Emily Jeanne Brown – “Nina”
Americana Highways is premiering this video for Emily Jeanne Brown’s song “Nina,” which is the title track from her forthcoming EP releasing on October 11. Nina was produced by Emily Jeanne Brown, Eric Mendelsohn and Deidre Muro; engineered by Eric Mendelsohn and Colin Bryson; mixed by Chris Connors and David Perlick-Molinari; and mastered by Chris Connors and Alex DeTurk.
Musicians on “Nina” are Emily Brown on lead vocals and electric guitar; Eric Mendelsohn on electric guitar and synth; Kate Victor on background vocals, cello, piano, and electric bass; Sabina Torosjan on viola and violin; Katie Martucci on background vocals; Stefano DiBlasio on electric and acoustic guitar; Brett Parnell on pedal steel; and Alex Beckmann on percussion.
The video was directed by Lindsay Alexandra Carter; produced by Lindsay Alexandra Carter and Tanja Konwinski; with cinematography and editing by Lindsay Alexandra Carter; editing by Emily Jeanne Brown and coloring by Alexey Zavolokin.
Cicadas, violins, and purple asters set the scene for this visual representation of this song, which itself is a moving amalgamation of images of times gone by, and the here and now. Memories weave the aspects of song’s essence together – looking in the mirror, are we who we once were, or thought we’d become? “I am craving who I used to be but all the doors are locked up tight and she won’t let me in.” Emily Jeanne has crafted an introspective song with music that plays out in the imagination and vocals that sound like a songbird at dawn. This video brings all of that together in a very pleasant visual vignette.
I have always been drawn to the character Nina, from Anton Chekhov’s play ‘The Seagull,’ and wanted to write a song that explored the journey from the creative idealism of youth to the world-weary self-consciousness of adulthood. Once I had written the song, I began to dream of a visual narrative that would follow a woman through the world of her memories to confront who she has become and what she has lost along the way. Making this video was a labor of love, and I couldn’t have done it without my creative partner, Lindsay Alexandra Carter. We shot at a beautifully preserved 1940s home in upstate New York, using the evocative interiors and expansive natural surroundings to conjure overlapping worlds of past and present. With a single camera, Lindsay honed in on potent visual symbols – the apple tree, mirrors – and used projections to portray colliding versions of “self”. ‘Nina’ is an ode to women and femmes who have felt their creative power constrained by expectations, discrimination, neglect or abuse. At the same time, the project celebrates the deeply personal nature of creative resilience. As we peel back layers of self, the decay of the past becomes fodder for the birth of new selves in the present, defined on our own terms. My hope is that this song and video can speak to both the grief and the ultimate liberation of that emergent process. – Emily Jeanne Brown
Find the music here on BandCamp https://emilyjeannebrown.bandcamp.com/ and find more detailed information her on her website: https://www.emilyjeannebrown.com/
So beautiful!