Chances are most of us will hit a Halloween party this weekend, and we’ll know we’re at the right joint if the DJ drops Paige Kennedy’s new alt-pop disco bop “This Is The Girl!” on an unsuspecting dance floor. But the only thing scarier than a weekend of frights is the motivation behind the English artist’s latest, which hits the streams today (October 25) with a cinematic video from Light in the Tower.
“This Is The Girl!’ was inspired by the David Lynch film Mullholland Drive,” Kennedy says. “It explores the way that celebrity worship has become a modern day religion. ‘The Girl’ is seen as an icon, fetishized for her youth and idolized… until it’s time for the internet to rip her down. From an artist’s point of view, it’s easy to be paranoid that the music industry is rigged and that there is always a pre-selected ‘chosen one’.”
The aforementioned music video was filmed back in August just outside the English cathedral city of Canterbury, taking a tight budget out to the streets — literally.
“We thought the area would be empty on a Sunday night, but quickly learned it was a popular dogging spot,” notes Kennedy. “It felt slightly cursed as we had two cars and a camera break over the course of the shoot. To get the pursuit shots, Jake (Thompson, DOP) had to sit on the windscreen of his car filming while Alex (Orosa, 1AD) drove it, which felt a bit hairy. The star of the show was a sheet of plastic which my brother’s new mattress came in.”
Adds Orosa: “Paige’s ambitious and meticulously planned concept for the ‘This Is The Girl!’ video visually evoked David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, and was the essential groundwork for an imaginative visual accompaniment to the track. We shot the video across two nights in the Canterbury countryside, and thanks to the tireless cast we were able to bring Paige’s vision to life, as well as fulfilling a life-long dream of shooting a car chase from another moving car.”
Determine your own levels of worship below.
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