Editor’s Note: Welcome to Quarantainment, Vanyaland’s new series on what to watch, what to hear, and how to deal as the world engages in social distancing to combat the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19. We’re all at home, we’re all online, and we’re all in this together. #StayTheFHome
When Painted Zeros released the video for “Commuter Rage” last week, it debuted in very different world: A world that still had Broadway shows, dine-in restaurants, gatherings of more than 25 people, and actual, active commuters.
Indeed, it’s been a harrowing few days since the visual’s March 11 release, but every time you press play on “Commuter Rage,” Brooklyn’s Katie Lau keeps her world turning to the beat of her fuzz-rock, right on cue.
Prepping for the release of her sophomore record When You Found Forever (due out May 29 via Don Giovanni Records), “Commuter Rage” introduces the industry to a new focal point for Lau’s musical project: Herself.
Stepping out of her more obscure comfort zone and into the vision of video director Jess Coles, Lau’s gravitational pull in her new position at center stage is palpable.
“I was excited to work with director Jess Coles for multiple reasons: We are both queer women, and her style of filmmaking mirrors the way I make music — I write, perform, record, and mix everything myself, and Jess directs, shoots, produces, and edits all of her own work,” Lau shares.
“While discussing video ideas over coffee, I mentioned that I felt like I had been hiding myself in the past — hiding from taking ownership of Painted Zeros as my solo project, hiding my voice in my last album by burying it in my mixes — and that I didn’t want to hide or allow my art to be dictated by fear anymore,” she adds. “Jess suggested a music video that focused mostly on my face, with me and the sky as characters, and using the light and the morphing skyline to lend a surreal, dream-like quality (it’s worth mentioning that her video treatment included a lot of Ingmar Bergman stills, which I loved!) I have to confess that a music video where my face is the unflinching focus was not the most comfortable idea for me to wrap my head around, but after working with Jess and seeing the outcome, I’m glad I did.”
Peep Lau’s new point of view below.