Glide Dog

“Heartbeats racing through my deep sleep,
Heavy as I go.
Skin don’t mean a thing,
Your skin don’t mean a thing, no.

I need more blood than you can pour, love,
More blood than you can pour, love.
I need more pain to remember your name,
More pain to remember your name.

Sharp teeth underneath my coat,
I’m hungry as it goes.
Shark teeth buried in your throat,
We keep it close.

‘Cause I need more blood than you can pour, love,
More blood than you can pour, love.
I need more pain to remember your name,
More pain to remember your name.
Yeah, I’m gonna need real hurt to give this real worth,
Real hurt to give this real worth.
I’m gonna need more blood than you can pour, love,
More blood than you can pour, love.

Cold to describe, I’m dripping in ice
When I glide dog,
Glide dog.

‘Cause I need more blood than you can pour, love,
More blood than you can pour, love.
I need more pain to remember your name,
More pain to remember your name.
Yeah, I’m gonna need real hurt to give this real worth,
Real hurt to give this real worth.
I’m gonna need more blood than you can pour, love,
More blood than you can pour, love.”

[ Glide Dog – Phildel ]

I honestly have no clue what the title of this song even means. Seriously, I’m in the dark. The lyrics, however, are very rich in imagery, and the melody and arrangement have a very distinct sensual undertone which I thought would be a perfect stepping stone for the photo.

 

Given her upbringing, Phildel is no stranger to violent imagery in her lyrics – I mean, look at The Wolf. This time, however, the song felt distinctly intimate and that’s the vibe I wanted my photo to have as well. One of my inspirations was Princess Margaret’s infamous 1959 birthday portrait (and also this later one from 1967) by Tony Armstrong Jones, the one with the dress pulled down so low it almost looks like a nude.

 

So fake nude from the shoulder up it is to conjure the sensuality of the song, and fake blood to evoke the violent imagery. As my theatrical blood is chilling in Trieste (and also running out), I had to make do with homemade one, for which I used blueberry juice as a dye and potato starch as a coagulant (though I might have to revise the formula).

A funny detail, I had my mother pour the “blood” on Luisa’s hand as I shot. The first few attempts didn’t have nearly enough of it to look good, so I kept saying I needed more and damn, did it all sound like the song lyrics in a genuine case of life imitating art (but for art’s sake)!

 

The real reason I went the sensual route with this song, unlike Electric Heights, was that I could easily pull it off with only Luisa modelling for it. I am demanding when I take photos, but I always prioritise my models’ comfort and boundaries, including my own, so I specifically devised this photo in a way that would not feel awkward for either of us.

It’s a lesson I think we all need to remember as artists: a work is always a collaborative effort, so we need to take everyone’s sensibilities into account. It’s a small sacrifice to pay, for when everybody’s at their ease the works produced become even better.

Emblem

“We’ve got the real thing,
Not the emblem,
Not the emblem.
I said those words, yeah,
And I meant them,
I meant them, ooh.

Give me the real thing,
Give me the real thing,
Not the emblem, ooh.
Empty envelopes when,
Empty envelopes when
I send them, ooh.

Keep your promises
And defend them,
Defend them.
Words and choruses,
You transcend them,
Transcend them, ooh.

Keep your diamond rings,
I don’t want anything.
Save your words and cards,
Don’t need paper hearts.

I said, I said
We’ve got the real thing,
We’ve got the real thing,
Not the emblem,
Not the emblem.
We’ve got the real thing,
We’ve got the real thing,
Not the emblem,
Not the emblem.”

[ Emblem – Phildel ]

Emblem is one of those songs that warranted a less-is-more approach: I decided to focus on the keyword in the title and one verse in particular – the second about defending one’s promises – to build the image around. I know in this context the “emblem” was probably meant as the pictorial representation of something as opposed to the actual object (i.e.: love), but I deviated from that to take into account the “coat of arms” meaning of the word and turn it into a shield of sort to evoke the idea of defending one’s promise. As a metaphorical shield I used my mother’s Russian enamel trays, which are very pictorial in decor, and also put one as a halo for good measure, because really, why not?

To contrast with the black trays and Luisa’s matching dark clothing I opted for a light background which ended up feeling a little empty, so I texturised with some old photos of white buildings in Trieste I had taken as backgrounds for a cosplay commission. I chose a part of Trieste’s city hall which was damaged by shells shot by the retreating nazi troops to symbolise that the conflict in the song is coming to an end and the main character is victorious and has saved what she was rooting for.

And yes, that’s pretty much the concept: I took some liberties but aimed again at strong visuals to make up for that.

Wild Sea

“Only I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you leave me.

Speeding down a silent shore,
Something tells me I’ve been here before.
By heart, I know this dark.

Shapes turn to black,
I’d give you back.

