The Royal Foundry Releases Breathtaking Visuals for “okay?” [Q&A].
Formed of Bethany and Jared Salte, the Edmonton based duo have been making music together for many years now, plus their energetic and hopeful tunes have proven that they’re one of the bands to look out for. Today, they’ve released an animated music video for their song “okay?”, off their newest album WAKEUP WAKEUP, and it’s something that everyone needs to see, especially during these crazy times. Check out my chat with Bethany below.
Was it always an idea of yours to create an animated video along with the song?
Yes! We’ve been wanting to include an animated video somewhere down the line. We really like the idea of creating in a different artistic medium, but we’ve always just waited for the right time/song to do it. When we decided on “okay?” to be our single, the epic-ness of it all just fit the boundary-less universe that animation can offer.
“okay?” is such a great track, why do you think the release of the video is good for people to watch during what’s going on in the world? How do you think it could give a little hope to people?
When we wrote this song, we were in the midst of our own personal struggle, and because we are married and are with each other 24/7, when one of us is feeling down or hopeless, the other kinda steps up to try and counteract the feelings. So, during that time this age-old mantra, ‘it’s going to be okay’ - was said over and over. The real decision of adding the ? in the title made the most sense, because the outcome of whatever struggle you are facing is never clear, until you get through it - and you are probably not through it until you are okay. So adding an element of doubt mixed in with hope makes it all the more human. This is exactly what we as a community/country/world are dealing with right now. But we are in this together, united and in the midst of it all we still stand by that mantra, ‘It’s going to be okay?’
Who came up with the story line, and how did you come up with it?
Jared and I did. We knew we wanted it to be set in space (because you can do anything and it can be the weirdest!) And we knew we wanted to start the video off in struggle. From there we worked alongside of the animator, Hudson Munshaw, who is based out of Calgary, AB. We went back and forth building the story and I just wanted it to get as weird as possible. So he included some of the most fantastic situations these character’s get themselves in. His style in the animation makes this video so indie and raw and unique and the story itself lends into that so nicely.
Throughout the video, the two astronauts come across many different obstacles, why do you think it was important to shine a light on that?
A music video should always play into the music, not take away from the song. But making literal music videos can seem too cliche and often times boring. So to find that balance of artistry in both the visual and audio aspects is really important and can invite the listener on a deeper more intimate experience. We wanted to provide a space for the audience to be the characters and implement their own obstacles they face all the while being encouraged in knowing that they will get through whatever it is they are facing, and it will all be okay?
The video ends off with a little cliff hanger, is there possibly something else up your sleeves to continue the story?
Yes! We wanted to end the video on a cliff-hanger for two reasons. The first, it really drives home the ? in the title of the single. Leaving the video on an unknown further drives home the reality of life in general. We are constantly faced with struggles, one after the other. And each time we get through them, it is a victory for us. Without struggle, life would be boring and our drive to succeed would become obsolete. We need struggle and we need the growth we obtain from overcoming it. The second reason is because we want to continue the story. We’ve invested ourselves in these characters and the world they are in, and want to see what will happen. So we are creating a printed graphic novel (and a digital version as well) which will be available in the near future. Being graphic novel fans for a long time, and being able to create this with our incredibly talented friend Hudson, we just couldn’t stop at a music video. We can’t wait!!
Watch the animated music video here: