Tales of Originality: Exclusive Q&A with Indie Artist Carlile
Today, indie pop artist Carlile dropped her music video for her original song, “Spare Me,” directed by Mack Neaton of Flavor/Cutters Studios. In honor of the occasion, I hit her up with a few questions. Enter the Spare Me Universe here: https://spareme.site
Q: Please tell me what your song “Spare Me” means to you.
A: I wrote this song at a time where I was giving 110% to my partner. Honesty, openness, the whole nine yards. Meanwhile, there’s this force of nature outside of the house we’d built. Ripping off the doors, shattering the windows. It felt completely out of my control. “Spare Me” was my opportunity to digest what an intense experience I’d witnessed and how deeply it had affected me. I was mad and Spare Me became a caricature of that anger.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the video, what do you love the most about it?
A: Hannah’s jello art is absolute insanity. Mack’s animated robot flies are also a brilliant touch.
Q: How does it feel to watch this artistic vision of your song in its final form?
A: Watching this video is deeply rewarding. Mack, Hannah and I were in communication from its conception to its execution. It’s incredible to see a sketch on a storyboard become this fully produced piece of art. This video is Mack’s directorial debut and my first music video, so there was a lot of creative problem-solving done along the way, but you would honestly never know by looking at it.
Q: In your lyrics, you say the ex is going to get what she deserves. I’m curious to know what she deserves, and, does she get it?
A: “Spare Me” wreaks of early 2000s girl group spite. The vocal arrangement and lyrics certainly pay homage, so that line just felt like the cherry on top of a very salty cake. If I was to dive a bit deeper into the feeling that inspired the line I’d say I’m a believer in karma. Not in the “you did a bad thing, now a bad thing will happen to you” way. But I think when we treat people poorly those actions resurface as feelings of guilt or regret within ourselves. Hopefully triggering some kind of reflection and in an ideal situation the behavior changes as a result, but that’s a whole other song…
Q: Any comments on the experience of working with Mack to bring the video to life?
A: Mack and Hannah (production design) see the world through this campy, colorful, over-the-top lens, so working with them was always a blast. We were learning so much along the way and everyone approached that growth so humbly. It was really inspiring to see.
Q: What would you like to see happen next in your musical career?
A: More music! More videos! More shows! MORE ART!
To learn more about Carlile, visit https://thisiscarlile.com.
