Sydney progressive metal quartet Red Sea have just released an incredible video for their new single, The Art Of Transcending.
Following their epic, and acclaimed single Hurricane released in March of this year, the band are return with The Art of Transcending. TAOT (for short) is progressive metal at its core and also includes elements of math pop, groove and death metal – it’s heavy, sometimes unsettling but always delicious.
Produced and recorded by Clayton Segelov at The Brain Studios in Sydney, the song is thick with chunky and quirky guitars, thundering drums, heavy bass and sultry, powerful vocals courtesy of frontwoman Erica Bowron. All elements combine to convey the song’s themes of stirring elemental forces, mythology, transformation and overcoming inner demons.
The remarkable music video for TAOT has an equally impressive production story..
Musically, TAOT began with the Pete Kelly drumbeat that opens the song and the rest of the music was built around that. Lyrically, Bowron says that originally she struggled with a theme and that it only poured out of her once she returned from trekking to Everest Base Camp in 2017. This extraordinary experience inspired the theme of facing just what it takes to push yourself past your old comfort zone, shedding your past (the first line states “Walk away, from everything you ever thought you’d be…”), fighting your internal resistance and ultimately transforming into something new.
The music video is eerily dark and moody, sexy, and sometimes brutal. A bloody fist fight juxtaposed against gorgeous dancers and fiery gods in an abandoned building creates an ‘other world’. It is the 2nd video from the knockout partnership of Director Erica Bowron (also RED SEA’s frontwoman) and Cinematographer Andy Stavert. And it is altogether more creepy knowing that they filmed it in an abandoned building in the Southern Highlands of NSW at 3am in the dead of Winter with a skeleton crew. No, not that kind of skeleton crew, like…minimal crew.
Bowron says “The building was completely abandoned – no electricity, no water, no toilets and it was literally falling apart around us! We had to bring in, and hoist up ladders, every single piece of equipment, gear, water, food and toilet paper that we needed. It was Andy’s idea to do a night shoot to properly create the dark, moody atmosphere we wanted but that of course increased the difficulty and the danger exponentially. Thanks to a brilliant team, everything went great but it was a very long and VERY cold night – the breathing fog you see in the video is the real deal, it was 4 degrees celsius!”
“I wanted the video to be heavy with symbolism, incredibly visceral and stripped back to basic human instincts and emotions. The dark is a great way to naturally heighten non-visual senses and instincts and I love how it allows you to tap into another, wilder, side of yourself, a side that we don’t truly understand. I really wanted to accentuate the essences of the raw, powerful, sometimes brutal, masculine energy and the wild, free and sensual feminine energy.” These two extremes play out through two fighters locked in a bloody and exhausting battle (obviously a metaphor for internal battles) and three wild, mysterious and sultry dancers. There are also references to Mount Everest mythology and to the process of finding an alter-ego of yourself, a deeper energy or strength that you never knew you had until you were required to summon these forces. Throughout all of this is the band – entrenched in this other world and linking the two extremes. “Essentially, I just want people to feel something when they watch this. No thinking, just a gut reaction and hopefully a strengthening.”
A full debut album is planned for early 2019. From September to December, Red Sea will embark on a run of shows across the east coast in support of TAOT
TOUR DATES
Saturday, October 6: Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle
Saturday, October 27: The Fuse Box – Factory Theatre, Sydney
Friday, November 16: Prince Of Wales Hotel, Brisbane
Saturday, November 17: The Gollan Hotel, Lismore
Wednesday, December 14: The Imperial Hotel, Armidale
More dates TBA
Official Event Page
