Rap, Without The Words
How Made Of Oak’s “Side Rides” Video Came To Be
Made of Oak, the artistic solo project of Nick Sanborn (aka the production half of Sylvan Esso), is predominantly an instrumental endeavor, music intended to convey meaning through sounds rather than serve as the complement to words. So it was a pleasant surprise when he dropped the visually arresting collaboration video with Triangle rappers Toon and Well$ for the song “Side Rides,” an amazing piece in which both rappers perform, but neither is heard from.
The video instantly struck me as the kind of project our area needs more of: unique, unconventional, but grounded by a very focused sense of what looks good. Without the resources or budget of a high-profile set (which, let’s be honest, most NC artists will not have in their near future), the team behind “Side Rides” produced something that could stand next to anything else released in 2015 and not suffer by comparison (OK — maybe “Alright”). This should be a measuring stick for creatives and artists in NC who want to make professional level work that can debut on a platform like SPIN, as “Side Rides” did three weeks ago.
In the quest to produce something special, Sanborn assembled something of an all-star team of Chapel Hill/Durham creative talent. In total, the “Side Rides” video is the work of Sanborn, directorial/art direction duo Endless Endless (Adam Heathcott & Sara Padgett Heathcott), props/tech/styling wizards Dear Hearts (Stella and Donna), and rappers Well$ (Leroy Shingu) and Professor Toon (Kurrell Rice). I talked to Made Of Oak, Endless Endless, Dear Hearts and Well$ about what made the video special.
(Editor’s Note: The following responses have been combined from separate interviews.)
Super Empty: When did you get the idea to have a rapper or rappers in the video for this song, was it a realization that came independently from making the music? Or was it a natural outgrowth of creating the song?
Made Of Oak: It was an idea that slowly took shape after we started putting together the aesthetics for the EP. That central theme of a rap video for an instrumental track starring unheard rappers was initially just a winking allusion to the way most people think of instrumental music, but the more I thought about it’s additional, far more interesting implications the more I couldn’t let it go.
SE: At what points did everyone (Well$, Toon, Dear Hearts, Endless Endless) get brought in on this, and why?
Made Of Oak: I had been thinking about the video for a month or so, and once we found out it could actually happen we got Adam and Sara (Endless Endless) in the conversation right away.
Endless Endless: We had recently worked with Sylvan Esso on their “H.S.K.T” single’s artwork and video and our relationship with Nick goes back to his days playing with Megafaun and Collections of Colonies of Bees that our label Hometapes had released records for. We’d started working with Nick on the layout and other visuals for Made of Oak Penumbra.
Made Of Oak: Professor Toon is a friend (I’m also a fan of both his production and rapping), and I knew he would kill it, so he was an obvious call for me. Then Well$ (who I had met once or twice, but didn’t really know personally beyond that) asked me to play a show with him at Kings, and we just hit it off. His show that night was so inspiring, and I started thinking that he and Toon might work really well together.
Donna and Stella from Dear Hearts were another obvious call, they’re immensely talented and also close friends… They’re able to set a tone at a shoot that gives everyone around them the freedom to relax and have fun.
Dear Hearts: We started talking to Nick about the general styling direction for the video a couple of weeks or so before the shoot date. Depending on the project and why we’re needed, the timeline for when we’re brought in varies. For videos, we generally get a few days to a few weeks to pull looks together. The concept had been fairly nailed down already and with videos, we don’t creatively contribute to the treatment ideas. We are brought in to help hone in on the styling to visually manifest what’s in the director’s/artist’s heads.
SE: The chemistry between Well$ and Toon is great throughout, especially considering they had never performed with each other in this kind of duo format before. Did you see that familiarity improving as shooting was going on or was it just a natural fit from the start?
Made Of Oak: It started as you’d imagine: they’re both so good but had never performed before, and we just threw them into this crazy scenario, and it was good but stiff. Then as we all (myself included) loosened up and got the rhythm of the shoot they just came alive, bouncing off one another and improvising. I mean, how much do they look like a duo that’s been playing together for years in that video?
Well$: Honestly shit like that is all based on vibes — it’s always a good time when I link up with Toon, so this time was no different. We just happened to be getting videotaped while doing it.
Endless Endless: Well$ and Toon are natural performers and hugely talented… They were both really excited about the project and dove in head first to really selling their verses on camera. Having actually heard their verses on set, we’re hoping this is the first of many chances for them to collaborate and keep that electricity flowing.
Made Of Oak: The idea of the vocal remix came out of the shoot days, it’s something we weren’t even going to do before that. Then they both showed up with heat, and we all found ourselves singing their verses afterwards, and I knew we had to get it done.
SE: Aside from featuring silent performers, the other big decision that was made was to go black and white rather than color. What did you guys like about draining it of color?
Endless Endless: The choice to keep things monochromatic was actually made way back during the initial design work on the Made of Oak record. Musically, what Nick does is so fascinating and nuanced that we wanted listeners to find the color buried deep down in the edits. From the moment we started creating the video language, we wanted to keep things in the same visual space. The Instagram teaser videos, the tour posters, the merch, and the previously released “Pinebender” video all follow the same color approach. It’s rare you get an opportunity to touch so many different parts of an artist’s output, and have the trust of the artist to wrangle it all and keep it consistent. In general, we like black & white because it draws a strong focus to your subject matter.
