Chrizane van Zyl chats to 3rd World Spectator about the launch of their new music video, Once More, with Feeling. The song was written by lyricist Adam Jerrett, who won the 2012 instalment of the Sanlam Sing 'it lyric writing competition.
Howzit guys. What's everyone up to?
Hey there, we're good thanks and yourself? We're hard at work writing new music for our second album, so it's all good.
You guys were last year's Sanlam Sing 'it winners with the track "Once More, With Feeling". So, I heard that the song inspired a whole new 3rd World Spectator sound?
We received so many entries, and Adam Jerrett's lyrics immediately jumped out from everything we read. We made a shortlist consisting of five songs, and Adam wrote three of the five songs on that list. We were looking for lyrics that evoked something deep within us, and in the end the song made us push ourselves musically and that is incredible.
Listen to more Sanlam Sing 'it songs.
Have you performed the song at gigs and if so, how did people respond to it?
We've been performing the song at all our shows over the past few months and the response has been great. It's really a radical departure for us, and while it's not indicative of the sound we are going for on our second album, it's a fantastic bridge to a new chapter for us.
The music video looks amazing! Take us through the creative aspects of the video …
Keeping in line with the fact that we had a new sound with the song, we also wanted to do a music video that was a bit more quirky and stylised than our two previous videos, which were more serious, sombre and cinematic. The video charts the evolution of love within a space and how life repeats itself and the concept was thought up by the director, Jennifer Pack. We immediately responded to the idea, as it complements the song perfectly.
I had a great time on set. What are some of the things people don't see happening behind the scenes at such a production?
We also had a great time on set, but it's extremely hard work to put a video together. The initial meetings, the treatments, the sourcing of crew, props and location are just some of the elements you have to get together before the cameras start rolling. On set, you have hours in make-up and wardrobe and multiple performance takes. Peter was sick for weeks after the video shoot, but we loved every single second of doing it.
Your new album, Days of Silver, is on its way. When will it hit the shelves and what can we expect?
“Once More, With Feeling” in our mind is the bookend and final part in the first chapter of our career. With our next album, Days of Silver, we are starting with fresh songs and a fresh sound. We wanted to release the album this year, but we have decided to fine-tune our songwriting and get the songs to a place where we feel one hundred percent happy to share them with the world.
Peter and Elan, you guys are also working on a side project called RoboTokyo, and on Facebook you also seem to be talking a lot about synth music. What's the deal here?
RoboTokyo functions in the same universe as 3rd World Spectator and Peter's design persona The Helix Kid. All of these elements are just different facets representing different things. On our debut album we credited all the string arrangements and performances to The RoboTokyo String Ensemble, and the idea originated from there. Elan wrote a track in early 2013 and played it to Peter and from there it turned into what would become RoboTokyo's first single, “Empire”. It's definitely a beast on its own, as it's completely different from what we would do in 3rd World Spectator, but there are subtle keynote references that serve as in-jokes to us and our fans.
When can we hear the next single, “Those City Lights”?
We're hard at work on “Those City Lights” and the debut album, but expect to hear it by the end of August.
Will you guys be entering lyrics this year?
We'll be entering lyrics into our album this year, haha!
So, which South African artists would you like to see in this year's Sanlam Sing 'it mix?
The diversity of Sing 'it's artist roster each year is awesome, and I think this year will be no different. As long as there is a good mixture of pop, electro, rock and more eclectic acts, we'll be happy.
We also chatted to Adam Jerret, the man behind the lyrics to the song.
Hey Adam, how are you holding up?
Oh, you know, same old nose-to-the-grindstone. I’m good. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind couple of months, but it’s been a good year so far.
So what do you think of the music video? How does it feel to see your lyrics come to life in the way they have?
Music video “treatments”, as opposed to normal music videos, are interesting because they attempt to set some sort of story against the song, and I think the guys in 3rd World Spectator did a really good job abstracting more possibilities from the song than I’d ever imagined. It’s not the music video I had originally envisioned, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. I loved the concept when Peter explained it to me, and the differences just add to my belief that music has power in its ability to be many different things to many different people.
We hope you've enjoyed your R50 000 cash prize. Did you save or splurge?
I’ll be tactful here and say “a bit of both”. I’m definitely trying to save for a rainy day, but having the cash there did let me get back into an old hobby of mine, which has been a lot of fun.
Will you be entering this year's competition, and if so, which South African artist would you want to write for?
Most definitely – maybe the third time will be the charm as well. I’d really love to write for either Anchor’s Up or Fire Through The Window, because I’m a huge fan of Marc de la Querra’s work, and it would be such a dream to work with those guys (and girl – can’t forget Sinead!) on something.
So what’s next for you?
I’ll just try to keep writing. It’s great to have platforms like this to help get the juices flowing, and hopefully some new material will surface when I write for this year’s competition. Otherwise, slowly but surely demos are starting to come together, and hopefully I’ll be able to commit to putting out a full-length in a year or two.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I just want to give a shout-out once again to everybody involved in this project. This music video represents the final product of Sanlam Sing 'it 2012, so a big thanks to LitNet, Sanlam and 3rd World Spectator for making it a fantastic cycle. On a personal note, big thanks from my side to Gerdus Senekal (project manager) and Peter Crafford (3rd World Spectator) for all the guidance and support throughout the whole thing.
Read more: Behind-the-scenes of the Once More, With Feeling shoot
Contact songwriter Adam Jerrett:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/twoleftsright
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twoleftsright
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/twoleftsrightofwrong
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