General News / April 20, 2017

Premiere: Æ MAK share new video for ‘I Walk’ directed by Ellius Grace

General News / April 20, 2017

Premiere: Æ MAK share new video for ‘I Walk’ directed by Ellius Grace

“We are very proud if it and we think it reflects what Æ MAK is on the road to becoming, artistically and creatively.”

 

After a summer of festival shows, Æ MAK firmly jammed their foot in the door of Irish music in October with their debut track ‘I Can Feel It In My Bones‘. They returned with the single ‘I Walk’ at the beginning of April.

We’re now happy to present their new video for ‘I Walk’ for the first time, directed by one of our favourite photographers, Ellius Grace. Check out an interview with the duo  below too.


How has the reaction been since the massively addictive ‘Feel It In My Bones’?

Very positive. Madness. The track is a few years old to us now and our music has taken a different turn that’s less upbeat and a bit more intricate, but we’re really grateful for the positive and encouraging reaction it has gotten over the last year. It has definitely brought us a lot of opportunities.

What do you think it is about that track that people find so catchy? I’m not joking when I say it’s very addictive…

Ha! Probably the simplicity of it. The vocals are the main focus. It was the first song written under the Æ MAK bracket and it was written in about 10 minutes. That’s definitely where some of the magic of a catchy pop song comes from. The lyrics are simple and relatable we hope. Everyone can resonate with that feeling of needing to escape from something, or someone.

‘I Walk’ on the other hand, took more than 10 minutes. There was a lot more thought and emotion put into the lyrics and melody lines. We are very proud if it and we think it reflects what Æ MAK is on the road to becoming, artistically and creatively.

The visual aspect is an important part of Æ MAK, is that down to your background? Are you from a visual art background?

Yeah, it really is. No, we don’t come from a background in visual art but we’re both really into fashion and design. Ellie works in Om Diva Boutique on Drury Street and we’ve gotten to know a lot of young Irish designers through the shop. Morganna Murphy is just putting the final touches to our custom made costumes for our tour. She’s designed them to suit both of us individually and they’re made to work with our choreography. We can’t wait to wear them.

We work hard on all the of the visual aspects of Æ MAK and love doing it, from our costumes to make up, set design, photos and videos. We see it as another way to express ourselves and the concepts we want to convey – just like the music, lyrics and performance. It’s great to have another dimension to play with.

How did you link up with Ellius Grace for this video? He’s primarily a photographer. so did he need much convincing to do a video?

We knew of Ellius through his work with Totally Dublin and i-D, and through friends and work as well. We just mailed him and told him about the idea for the shoot and he was so up for it, he was like ‘well if you’re going to get all of these people together and put all of this work in, don’t just do one shot, do a video’.

Æ MAK I Walk promo

 

He’s really funny and very professional. He encouraged and embraced our weirdness and helped us achieve exactly what we wanted for the ‘I Walk’ shoot and then brought his own creativity into the video. Set designer Ciara O’Donovan was also heavily involved in the shoot and video and created the entire backdrop which is really important as the whole video is set in the one space. She kept it minimal but added loads of elements that made it really interesting like the plastic sheeting and the white tulle.

You’re performing a headline show in The Sugar Club soon, are you more nervous or excited? It’s great to see you guys taking over a venue like that so soon, it’s a testament to your popularity right now.

We’re nervous but bring it! We’ve invited all of our friends and family and people who have helped us and supported us along the way. It’s sort of like a party to say thank you. We’re having a ‘MAK UP BOOTH’ (get it?) where you can get your face painted in the styles we’ve been using for our shows. Laoise is supporting us and the Lumo Club DJs are playing after. We love Lumo Club. Jenny Cassin has designed and built a beautiful set and backdrop for the stage. So, we’re excited.

Is there an album/EP on the way, or what’s next?

We’ll be releasing new music throughout the year! We’re constantly developing our sound with our five piece band who we arrange and collaborate with so we’re looking forward to sharing our newest material soon.

On the back of their support slot for Warpaint in Vicar Street, Æ MAK will play a headline show in the Sugar Club on April 27 as part of an Irish tour. Click here for more.