The Band Explains: Capitano - 'Workout'
Indie electro pop outfit Capitano chat to us about their fresh and funky single and music video, ‘Workout’ and its optimistic message of finding hope in hopeless places.
Where was the video for ‘Workout‘ filmed?
We found a run-down little two-lane bowling alley in the basement of a Turkish restaurant in Berlin where we shot the video within a couple of hours. It’s the German kind of bowling, smaller lanes and small, weird looking bowling balls. It’s a quirky weekend tradition from the past. Our grandparents used to hang out at these kind of places. Low ceilings, cigarette smoke in the air. This particular alley is really a glimpse into another century. You don’t get to see these alleys anymore. It felt so lost and forgotten and somehow lonely, that we immediately fell in love with the place.
How does the video connect with the song?
’Workout’ is a song about being stuck in a dead end and not knowing how to move on. When you just took too many blows to the head, and stumbled over too many obstacles. It’s about that spot where you are so down on your luck and your energy, that really nothing matters anymore. So you keep on going. It’s a song about hope, because hope always begins in a hopeless place.
To us, this rundown bowling alley was a place no one cares for and no one would miss if it would be gone tomorrow. It’s a really hopeless place. So going there, shooting a video, filling it with people to create something entirely new and having fun doing that, made it a birthplace of hope. At least for a day.
It’s just as innocent as that, we kind of wanted to go somewhere no one wants to go and sing about hope in a hopeless place.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
We had maybe four hours to shoot the whole video. We had two extras coming in to just act naturally and bowl, pretending to not share the room with us and our instruments. Those two extras never bowled before, and they were actually killing it from the first minute. They were bowling strikes all the time, while we were moving around and dancing on the lanes. It was really amazing.
Can you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
It’s a very tight bowling alley with two lanes, so naturally you have this stretched room and this very aesthetic perspective. We put LED bars alongside the two walls of the alley, which really clashed with the antiquated decor of that place. That gave us this “light at the end of the tunnel“ feeling, which we really liked. Dancing between hope and hopelessness. I guess that’s the metaphor we were going for intuitively.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
It’s really about finding hope in hopeless places. We were just having a good time that day. I mean, life is all about positivity in a negative world. There’s a sense of rebellion in just being and acting against all odds. There is strength and there is beauty in that. Yes, sometimes we get hurt and sometimes we hurt others, when all we really wanted to do is follow our dreams. And that sucks. But eventually, there will be a time when you are on top of things again. And you will be stronger and smarter and more resilient every time. It’s a workout. Or maybe, it’s a game of bowling. Jeff Lebowski would have something to say about that kind of positivity, too, you know. Anything is possible with the right attitude, or you could say. Everything is impossible without it.
Interview by Karla Harris