Alice Phoebe Lou Dives Deep In The Ethereal 'She' Video

This extraordinary video, for the song "She," is from an artist who has captured my undivided attention in 2018: Alice Phoebe Lou. The 24-year old South African singer is currently living in Berlin. Her strength as a singer and as a songwriter was bolstered by her time as a street performer around Europe as early as age 16. Her studio album, Orbit was released in 2016 and in 2017 a live version of this song was included in the film, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and shortlisted for an Oscar nomination.

Alice Phoebe Lou wrote to tell me about the lyrical repetition in her vocal performance and said it's key to the song:

She looked out to the horizon
She didn't have much left to see
Greed had taken the trees away
Greed had taken the bees away

"(The) repetitive lyrics have a sense of powerful femininity behind them, inspired by women who go against the prescribed boundaries and pave the way for other women to be empowered and realize their strengths. It was born being played on the streets of Berlin and it feels incredible to release it into the world, at a time that feels just right, as women everywhere tell their stories and are heard." This version of the song, unlike the one found in The Heddy Lamarr Story, was newly recorded in a studio but done "live" to maintain the spirit and original intent of the song.

This wondrous video was directed by Natalia Bazina who says her intent was to find a way to "delicately keep the world of the singer as metaphorical, fragile and detached, as it is." To that end, they wanted to film in a pool that was deep and dark. To do that, they needed to line the pool with black fabric which, in turn, meant they needed non-chlorinated water so the fabric wouldn't bleed its color into the water. They found their pool and their swimmers in Moscow, both synchronized swimmers, with the ability to remain underwater for extended lengths of time. The result of Natalia Bazina's first music video is memorable and truly serves the song, one of depth and beauty, from a singer who feels destined for the stars.

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