakers and was just about en route to the three sisters when I saw a swell building that looked a bit rogue. It slowly started to become clear that it was going to break right in front of me!… My whole dream of a drone shot rowing the organ through the three sisters was flashing before my eyes, but I just couldn’t row fast enough in that moment. The wave basically landed on me and I got launched out of the boat with the organ and my oar. I felt like a crash test dummy. My organ floating device ripped off completely meaning I was stuck trying to salvage a sinking organ and a row boat amongst 4 foot waves! What a scene… me and Tommy nestled in amongst the local surfers trying to look like we had it under control - it must have been quite a sight. Unfortunately the organ never quite made it back.. So somewhere on tallows beach, or possibly on another Byron beach, someone may one day find a 1970’s Kawai organ and wonder what it’s story is! Luckily it was a stunt organ, as it had stopped working.
We ended up being able to use the footage of rowing out so in the end it all worked out - which kind of ties into the theme of the clip.
Can you tell us about the ideas/themes/imagery used?
I really wanted it to have this kind of harsh Australian landscape sort of vibe, to represent the struggle of trying to make original and good music successfully. One of the main things I got inspiration from was the start of Young Einstein where he travels with his guitar from Hobart up to Sydney - what an epic scene!
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
I guess the main message of the video is that sometimes you have an idea in your head of how something will be and more often than not it won’t end up exactly that way, so try to embrace whatever it ends up being?
It’s meant to give comfort to all those struggling musicians who keep having hard gigs and harsh feedback. If you find just one person that fully gets your music and is moved by it then that alone is really special, so pat yourself on the back every time that happens ( :
Interview by Karla Harris
‘SEA OF DREAMS’ is taken from jman & the pigs upcoming eight-track album ‘happysad’ set to be released June 1st 2020.