"MexiKO" by Amélie, Billy & Pauline
#BehindTheScenes #Thirteen
Video YouTube link -->
youtu.be/77Fgr5v3wHM
"We need a miracle"
- While many are having fun predicting the worst for the months to come, we have found our motto for the start of the school year: “We need a miracleeeeeeeee!!! (to be shouted preferably very loudly in the street)
- As we didn't have too many ideas for the video, we decided to play a live performance of our song (worthy of Azerbaijan at Eurovision) to random complete strangers to get their reaction. A rather positive experience! (even if the attendance on these websites is quite “surprising”…)
- For a few years, and more particularly for a few months, we have been playing a lot with samples of our own voices or others. To avoid being the ten millionth band to only use autotune, we try to play on the recording speed, to transform low voices into high voices (and vice versa), male voices into female voices (and vice versa), to achieve fun and exciting results… but always with fairly limited human and financial resources!
- The title "MexiKO" is a joke on the voice samples ("Hey / Hiiiiii / Hooooo") that punctuate the choruses. After several weeks, we had this sound illusion (hallucination?) that they were saying “Me-xi-co”. The editing of the voices is a mix between our own voices and mystical songs from several cultures (Celtic and "Oriental" in particular)
- For this song, most of the samples come from a single session during which we recorded absolutely everything… including vocals from “adult movies” (don’t judge us). The use of the voice is probably the major theme of the song: to be silent, to scream, to transform it, to use it for relaxation or manipulation. Each of us 3 has his own interpretation of the lyrics, but to summarize they evoke the current chaos and the inevitability of a new era which will arrive in appeasement and serenity, or not.
- The writing of the demo which will become "MexiKO" began on Tuesday January 5, 2021 at 11:24 p.m. We started rehearsing it seriously at the end of 2021 and finally played it live for the first time at the Bus Palladium (Paris) in March 2022.
- The positive and playful atmosphere of the song is paradoxically born of the feeling of powerlessness and general "malaise" of our time. Everyone seems to opt for very different solutions to "deal with it": laughing, crying, changing deep habits, sleeping more or less, living in a kind of parallel world in their brains, cutting off with the media or social networks to to avoid being knocked out by current events, or on the contrary, embracing the tsunami of more or less historical events, seeking the thrill of danger to overcome one's daily life, annihilating all physical or moral suffering, being in permanent irony, living one's existence as a punishment or a blessing, stop the fight or prepare for it.
- Big fan of Janet Jackson, Amélie tried to (unintentionally) pay tribute to her in the clip… #nippleincident #nipplegate
- This summer, we released some of our old albums on streaming platforms (after their "tragic" disappearance a few months ago). Our 3rd EP (2015) came out identically but with the addition of three bonus tracks including a piano-voice cover of the intro song "One Too" and two other "surprises" (public announcement : sorry to Raph…). As for the 2nd EP, it has been the subject of a slight "remaster" (thanks Iséo!) which will allow the oldest fans to rediscover the songs (without the ultra aggressive high frequencies). After the recent “miraculous” discovery of the tracks of our first EP on a dusty old hard drive, we decided to rework it and release it (probably in 2023) in the mixed version it would have deserved at the time.
- Last month we shot two videos, including this one, and another with the help of some of you (thanks again !!) #practicaljoke
- “MexiKO” revisits certain “pop” ghosts from our discography (in particular “Terrific Tips” and “Anything”) which had found an audience but put off many other early “fans”. Blame it on structures and sounds that were too busy and didn't reveal the subject of the song or the voice. With our usual producer (and 4th Beatle) Iséo Furudoï, we are gradually trying to make much more definitive choices and to put - depending on the songs - certain elements very far back (here, the backing vocals, the guitar, the cymbals...).
- The music video is a big nod/tribute to a great music video from the 90s. We'll let you find which one! #MMM
- No animals were harmed in the making of this video… #fiona #miracledog
- Our next song will be released on October 13, 2022.
released September 13, 2022
Music, lyrics & video by Staircase Paradox :
youtu.be/77Fgr5v3wHM
Amélie : synth, vocals, production, weird voice samples, drums
Billy : bass, guitars, vocals, production, weird voice samples, drums
Pauline : vocals, claps, production, weird voice samples, drums
Mix & mastering by Iséo Furudoï (@Gashasound)