Well$: The black and white definitely added a level of intensity that the video needed. I feel like the black and white fit the fact that the vocals were muted, forcing you to focus on our movements and that’s what had to keep you interested, but Sara and Adam made a great call there.
Made Of Oak: The cover art, Kristof Wickman’s From a mathematics ability perspective we were never meant for each other, was a part of the Penumbra world from the beginning, and I wanted to extend it’s tone to all other aspects of the artwork… I don’t want to get too into, like, my feelings, man, but the title Penumbra is taken from the physics term describing the part of a shadow that isn’t entirely light or dark: the transitional area between the two polar states. Light, dark, and shadow were natural themes to draw on in both the video and all the rest of the artwork.
SE: It may go unnoticed by most, but the styling of all the artists is really well done, and every look complements the others. How does that work on set between Dear Hearts and the artists?
Well$: It was a collaborative effort, they were awesome. If I had an idea I’d throw it out there and they would add onto it or give a better idea and vice versa. I was actually surprised, I was worried going into the situation not ever having being on a set with a stylist before.
Dear Hearts: The main thing that we always try to do unless directed otherwise, is keep the clothes feeling like something the artists would wear on their own anyway. This was especially true for this video. We wanted Toon to look like Toon. We wanted Well$ to look like Well$. They both have such a great, distinct style of their own and we didn’t want to alter that… With Nick, styling him over the last year has been really fun. He’s been experimenting a lot and is pretty open to our thoughts. Because of how he was presented in this video (more as an intermittent, sometimes ghostly presence in the background versus the entire visual focus), we wanted his silhouette to be really unique and interesting when he was on camera.
Endless Endless: First off, yes, Dear Hearts are the best. We’ve been friends for years and have worked with them on number of projects since we’ve been in Durham. As for the overall aesthetics, we grew up watching Hype Williams’ videos and they were a constant source of inspiration and reference when we dove into the planning for “Side Rides.” We wanted things to visually mimic what people are used to seeing in a hip hop video — and that means constant wardrobe shifts. We kept things monochromatic as much as possible to help them pop against the solid backgrounds in a couple of scenes.
Made Of Oak: Donna and Stella are great at finding the sweet spot where everyone’s individual style merges with the overall theme of the project. So I’d say most of the ideas were half & half, with them doing all the actual work. I had been medium-obsessed with the idea of a hooded sweatshirt with a veil for a while, and they executed that perfectly. Other times they’d just help something amazing happen — like Toon’s look in the basement shots, wearing that fur vest. That vest was something they brought without knowing where it would go, and then when he gravitated towards it they latched on to that and really took it somewhere.
SE: Without any words, we’re left to our own devices to take what meanings we will from the song, and the video. You were quoted on SPIN as saying, “it ended up saying so much.” Forgetting the fact that a remix with words is on the way, what do you think song (and video) says?
Made Of Oak: Like I said earlier, what started as a somewhat snotty joke of an idea just kept revealing more and more layers of inter-related meaning, almost completely replacing the initial spark. Then Adam, Sara, Professor Toon and Well$ each came in and the thing started stretching out in new, exciting directions I couldn’t have foreseen. As it did, we worked to emphasize them. I see a number of overt and more subtle implications but don’t want to talk about them at too much length, since (in general, with all art) I think that robs the audience of the necessary epiphany of finding their own relationships and drawing their own conclusions. In broad terms, though, I wanted it to play with the inherent cognitive dissonance associated with seeing someone speak without being able to hear them, since so many emotions and messages are associated with that image to me when it’s so obviously intentional.
Well$: I can’t really answer that, I’m still piecing that together myself. I think that’s why I like it so much. It says so much to me. I compare this video to the forefather Future’s wise words: “ Dress it up and make it real for me.” It’s like our subconscious knows exactly what that means, but when asked to explain it you really can’t do it. It’s crazy, it’s a blank canvas that you can take any way your mind wants it to go — due to the lack of vocals it leaves a void in the track that the listener’s imagination is, by default, going to want to fill.
Endless Endless: At the end of the day, it’s really up to each person to find their own meaning in the things they make and consume. We’re positive that every person involved on this project has a different take on it. Art can and should ask questions. Art can and should make you feel all kinds of things. There’s an immediate mindfuck that happens when Well$ drops into his verse. In an age of instant access to all things, putting a viewer in a state where they can’t have what they want is exciting. There is no question that the imagery of two African American men performing in silence is intense. That secondary feeling you have — after you realize your YouTube player isn’t broken — is the feeling we’d like for you to hover inside of…with your thoughts and the music you can (and can’t) hear.
Made Of Oak: Also, it just looks fucking dope.
As the final stop of his 10-day, cross-country tour celebrating the release of Penumbra, Made of Oak will hit the stage at The Pinhook in Durham, N.C. tonight. Tushka opens.
