Photo by Matt Schwerin
The curious space between our dreams and overburdened work lives takes center stage in a 3D animation video for “Missing The Party”, by Brooklyn duo Silver Liz. Taking cues from everyone from Throwing Muses to Cocteau Twins to Electrelane to Stereolab, the wistful track is anchored with a dreamy vocal and staccato synth. The track suddenly crashes to a halt with a muffled spoken word and wild distortion, interrupting the dream flow with a cacophony of static and fuzz, sounding like a radio station trapped between frequencies on a mountain road.
Carrie’s spoken-word narrative details an actual dream she had:
“The first third of the track draws from the commute-home drudgery so many people experience while working an unfulfilling 9-5 job. Then, the middle spoken word section is me describing an actual very surreal dream I had, which was a combination of idyllic childhood imagery and mundane, yet anxiety-inducing work situations I encounter on a day-to-day basis…When you sleep, your brain is trying to make sense of things, and can help reveal what you really want or don’t want. With that being said, I think the contrasting imagery in that dream speaks for itself.”
Drawing from several neo-psychedelic acts as a sonic palette, the track takes the listener on a surreal three-part journey depicting how our dreams illustrate the sad disparity between reality and the whimsical joy we tend to lose while participating in a demoralizing workforce,” says the band. Wanna be contented, indeed.
The video is not for the faint of heart, a 3D homage to early digital animation and wild wormhole journey through the subconscious, directed by Paz Mallea and Til Will of Pil Mawilla Productions and founders of the Brooklyn label y3s Recordings.
“We started with Handycam footage shot in areas where there is continual movement—places that always have happenings, micro and macro—they continually reside in a space separate of one’s own witnessing. We then picked a handful of these shots and made them into moving skins for 3D objects inside of a model. We felt that, by deliberately distorting these spaces using reflections and altered material, we could make a metaphor for the way we desire – a visual way to represent our FOMO. The idea was based on how images warp when reflected in glass, which is something that imbeds a layer of psychedelia into the architectural landscape of the city. Clouds and buildings become one; cars, buses, and trains swim by like fishes.”
Watch the video for “Missing The Party” below:
Formed in Chicago in 2016, Silver Liz is the musical collaboration between Carrie and Matt Wagner, a married couple who originally met in a music practice room during college after discovering a mutual love for The Strokes. Since their formation, Silver Liz has consistently explored entirely disparate genres with their signature DIY flair, spanning shoegaze, electronica, and acoustic pop.
Missing The Party comes off their upcoming album It Is Lighter Than You Think, which is a quote taken from John Cage’s ninth rule in 10 Rules for Students and Teachers: “Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.”
Find Silver Liz’s music here.
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