BLOG #6 - Final Idea / Initial Ideas Pitch

mcaccam

Dec 4, 20225 min read

Updated: Apr 2, 2023

What is your song?

Sevdaliza - Marilyn Monroe

Genre: Experimental Pop/ AlternativeR&B/Trip Hop

Why did you choose it?

After a lot of brainstorming by myself, I found out that my classmate Annie Xue planned to do the coursework alone too. We had a talk, and we shared our ideas for our MV. She then asked if I was interested in doing the coursework music video together. I agreed because I think I can learn and improve my camera techniques if we collaborate. From around September 14, we started sharing possible songs to work with. We had a wide range of songs; there were English, Thai, Korean, and also different tempos and genres. However, the bottom line is we both agreed that we are not considering rap music. Annie shared about the song "Marilyn Monroe" by Sevdaliza. I really liked the song and its direct intertextual reference to Monroe, who is a major pop icon. There is something about the genre of the song, that made me hooked, and I essentially listened to it on repeat for a few days while thinking about possible concepts. After sharing my thoughts and fondness for the song with Annie, we both agreed that this is the song we will use for our coursework music video.

Some rough brainstorming notes⬇️

Is the song commercially successful?

Marilyn Monroe is one of Sevdaliza's famous songs. For an alternative R&B singer, her music has a very niche audience. The song wasn't nominated for any awards but the album ISON (which this song is part of) peaked at the 2017 Dutch charts at 192. From a music business perspective, I think the song is definitely not as famous as pop songs or singers. I think a factor of this is that Sevdaliza is more focused on local audiences. Additionally, her musical influences and style are not the norm for international audiences.

Is there an existing MV?

Sevdaliza's music video for Marilyn Monroe is full of artistic and creative elements that I would arguably say, requires a niche audience to appreciate and get the symbolism. The music video definitely has a lot of post-production editing work and it appears to be very futuristic. The music video also has a strict color palette of silver, black, and a bit of dark beige.

The pros of this existing music video is that we get to see the creativity and artistry that Sevdaliza had as an artist. Her style is not as popular but it gives out more content to consume for non-conforming audiences. Since her music video is a concept-type mv, there is a lot of meaning and symbolism to unpack, for example, a CGI version of Sevdaliza turning into a robot is a conscious choice of her and her team. This symbolizes and illustrates the whole idea of her song in which someone is changing and hiding their true selves to satisfy the expectations of other people from them. Some cons of this music video firstly are the vagueness of the concept which not all types of audiences will be able to appreciate and explore. Another one is the music video is heavily dependent on post-production editing which is time-consuming and students like Annie and I wouldn't be able to produce such high-end CGI effects.

More about SEVDALIZA ------ https://sevdaliza.com/

Sevda Alizadeh (Persian: سِودا علیزاده; born 1 September 1987), known professionally as Sevdaliza, is an Iranian-Dutch singer, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and director. In 2015, she released two EPs, The Suspended Kid, and Children of Silk. While her music is typically in English, she also releases songs in the Persian language. Her debut album, ISON, was published on 26 April 2017 via her record label, Twisted Elegance. In 2018, she released a third EP, The Calling, followed by her second studio album, Shabrang, in 2020.

Alizadeh was born on 1 September 1987 in Tehran, Iran. She is of Azerbaijani, Russian, and Persian descent. Her family moved to the Netherlands when she was five years old. At sixteen, she left home after obtaining a basketball scholarship, eventually playing on the Dutch national basketball team. She went to university, graduating with a master's degree in communications. Sevdaliza is fluent in Persian, Dutch, English, French, and Portuguese. Sevdaliza's music incorporates electronic, alternative R&B, trip hop, experimental pop, and avant-pop.

According to Sevdaliza, "I think my sound would mostly be described as pure and raw. I'm not necessarily drawn to a genre, but to a process, or towards a certain mood like melancholy. The interesting thing is that the music that my music gets compared to is not necessarily music I've listened to, which makes it super interesting. I was performing once, and a conservatory professor came to me after the show, saying that he could really hear that I draw inspiration from old Persian singers. I asked him, "Wow, that's really interesting. How do you hear that?," and he said because I use certain semitones and microtones when I sing. But I've never had a singing lesson in my life, and I've never listened to Persian music in my life! It's really interesting to me that some things just come to you unconsciously like that. It's like you have this brain and it's unconsciously and consciously registering everything and in combination with your DNA it just becomes... something."

Sevdaliza's music is inspired by ideas of womanhood, identity, and motherhood.

Sevdaliza uses music to express her thoughts about important societal issues. In January 2017, Sevdaliza released her first Persian-language song, "Bebin", in response to Executive Order 13769. She stated, "In protest of the inhumane political climate, I could not rest my head in privilege. I wrote 'Bebin' in Farsi, to solidify. I stand strong with love. In this case, I choose to avoid mainstream media, because I have no interest in part-taking in a victimized concept. Take this message without lights, a camera, or action. I am solely a messenger. In the brain of love, there is no place for racism nor bigotry." In February, a music video was released for "Amandine Insensible", which showcases the limited roles women are expected to fill in modern culture. Her recent song is released on October 7, 2022 "Women, Life Freedom" is a dedication to women oppressed in the world, especially in her birth country, Iran. This song is such a powerful response and support, to the people fighting the Iranian government as a lot of lives have been taken away in the past few months. Upon hearing the song (linked below), I honestly got chills and I think this is what I like about Sevdaliza's musical artistry.