Premiere: Mermaidens Unveil 'Sunstone' Video (+ Interview)

As they ready for their first ever tour of Australia, Wellington trio Mermaidens are serving up an opulent visual feast for 'Sunstone'. The video was directed by Ezra Simons, who also helmed their gorgeous clip for 'Satsuma', with art direction from bandmember Gussie Larkin and styling from Aria McInnes. Thematically, the video centres around a Tupperware-turned-dinner-party-turned-lounge-disco and like its predecessor leans on bold seventies colour palettes while being underpinned by a brooding seriousness. Watch the video and scroll down to read our interview with Gussie...

Hi Mermaidens! As with your clip for ‘Satsuma’, the new video leans on bold colour palettes juxtaposed against an intangible uneasiness. What draws you to this aesthetic?

If you take a look at my wardrobe/bedroom/life that will give you a big clue as to where this aesthetic comes from. I have always been drawn to geometric patterns and colour blocking of the 60s and 70s. Our music doesn’t exactly lend itself to bubblegum prints and perfectly groomed faces, so I think that’s why that juxtaposition works really well.

I guess the uneasiness you picked up on reflects our sense of humour. There’s enough seriousness and angst on the record! We just want to have fun with our visual material. And does the world really need another slow-motion ROCK video set in an abandoned warehouse? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Your good friend Ezra Simons once again filled the director’s chair too. Is there an element of continuity intended between the clips in terms of storyline or what you were looking to convey?

We didn’t intend them to be connected in terms of storyline - but they are set in the same universe. ‘Satsuma’ was a baby step for us in terms of filmmaking and styling - we learnt so much! After that I wanted to take the aesthetic even further with this video and to get a bit more wild. The wonderful Aria McInnes stepped in to make this ~vision~ a reality through styling each of us, and we also had Lara Daly on make up. Both Aria and Lara were on board for our album cover shoot so it was really great to have them involved in this too.

My favourite thing about the video is the range of characters. You could develop a backstory for each one of them just out of the facial expressions and what they’re wearing. And the best thing is that the cast is a bunch of our best friends. They nailed it!

The styling is amazing, and brings to mind the infamous 1970s Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook. What were some visual references that you leaned on?

Women’s Weekly Cookbooks were definitely on the mood board! Speaking of mood boards - I am all about them. I made mood boards for each scene for what the clothes should look like, the makeup, the food… In terms of the food it was just about trawling through books and pinterest for the most awful Alison Holst-esque recipes I could find. On the shoot weekend Abe and Aria (who also styled the shoot) disappeared to the supermarket and came back with some perfectly unappealing snacks. Think prawn crackers, jelly...

Tell us about some of the recipes used! The ghastly egg hors d'oeuvres look incredible…

Lily (bass/vocals) was the expert in the kitchen. She dyed the hard boiled eggs, made the orange hedgehogs and fried the prawn crackers (seriously search for a video of this on YouTube you won’t regret it). There was also a lot of jelly, which I discovered is a very divisive food. I’m not into it.

Can you also fill in a little bit on the song too, the track is of course is lifted off your new album. What does ‘Sunstone’ mean to you?

I wrote the lyrics for ‘Sunstone’ after talking to a friend who was showing me her crystal collection. I’ve never really been interested in crystals but as she was telling me about each stone’s properties I could see her words in a song. I liked the imagery of these glowing stones that seemed to be alive. That’s where the song sprouted from, but there’s a lot of other personal experiences in there too. A sunstone is a type of crystal and also a Pokemon, as I learnt when the album came out. Haha.

What have Mermaidens got in their sights for the rest of the year?

We’re about to head to Australia for a tour! It’ll be our first time playing outside of NZ so we’re very excited. We’re playing in Melbourne, Wollongong, Sydney and Canberra. The gig we’re most excited about is a house party in Canberra with Kane Strang.

Back in New Zealand, our next gig is at City Gallery Open Late on Thursday 5th October and it’s free entry. The gig coincides with the exhibition Occulture: The Dark Arts which is well worth checking out. HEX are playing too - how fitting is that!

Other than that we’re working on new material. I am itching to do some more recording.

Mermaidens Australia Tour

Saturday 23rd September, Pride Tide @ Rad Bar, Wollongong
Saturday 23rd September, Botany View Hotel, Sydney (free show)
Wednesday 27th September, The Tote, Melbourne
Saturday 30th September, Lacklustre HQ, Canberra
Sunday 1st October, The Gasometer, Melbourne