Jylda Interview
Photo by Aanjali Fernando
Berlin, Germany-based electronic pop singer-songwriter/producer Jylda has released her latest single, The Body, in video format. The story-telling music video was directed by David Vajda, stars Jylda, and was partially inspired by the bowling-centered cult film The Big Lebowski. Jylda and Vajda explain the meaning behind the video and more in the following interview. Watch the video first, then jump into the fun.
IndieMusicReview: Oh my goodness, Jylda and David! What just happened in this video? The man had gummy bears for a brain?!
David Vajda: The gummy bears rather serve as a metaphor for what a sweet and pathetic man he was. I also wanted to break the more or less straightforwardly realistic tone of the story with an ambivalent and surreal injection. By eating the gummy bear, the protagonist enjoys one last piece of what used to be their naïve romance.
Making this video must’ve been so much fun!
Vajda: It was a lot of fun, especially because we got to bowl between shots. But we also had loads of bizarre technical issues during the shoot, which made the shooting schedule a bit ridiculous in terms of its density and the working hours.
Jylda: It was a long and intense shoot indeed, but we had a great time! And I read my first X-Men comic. That was pretty cool.
Who came up with the video idea?
Vajda: I did. For some reason, Jylda’s demeanor and the track made me think of a cheesy little story ending in exaggerated, slightly surreal violence. The idea to stage it in a bowling alley sort of followed naturally.
Jylda: My demeanor? Haha! Coming from the opera, I do have a sweet spot for dramatic love stories, but what I really liked about this idea was to break with the dulcet mood of the song. Also, I used to do a bit of acting and saw it as a tempting challenge to kill someone on screen…
Did you guys go on a diet of The Big Lebowski and Twin Peaks while you worked on this? There seems to be a bit of both in this clip.
Vajda: I think if you plan to shoot a music video in a bowling alley, you can’t get around rewatching The Big Lebowski. And it is still as imaginative and witty as it seemed when I was 15 and stoned. So yes, this reverence for the world of bowling is definitely inspired by Lebowski. I hadn’t seen Twin Peaks in a while before the shoot, but I’m a big David Lynch fan, so some of his macabre romanticism might have found its way into the video.
Jylda: Funnily, when we first got together to talk about the video, I sent David some references of film scenes and pictures that I liked and chose a shot from Buffalo 66. In the end, we kind of got back to referring to that movie without realizing it – one of my favorite scenes of Buffalo 66 is when she tap dances on a bowling alley to “Moonchild” by King Crimson.
The way you’re styled for the video makes you look a bit like a David Lynch character – Did you reference any specific one?
Jylda: We spent a long time digging for the perfect outfit and this one just instantly fitted the scenery and the role, but at the same time I didn’t feel like I was in disguise.
Vajda: We didn’t consciously try to reference any David Lynch character. But now that you mention it, Jylda did end up looking a bit like a hybrid of Shelly Johnson and Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks.
Can we expect more of this wonderful marriage of cinema and music from Jylda in the future?
Jylda: I hope so! At the moment I’m focusing on making more tracks and working on the album, though.
Find out more about Jylda by giving her a like on Facebook by clicking here, a follow on Instagram by clicking here & a follow on Twitter by clicking here.
