Voodoo Sometimes wanted to take a story-telling approach to their single, “Hummingbird’s Vice,’ so it seems appropriate that the video, directed by Liam MacDonald, would be treated to something more akin to a short film. Working with the NSCC Screen Arts Year-2 Class, the video weaves an open-to-interpretation narrative through some rhythm & blues-based psychedelic rock.
If you weren’t already picking up on the strong retro vibes of the single, the video should clarify that in a hurry. There’s a modern day flower child dancing her way through a house party, and frontman Matthew Fraser is resonating with the ghost of Jimi Hendrix.
“We took a lot of influence from songs like Little Wing, Stairway to Heaven, and Hotel California,” says Fraser. “The slower rock songs that tend to focus on the story and energy of the band working together.”
“Liam the director of the video I grew up with and he approached me about shooting a video back in the fall I believe, so then after some time he made us a story board relating to the video and we thought it was great. We think the video style mimics a short film, comparable to the drawn out storytelling of the song hummingbird.”
The song’s interpretation became a beast of its own during the process. Fraser says that working with the NSCC class provided a unique approach, with the band letting go of the reins.
“It was a very interesting project work, we didn’t necessarily have much say at all on what the video was but we wanted to see how an entire class of people interpreted our song.”
While the band have a nine-day tour all the way to Toronto booked for early August, nothing is certain with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than wait, Voodoo Sometimes have opted to share the video now, just to get through the lull of self-isolation.
“It’s all booked but we’re essentially just waiting out to see if that’s going to happen or not, much like the rest of the bands, says Fraser. “We’ve decided to share it early in light of recent events since most people are staying inside, we think it’d great idea to have something everyone can sit down and enjoy without having to worry about going outside!”
“Hummingbird’s Vice” will appear as the title track on Voodoo Sometime’s upcoming full length album. The album is expected to be released sometime later this Spring.