In September, a ragtag crew of artists staggered into the badlands.
They stumbled, they danced, they fell to the ground, they helped each other back up, they smeared turquoise paint on their faces and bodies.
It was all in service of a video by Calgary artists Yolanda Sargeant and Hello Moth for Hold Me Up, a duet that perfectly blends the former’s warm, soulful vocals with the latter’s talent for chill, synth-pop production. It’s ostensibly timed to mark Sunday’s All Saints Day or Monday’s Day of the Dead when various cultures honour their saints and ancestors. But it was also an attempt to lift the spirits of the living, Sargeant says.
“There’s a full moon on Halloween in Taurus, which is the blue moon,” she says. “Basically they are saying it will be the end of an era. It’s warding off evil, it’s starting a new era and it’s trying to bring people together. “
Uplifting, visually stunning and more than a little surreal, the video should only add to the carefully cultivated air of mystery that surrounds both artists. Directed by Calgary’s Samantha Ferrari, it makes good use of the otherworldly backdrop of Alberta’s badlands. With costume design by local Indigenous art director Cheyenne Richard, the idea was to capture both an ancient and futuristic look, Ferrari says.
“We chose that area because it’s so harsh and alien and uniquely beautiful and its own character in the video,” Ferrari says. “The whole concept behind the video is a metaphor for the message in the song. Yolanda and Hello Moth appear as these celestial beings leading the desert-dwellers forward. Everyone is weighed down by the struggle and then they find strength in each other.”
For fans of Calgary’s music scene, the teaming of Sargeant and Hello Moth — not to mention vague assurances from both that they will continue working together — is an exciting prospect. Separately, they put out two of 2020’s best local albums. As one-half of the funk-propelled hip-hop duo Sargeant and Comrade, Sargeant released Magic Radio back in June with DJ and beatmaker Evgeniy (Jay) Bykovets. Hello Moth, who prefers to use the pronoun they and keep their real name under wraps, released the inventive pop record When the Sky Melted in July.
In 2016, Hello Moth was coming off the success of co-writing Jackpot, which became a pop hit for Calgary artist Jocelyn Alice, and was keen to find more collaborators. They met Sargeant in 2016 and the two immediately wrote and recorded an early version of Hold Me Up. In the summer, they reconnected to re-record the song.
“It feels like a pertinent song for the time,” Hello Moth says. “We need to be lifting people up and honouring each other a bit more right now.”
Hold Me Up will be available on hellomoth.bandcamp.com and other streaming services on Nov. 1.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