Only I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you hold me:
Love me like you do.
I know that I’m hard work,
You know I’ve been so hurt:
Love me like you do.
Yeah, I know you’re easy-going
Just to please me:
Love me like you do.
You know I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you hold me:
Love me like you do.

Speeding down a silent shore,
Something tells me we’ve been here before.
Where we’re going I don’t wanna see,
Everyday you slip away from me.

I’d give you back,
I’d give you that.

Only I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you hold me:
Love me like you do.
I know that I’m hard work,
You know I’ve been so hurt:
Love me like you do.
Yeah, I know you’re easy-going
Just to please me:
Love me like you do.
You know I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you hold me:
Love me like you do.

You are my emblem of gold.
You won’t remember you told me.
You have a right not to know
How good it feels when you hold me.

Ships turning back,
They know I’m a wild sea.
I’ll be lonely till you leave me.

Only I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you hold me:
Love me like you do.
I know that I’m hard work,
You know I’ve been so hurt:
Love me like you do.
Yeah, I know you’re easy-going
Just to please me:
Love me like you do.
You know I’m a wild sea,
Lonely till you hold me:
Love me like you do.”

[ Wild Sea – Phildel ]

Wild Sea is my favourite song from Wave Your Flags. It’s got some fierce competition, but I don’t know, something about it just clicked with me. And as it’s often the case, my favourite song from an album turns out to be the most difficult to adapt into a photo because I tend to raise my expectations about it.

In this case, though, there was a further problem: I imagined this photo with a murky sky, wavy sea and diffuse light, which aren’t exactly easy to come by in Sardinian summer. I kept the concept as vague and open as possible until basically a few days before Luisa’s arrival, all the while keeping a close eye on weather forecast to see if we’d get a chance to work with clouds. Turns out we did get a chance on the second day, which we promptly seized to also take Electric Heights and another one, so I could just go with my original concept without having to bend it out of shape.

A further challenge was Phildel writing three songs with marine metaphors, which meant I had to get creative to make each one different and individual enough. With this one, I decided to put emphasis on “I’m the wild sea” – i.e. the sea as a metaphor of the protagonist’s inner state: I gave Luisa the central spot in the photo, but also let the sea be prominent all around her. I also styled her with that blue lace dress to further emphasise the connection with the sea, and took advantage of any gust of wind that would shake her hair to make it all look more “wild” until I got the shot I wanted.

That’s basically it, I just run with the same metaphor as the lyrics, only making it visual. It’s also noteworthy that Luisa is modelling in the same location where someone else who shall not be named modelled when they came to Sardinia, except Luisa’s level of commitment to our projects and, thus, the final results were on a completely different level. Really, after getting burned so badly last time I was genuinely nervous about that, which is why I decided to exorcise it by shooting in the same location.

Lamb

“Oh my precious lamb, I hear you calling
And offer up my hands to you in healing.
Let my voice resound where your hurts are deepest,
Let my voice resound when yours is weakest.

Fold into my arms, it’s enough.
Fold into my arms, you are loved,
You are loved,
You are loved.

Oh my precious lamb, I hear you crying,
And time will take its time to deliver meaning.
Buried by their lies, but you’re gonna be alright.
Silenced by their words, but you’re gonna be heard.

Fold into my arms, it’s enough.
Fold into my arms, you are loved,
You are loved,
You are loved,
You are loved.

For all those years they put you down,
For all those years without your crown.

Fold into my arms, it’s enough.
Fold into my arms, you are loved,
You are loved,
You are loved,
You are loved.”

[ Lamb – Phildel ]

The fifth photo in the Wave Your Flags series is Lamb, and was one of the easiest to turn from music to image: the idea of a lamb has some sacred connotations and made me immediately think of Baroque paintings, especially Caravaggio, which was the aesthetic I decided to pursue.

In this scenario, Luisa is not the person who’s speaking, but the “lamb”, the one the song is addressed to. This photo could have worked well with two models, but I wanted to reduce as much as possible my involvement in front of the camera, so I decided to imply a metaphysical comforting presence in the form of ray of lights that Luisa is turning towards. I had this colour filter in mind all along so the dramatic but not too sharp lighting would be emphasised, also giving an overall “old canvas” feel to the image. This was also to play to Luisa’s strengths: her features make her just perfect for this kind of classical painting tributes!

To be completely honest, I had forgotten the line in the bridge that talks about a crown: I just decided to include a radial halo because I’d never pass on the chance to put one into a photo! – it just happened to perfectly align with the lyrics too. If we think that the “lamb” is already healing, then she’s already got her crown back.

There was a little miscommunication in regards to the styling between me and Luisa: I thought of a floral garment which was actually a winter coat (totally unviable in the blistering Sardinian summer), while she thought I meant this beautiful flowy dress. In hindsight, this one works better not only because the white and soft fabric gives an immediate association with a lamb, but also because it recalls later Rococo paintings with the pastoral aesthetics popularised by Marie Antoinette, our very first cottagecore queen.

