Photo by Andrew Murphy.Montreal-based experimental music iconoclast Sea Beau (a.k.a. Cassandra Beauvais) has released a new music video that dropkicks convention in the face. The music video for their song "Decorticate.Anybody," directed by Michel Beauvais, sees an unidentified human body covered in an unspecified black substance expressing animalistic motions in a grainy haze.The found-footage nature of the clip mixes well the with electroacoustic soundscapes that Beauvais has crafted; providing a disorientating feeling that harkens back to late-era New York No Wave and Cinema of Transgression. The audiovisual cacophony is complemented and contrasted by Beauvais's elegant vocals, which add a sense of urgency and gravity to the whole thing. We reached out to Beauvais and asked them about the video and their music.
Sea Beau: The video was a conceptual short film developed by intermedia artist/filmmaker Michel Beauvais (no direct relation between us) and myself. We sought to visually explore/express thematic sentiments of environmental violence (i.e. pipeline construction), gender dysphoria, psychological dissociation and self-reclamation, all of which are themes within the piece that the film accompanies. We developed both the music and the film concurrently, as a part of a triptych titled Deus Ex Machine, which is on Sea Beau's debut album, Extinct Peripheries. We made it during January-April 2016.You did much of the production on the album yourself. What about the DIY route appeals to you?
I did all of the production on the album myself, not "much" of it. The only thing I did not do was act as live engineer for the live-off-the-floor takes of "Vermillion'"s instrumentals (Paul Geldart did this) and Bennett Dobni did the mastering of the finalized mixes. I have always been DIY because I believe having as much involvement and ownership over the process of creating your works further engages you as an artist, rather than leaning on external businesses or corporations which will control elements of your sound and compositions. I think this is what leads people to develop their own unique voice for what they have to say, because it keeps you pushing yourself past your own habits and defaults, and forces you into new creative zones with every new step to the process. To me, that is artistic growth.Throughout your artistic work issues of love, identity, gender, and body image have frequently been touched upon. Can you tell us why these topics appear so frequently in your work?
Well, I started writing some of this material when I was eighteen (three years ago) and was sexually assaulted twice in the span of six months. This began a journey of pain, rediscovery, relearning and healing through that trauma and even up until now. I initially began to produce because two friends (Alex Metcalfe and Paul Geldart of Waxlimbs) put Ableton on my computer at a time when I was struggling to sing or play piano very much. The voice that I found while discovering the art of production and composing with sound changed my life and helped me to continue on a journey of healing that also led to recognizing myself as an agender person. My work is crafted for others, but it starts from a private and personal place.Who is Sea Beau?
Sea Beau used to be the personality I created for myself when I felt that "I" couldn't create things directly. That has changed. Sea Beau is me, and I am Sea Beau. Cassandra and Sea Beau are one and the same now.What's next?
I have some upcoming recording plans for material for the follow-up album which will likely use some very different production techniques, and will involve more "popular" sounding material. I am taking some time to focus right now on doing mixing work for other artists (such as Sly Why) and honing my own mastering skills while still finishing my coursework (I'm in fourth year in the Electroacoustics Department at Concordia University in Montreal). For Sea Beau, expect an EP or smaller release of tracks/collaborations this spring before the next big project, though.Daniel G. Wilson is a writer and musician based in Mississauga. He's on Twitter.
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Noisey: This video is very difficult to describe. What is the exact meaning of the video? What is going on?
Sea Beau: The video was a conceptual short film developed by intermedia artist/filmmaker Michel Beauvais (no direct relation between us) and myself. We sought to visually explore/express thematic sentiments of environmental violence (i.e. pipeline construction), gender dysphoria, psychological dissociation and self-reclamation, all of which are themes within the piece that the film accompanies. We developed both the music and the film concurrently, as a part of a triptych titled Deus Ex Machine, which is on Sea Beau's debut album, Extinct Peripheries. We made it during January-April 2016.You did much of the production on the album yourself. What about the DIY route appeals to you?
I did all of the production on the album myself, not "much" of it. The only thing I did not do was act as live engineer for the live-off-the-floor takes of "Vermillion'"s instrumentals (Paul Geldart did this) and Bennett Dobni did the mastering of the finalized mixes. I have always been DIY because I believe having as much involvement and ownership over the process of creating your works further engages you as an artist, rather than leaning on external businesses or corporations which will control elements of your sound and compositions. I think this is what leads people to develop their own unique voice for what they have to say, because it keeps you pushing yourself past your own habits and defaults, and forces you into new creative zones with every new step to the process. To me, that is artistic growth.Throughout your artistic work issues of love, identity, gender, and body image have frequently been touched upon. Can you tell us why these topics appear so frequently in your work?
Well, I started writing some of this material when I was eighteen (three years ago) and was sexually assaulted twice in the span of six months. This began a journey of pain, rediscovery, relearning and healing through that trauma and even up until now. I initially began to produce because two friends (Alex Metcalfe and Paul Geldart of Waxlimbs) put Ableton on my computer at a time when I was struggling to sing or play piano very much. The voice that I found while discovering the art of production and composing with sound changed my life and helped me to continue on a journey of healing that also led to recognizing myself as an agender person. My work is crafted for others, but it starts from a private and personal place.Who is Sea Beau?
Sea Beau used to be the personality I created for myself when I felt that "I" couldn't create things directly. That has changed. Sea Beau is me, and I am Sea Beau. Cassandra and Sea Beau are one and the same now.What's next?
I have some upcoming recording plans for material for the follow-up album which will likely use some very different production techniques, and will involve more "popular" sounding material. I am taking some time to focus right now on doing mixing work for other artists (such as Sly Why) and honing my own mastering skills while still finishing my coursework (I'm in fourth year in the Electroacoustics Department at Concordia University in Montreal). For Sea Beau, expect an EP or smaller release of tracks/collaborations this spring before the next big project, though.Daniel G. Wilson is a writer and musician based in Mississauga. He's on Twitter.