Ivy Boxall’s debut single “Hold My Thought” is released into the world alongside a shrieking banshee, in a haunting music film exploring the realm of myth and melancholia with interwoven saxophone, bass clarinet and cello melodies. Montreal-based filmmakers Erin O’Connor and Emma Cosgrove depict a narrative of emotional dissonance with penetrating night-born visuals shot on 16mm. Instructed to freely interpret the song, the outcome is a collaboration that grows on both ends.
Inspired by Irish folklore, classic horror films, and Emma’s documentation of the Irish countryside, the banshee tries to make sense of a world she doesn’t understand. Her intuitive capacities outcast her sense of self until she finds levity at the fair, unwinding in a fit of ethereal joy. The childlike bliss of a carousel ride contrasts with mohawk edginess and big vacant pupils that let no one inside. Ferociousness is paired with gentle wind instrumentation, light breaths enacting the sonic dribbling of consciousness.
Three instruments dance around each other like a conversation withholding information— fighting the urge to divulge and say something you shouldn’t. The impulsivity is reconsidered and the suspension takes on its own melodic shape.
Steeped in the essence of Montreal’s avant-garde spirit, this film stands as an example of the city’s artistic captivation with Nicola Awang’s magnetic performance at its core. Bringing this vision to life are the ingenious custom designs and styling by Stephane Christinel of Xtinel, complemented by the influential makeup artistry of Imani Khalaf. Each contributor emerges as a force that amplifies each layer of storytelling.
With Boxall feeling constricted by his own emotional geometry, searching for the vulnerability to be hopeful as he plays alongside his cellist collaborator, Ouri — the banshee mirrors his loneliness, looking to feel a part of something even if her mind is skulking off into unseen places.
Nothing exists in isolation as the concluding Irish proverb insists “under the shelter of each other people survive.”
Ivy Boxall is the indie experimental project of Montreal-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Edmondson. He stretches a new genre of alternative jazz, weaving a frenetic style of fragility with a nostalgic sensibility. He encourages his listeners to experience an uncomfortability within the music. His debut EP will be released in 2024. – Iva Celebic
Premiere: Hold My Thought
Ivy Boxall’s debut single “Hold My Thought” is released into the world alongside a shrieking banshee, in a haunting music film exploring the realm of myth and melancholia with interwoven saxophone, bass clarinet and cello melodies. Montreal-based filmmakers Erin O’Connor and Emma Cosgrove depict a narrative of emotional dissonance with penetrating night-born visuals shot on 16mm. Instructed to freely interpret the song, the outcome is a collaboration that grows on both ends.
Inspired by Irish folklore, classic horror films, and Emma’s documentation of the Irish countryside, the banshee tries to make sense of a world she doesn’t understand. Her intuitive capacities outcast her sense of self until she finds levity at the fair, unwinding in a fit of ethereal joy. The childlike bliss of a carousel ride contrasts with mohawk edginess and big vacant pupils that let no one inside. Ferociousness is paired with gentle wind instrumentation, light breaths enacting the sonic dribbling of consciousness.
Three instruments dance around each other like a conversation withholding information— fighting the urge to divulge and say something you shouldn’t. The impulsivity is reconsidered and the suspension takes on its own melodic shape.
Steeped in the essence of Montreal’s avant-garde spirit, this film stands as an example of the city’s artistic captivation with Nicola Awang’s magnetic performance at its core. Bringing this vision to life are the ingenious custom designs and styling by Stephane Christinel of Xtinel, complemented by the influential makeup artistry of Imani Khalaf. Each contributor emerges as a force that amplifies each layer of storytelling.
With Boxall feeling constricted by his own emotional geometry, searching for the vulnerability to be hopeful as he plays alongside his cellist collaborator, Ouri — the banshee mirrors his loneliness, looking to feel a part of something even if her mind is skulking off into unseen places.
Nothing exists in isolation as the concluding Irish proverb insists “under the shelter of each other people survive.”
Ivy Boxall is the indie experimental project of Montreal-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Edmondson. He stretches a new genre of alternative jazz, weaving a frenetic style of fragility with a nostalgic sensibility. He encourages his listeners to experience an uncomfortability within the music. His debut EP will be released in 2024. – Iva Celebic