I’m very satisfied with this photo. I think I managed to exploit some visual associations to convey the general mood and meaning of the song. And even putting aside the project, I just love everything about this work.

Oh Love

“Oh love, believe me,
Nothing ever comes to us easy,
The rivers never run up to meet me,
Gotta find your own way down.
And in this cruel storm,
Love, you got my back like a fog horn.
Anything I lack can be reborn
Anytime you come around.

But where do you turn to,
Wandering the streets that have spurned you?
Love, it’s just that nobody’s earned you,
But I will never let you down.

Oh love, running down my skin like it’s too much,
Never cried about a thing until now but us, us.
Oh love, where do I begin with my hard luck?
The walls are closing in but my head’s up, up, up.

And if you need more,
Just hold out yours hands ‘cause it’s all yours,
Boy, I’d break the dam to be your source
And I’d never let you drown.
But hey, believe me,
Nothing’s worth the love that comes cheaply.
Hold it back or give it up freely
And it will never let you down.

Oh love!
Oh love, running down my skin like it’s too much,
Never cried about a thing until now but us, us.
Oh love, where do I begin with my hard luck?
The walls are closing in but my head’s up, up, up.

The first to fall against the grain
Must bear the weight and bear the strain
Of everything, that it brings.
And every queen and every king
Looks to the sky when there’s nothing to do –

But you, love, running down my skin like it’s too much,
Never cried about a thing until now but us, us.
Oh love, where do I begin with my hard luck?
The walls are closing in but my head’s up, up, up.

Oh love, oh love, oh love, oh.
Oh love, oh love, oh love, oh.”

[ Oh Love – Phildel ]

Oh Love was another song that gave me a tough time figuring out. I like it a lot, but imagery-wise is kind of all over the place. As a suggestion, Luisa showed me an illustration of a couple on a boat, which is a classic scenario, and I decided to give it my own spin with a boat on a dried field that lies just beneath the fortified walls of Alghero. After all, the song is about a love that takes some effort to work, and what better way to show it than a boat all run aground, but with its “sailors” still stubbornly pointing and looking at the light ahead? Well, okay, the “pointing out” part was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing, in truth I was directing Luisa’s modelling when the shutter closed, but I ended up liking it and using it as the actual pose.

Even with Luisa’s assist and my knowledge of the city smoothing the conceptualisation out, this photo was still kind of stressing me out because we saved it for the last day, I had to rely on my mother’s assistance a lot, and due to time constraints I had to make do with a very strong, direct light. I was nervous because we basically only had that one shot at it and so many things could work against us. In hindsight, I think the strong light helped bring the scene to life, give depth to the background and give the photo a more hopeful, bright mood. In a way, I think Luisa’s and my being tired from all the other shoots but still determined to get things done and get them right somehow bled through into the photo and actually helped us portray the song at its best: we’re this close to letting go, but this thing is so important to us that no, we won’t give it up. That’s the beautiful concept that Phildel shared with her song, and I sincerely hope we made it justice in our photo.

Wave Your Flags

“What do I do? What do I do
Here in the darkness with you, with you?

Sit me down, hold me back before we crash.
Give it up, skin and blood, this is love.
Carry me, lock to key, lightning speed.
Halfway back, wave, wave your flags.

‘Cause it’s speeding up.
Sacrifice yourself for love.
Weightless as the Moon,
I can’t stop this taking off too soon.

What do I do? What do I do
Here in the darkness with you, with you?

Sit me down, hold me back before we crash.
Give it up, skin and blood, this is love.
Carry me, lock to key, lightning speed.
Halfway back, wave, wave your flags.

Have you hid enough,
Camouflaged yourself from love?
Hard to make it stop,
Hard to slow what’s speeding up.

What do I do? What do I do
Here in the darkness with you, with you?

Sit me down, hold me back before we crash.
Give it up, skin and blood, this is love.
Carry me, lock to key, lightning speed.
Halfway back, wave, wave your flags, ah,
Wave your flags, ah,
Wave your flags,
Wave your flags.”

[ Wave Your Flags – Phildel ]

Here we are at the title track of the album, and third photo from the series.

Wave Your Flags is perhaps the photo that was most transformed, in my head, by the decision of taking the series from Trieste to Alghero, due to not having my studio lights and wooden floor. Also, I now realise that I envisioned my original idea as a moving image, the subjects sitting still back-to-back under the “flag” and a cone of light, while the PoV revolves around them, which I don’t know how well would have translated to a still image. Also, while the old idea was more sombre and dark and matched the general tone of the lyrics, in hindsight I prefer the more light, optimistic approach that the titular flag-waving gives off.

