The Duo Explains: Elephant Heart - 'Love Is The Weapon'
Victoria Evigen of Elephant Heart speaks to us about charity, travel, love and all things that went into the making of the duo’s culturally enriching music video, ‘Love Is The Weapon’.
How did you decide on the video treatment/visual for the ‘Love Is a Weapon’ music video?
There was no treatment, we just wanted to show the way we travel and make a music video documenting it. On a trip, we had plans to visit the kids in our non-profit, Picture This ( canyoupicturethis.org), in the Philippines as well as attend a wedding in the blue city of Jodhpur, India. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to capture how we travel with a little flare.
We aim to travel with purpose and intentionality as much as possible in simple ways like carrying books, and thoughtful items to hand out to people on the street. Those simple acts make people feel seen. We discovered La Jala, the community of our non-profit, while doing something similar when we went on a vacation to the Philippines. Two months before our planned vacation, Typhoon Yolanda hit. We wanted to love on the community affected, and ended up falling in love with the people and starting our non-profit. The non-profit has become our small way to battle the vicious cycle of poverty with love, compassion and empowerment. Many of the people you see in the video are our extended Filipino family.
After the wedding we attended in India, we decided to hit the streets of Jodhpur with our new friend Paul as our tour guide. We asked him if he knew of beautiful sights and communities we could connect with, and we traveled around like we do every other city making friends–only difference was this time we were asking people if they wanted to be a part of our music video!
How does the video connect with the song?
The video is love in action.
Do you have any unforeseen behind the scenes/making-of stories you can share?
The entire shooting process in India was embarking into the unknown. We were unsure if we could shoot in our hotel or if people would want us filming on their streets, let alone participating. But it all worked out better than we could have imagined. The hotel owner Nisha was like a mother to us. Paul our tour guide, eagerly became our location scout, roadie, lighting man, translator and our friend that we still stay in touch with. While shooting in the Rani Mahal Jodhpur Hotel, we realized last minute we needed lights for the video. We asked Paul if he could source some, and flash 30 mins later, he was back with 4 huge lights that looked like they were pulled from the set of a 1920’s film. He was literally sticking open wires into the light sockets to turn them on. We were so afraid he was going to start a fire. But we all survived ...well one exploded but no injuries.
Could you tell us more about the ideas/themes used?
The theme here is get to know one another, connecting with people from other cultures–it’s the best. I (Victoria) have been obsessed with learning, traveling and tasting other cultures since I was very young. Traveling to countries with the intention to understand other cultures and the amazing humans within them, is very rewarding. The message is, don’t stay in your safe bubble with people just like you. Because when we break out, we begin to understand why people are the way they are. Jim Morrison said it best. “People are strange, when you’re a stranger.”
What do you hope people take away from watching the video?
Ultimately we hope that through sharing our story, people will realize every single human life matters. Even the smallest act of kindness, like making eye contact and smiling at a “stranger” can have a ripple effect. I hope my own story can be an example. Never once would I have believed I could start my own non-profit–I never went to college, had no experience in the philanthropic world, but it blossomed because I let my heart lead the way. Just one person can make a difference in this world. YES YOU! No idea is too small, just start taking action. We are here to awaken the warriors of love.
Interview by Karla Harris