In her own words, Kay is an “alternative pop solo artist.” She writes “sad bops basically.” After shooting her most recent music video in our studios, this week we interview Kay Hazel on her music, her interests & her time in the studio.
What is your new music video about?
The music video is pretty simple. It’s basically a visual representation of my own grief. I wanted to keep it stripped back just to focus on the pretty stark and empty nature of my own process of grieving really.
When planning it I remember thinking that I didn’t want a lot of scenes or dramatics. So, we decided to keep everything pretty simple to let the narrative of the song speak for itself.
I didn’t want it to feel incongruent or overly done. Everyone experiences and manages grief differently, but I wanted to share my own process of it visually.
How did our studio complement your project?
The studio complimented the video so beautifully. I wanted to find a space that felt quite empty but had this weird life to it. I couldn’t picture myself creating a visual representation to the song that felt overly clinical or overdone. I didn’t want to feel like I was playing a pop star. I didn’t want the environment to reflect that either. As soon as I found the photos online I knew. I remember it clicking in my head and being like it’s perfect, I have to shoot there.
What drew you to music?
For me I’ve always been writing. I used to write a lot of poetry as a kid. I remember at around eleven wanting to buy a guitar and already hearing the songs in my head. I nagged my parents for over a year and eventually I got one. I grew up adoring Kate Bush and The Cure. At the moment I’m listening to a lot of FKA twigs who I’m totally obsessed with.
How do you create pieces that evoke such emotion?
That’s a tricky one. I guess I feel things, haha. I’m an extremely emotionally sensitive person and I’ve always used writing as a crutch. Everything is autobiographical. So I try not to try, if that makes sense? I just write how I’m feeling at the time. I guess I have this very guttural need to convert my experiences into music. If I haven’t written anything in a while I feel odd and jittery. I literally do not feel like Kay.
Did you have a good time in the studio?
It was absolutely wonderful. The space was beautiful. I couldn’t fault it really! Not going to lie, I was really nervous beforehand. I’ve never seen myself as an ‘actor’ especially not on camera but everyone put me at ease. Very blessed to work with such a lovely group of people. Free green tea was a highlight!
What have you learnt over the past year that you’re bringing into your new work?
There have been so many reincarnations of this song that both my producer and I have almost descended into madness. It took us a very long time to try and sit back and decide on adding a string section and stripping a lot back. A lot of the songs on the EP have morphed into different things sonically that I would never have expected.
“The studio complimented the video so beautifully… I remember it clicking in my head and being like it’s perfect, I have to shoot there.”
What are you most excited about for the future?
My debut EP ‘What Defines Grief” is dropping soon after the music video is being released on the first of June! Even beyond that there’s a lot going on release plan wise. Keep an eye on my social media for dates!
Thanks so much Kay! Be sure to follow Kay on her Instagram or Facebook page in order to listen to her new song as soon as it’s released! If you are a musician, filmmaker, actor, artist, photographer or dancer be sure to hire our studios for your next project. Check out our availability and enquire for more information.
producer Dan Lucas
videographer Luke Bateman
behind the scenes photographer Scott Mains