An Abduction in Slovakia — Watch the Video for Patriarchy’s New Single, “Hurt Me,” a Collaborative Track with Curses

I tore out my page,
I liked what I read,
If I’m not in your book,
Can I come back to bed?

Following their spirited concert in one of Europe’s oldest inhabited towns, Patriarchy embarked on an impulsive yet inspired journey to film the video for their new single, “Hurt Me,” a collaborative track with Gothic renaissance man, Producer Luca Venezia, aka Curses, The enchanting atmosphere of Trencin, Slovakia, with its monumental 11th-century castle and ancient Roman relics, served as the perfect setting for this spontaneous video project.

On creating the video, Patriarchy frontwoman Actually Huinzenga explains:

“After a long visit to the castle, wandering the grounds, and locking The Drummer in the original stocks they had on display, we felt inspired to shoot something and decided to do it after the show. We asked around after our set and met some cool people who live in a squat nearby. They gave us the coordinates and we drove over after the show.

We really didn’t know what to expect or what we were gonna shoot, but on our way there (with Shari, aka Void Vision, who assisted with this guerilla production), we developed the concept of being ‘willingly abducted’ – which I’m sure many patriarchy fans can identify with – and a sort of metaphor for the cycle of abuse that’s alluded to in our single Hurt Me.

Before we got there, and after a bit of mushrooms, The Drummer demanded The Driver stop the van and pushed me out of it! He yelled for me to just run in front of the van, and I decided to just roll with it.”

The filming process was raw and improvised, and the first that was not produced by Actually herself, as she explains:

“This is the first Patriarchy video that was not Directed, Edited, and Produced by Actually Huizenga, and at first, I felt a bit weird handing over the reins, but it actually made sense in this instance. I let The Drummer get his payback for all the torture I put him through in the last five videos (and the stocks earlier that day) and played out the lyrical role-reversal present in Hurt Me, baring my soft white underbelly and getting tossed around for a change.

The whole thing was over in a flash. The Drummer knew exactly what he wanted, and we only filmed for one chaotic hour – i can only imagine how we looked – driving up and down this dark back road, him hanging out of the van filming in full makeup, no shirt, and a skirt; me running and screaming and falling; Shari holding the camera as The Drummer physically dragged me into the van in front of dozens of passing cars… and somehow the cops never came (not sure if that’s good or bad come to think of it)

At one point the people we met at the show came out of their squat and said hello, we hadn’t even realized we arrived at the coordinates they gave us!

Afterward, we went into a gas station to get some treats, and the beautiful Slovakian cashier with perfect makeup and long nails looked at us like we were a pack of cockroaches – usually, we get a few smiles from gas station people, but not this time.”

Watch the video for “Hurt Me” below:

Hurt Me is a one-off collaboration between Patriarchy (Actually/The Drummer – lyrics, melody, and arrangement) and Curses (Luca Venezia, production and all instruments)It was mixed by Twin Shadow with additional production by John Fryer of This Mortal Coil.

Through her trademark smirk, Actually describes ‘Hurt Me’ as a “lullaby for a Lothario” – pairing her inimitable biting, haunting lyrics with lush evocative synths, throbbing bass line, and an infectious breakbeat reminiscent of early 90s Madonna and The Cure.

While it may seem like a sonic departure to those more familiar with Patriarchy’s industrial dancefloor sound, it sits nicely between some of The Unself’s more emotive tracks like Heat Lamps, State Of Undress, and title track The Unself – showcasing Actually’s singular lyrical ability and melodic identity.

Speaking about the track, Actually felt compelled to make something that echoed the ethereal magical power of womanhood while she was pregnant – probing the dark, exhilarating, sometimes confusing feelings you navigate during a ‘complicated’ relationship – like using her lover’s little black book as a bedtime story.

We had to pry Actually for more info on this special song, video, and collaborative track,  one of Patriarchy’s best to date. Here’s what she had to say:

What’s the story behind your first meeting with Luca from Curses? How did your collaboration with him come into being?

“Legend is that he came and introduced himself after our first show in Paris last year, but it was smokey and loud. I only remember his tall presence and his nice nose. Honestly, it was all kinda a blur, but then he reached out about using our song Suffer on his Next Wave Acid Punx comp and planned to do music together one day. That day came, in the midst of my pregnancy, he sent over this haunting lo-fi instrumental track that he’d been working on for years. We absolutely loved it, and the ideas started pouring out of the void.”

Given your mutual admiration for David Bowie, especially since Luca dedicated an album to the film ‘The Hunger,’ did this shared passion help forge your connection?

“Yes, the connection between Bowie fanatics is instant. You just cross paths with a like-minded degenerate, and you can sense it in the pheromones. Speaking of The Hunger, we remind readers that Patriarchy injected a healthy dose of The Hunger into our video for Suffer.”

Your track “Hurt Me” has a vibe that reminds me of the underappreciated single “Bad Girl” from Madonna’s ‘Erotica’ album, which many consider the standout track. Would you agree with that comparison?

“Wow, yes, I love that song, and it was (with a few others from Bedtime Stories) our Northstar when writing Hurt Me. Also, the various Batman Official Soundtracks are ALL incredible—especially the also underappreciated U2 track from Batman Forever, ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kill Me, Kiss Me.'”

Were any of the following influences on the concept of your music video: David Lynch’s cinematic style, Jonathan Demme’s ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, or the infamous Ted Bundy?

“David Lynch and all the Hanibal Lector films, especially Hannibal (for Actually) and Red Dragon (for The Drummer), are subconscious inspriations etched on our DNA – but the truth is – this video came about as an exercise in letting go, and came organically with no prior discussion in the short mushroom-fueled drive from the venue to a Slovakian squat house in the van where we lived for 30 days with Shari Vari from Void Vision. We felt compelled to shoot after an inspiring day in this ancient town of Trencin – and when The Drummer started barking orders at me, it felt like the perfect opportunity to embrace a role reversal and let him get his payback for the torture he endured across the previous 5 videos.”