One thing I decided to apply to the project in general, and this photo in particular, was to streamline the concepts: rather than trying to include as many images and metaphors from the lyrics as I could, I just decided to give a general impression of them according to the general theme, overall mood of the song, and often the title itself. I like layering the symbolism in my images, but on the one hand sometimes less is more, and on the other I’ve learned to plan according to contingency: I had to squeeze about fifteen photoshoots into a narrow timeframe, each had to be as quick and effortless as possible.

And thus, here is Luisa literally waving her flag in the breeze. Simple, hopefully effective, with a stylish outfit to enhance the general aesthetics and minimal but concrete background to ground the photo in reality.

On a side note, we’re publishing the photos in the same order as a tracklist, and we started last Friday, with Saturday as a gap to allow Luisa to travel back home without having to mind social media. Also, Luisa’s scarf, which we used as the titular flag, just so happened to be blue. And last but not least, Luisa is very, very passionate about football.

This coincidence made it so the photo of Luisa waving her blue flag was released just today, in the wake of Italy’s national team winning the Euro 2020 cup. It has now doubled as a celebration for Luisa and seriously, there could be no amount of foresight that could have made it all click as smoothly as it did!

Electric Heights

“Electric heights,
I’m a dizzy spell away from getting close to you.
I was alive
With the things I never really thought that you could do.
Can’t compromise:
When I think about the chance, I had to make it work.
I wanna die
From the ways I never really thought that it would hurt.

But now I’m begging you for something
That I thought I’d never want.
Tears me to the ground,
This is the apex of your hunt.

I prayed I’d have something that you’d still need,
I’d have something that you’d still want,
But now, finding you gone, I see
I was alive.

I was alive
But there were too many flags on the sand,
Too many eyes,
I never really thought that you would be my man.
Electric heights,
I’m a dizzy spell away from getting close to you.
I wanna die
From the things I never really thought that you could do.

Sight before sound, and I’m left there, oh.
Sight before sound, and I’m left there, oh,
Begging you, needing to,
Begging you, needing to…

I prayed I’d have something that you’d still need,
I’d have something that you’d still want,
Oh, now finding you gone, I see
I was alive.”

[ Electric Heights – Phildel ]

In my entry for Storm Song, the second photo from the other project, I wrote that it was quite a quick concept to come up with. Well, nothing like the second song from this album, Electric Heights, which was a much tougher one to crack. I perceive the song as quite sexual and intimate in nature, in a way that I didn’t think would work well with only one model, and that I wouldn’t be comfortable acting in a supporting capacity. As a result, this was one of the two photos I hadn’t written down by the time I sent the final notes to Luisa, so she was the one to come up with concept instead. She suggested a quite literal interpretation of the title, with herself atop a height of some sort and lightning in the sky. By this point, weather forecasts were already precise enough to consistently signal clouds on at least one day while she was here, so it was a viable concept and I decided to go with it.

While pondering possible locations, I immediately thought of this modern-looking stairway which I’ve been wanting to use in some photo for a long time: I thought it’s fit well with the posh, synthpop-ish sound of the song. On a side note, the top of it is the place where I shot both works of my Wandering Stars project, as around sunset or late afternoon it has a perfectly and mostly unobstructed back light that’s easy to work with; I’ve also shot another photo from this project there.

The photo is actually a composite because I thought the lights on the sides of the stairs would look cool and add to the concept but, of course, were switched off during the day. I thus went back and shot them separately at night from the same perspective, and then overimposed them on the original image. As I imagined, the final effect loos quite cool. I also drew the lightnings with my tablet because we don’t have many thunderstorms here, so what was I to do about it?

As for the styling, Luisa’s beautiful Trussardi dress with shiny diamond prints was the natural choice to further evoke something sparkly and electric.

So here it is, Electric Heights. It wasn’t an easy concept to pull off and I tried to make up for that with strong visuals. I hope you enjoy it!

The Deep

“Give up
Or love me for the things I’m not,
Because
I won’t let this turn to dust
On us, no.

Creatures of the darkness know
How to keep the lights low.
Creatures of the darkness know
How to keep the lights low.

Just give me a sign ‘cause it runs through my mind like your heat.
Caught in the web, you’re so easily led to the deep.
Falling behind ‘cause it runs through my mind like a need.
Caught in the web, you’re so easily led to the deep.

This love,
You know that I’d call it off,
But I can’t, I can’t
Give up,
‘Cause you know I was made for us,

I can’t give up.

Just give me a sign ‘cause it runs through my mind like your heat.

Caught in the web, you’re so easily led to the deep.
Falling behind ‘cause it runs through my mind like a need.
Caught in the web, you’re so easily led to the deep.

Creatures of the darkness know
How to keep the lights low.
Creatures of the darkness know
How to keep the lights low.”

[ The Deep – Phildel ]

The Deep is the opener of the new album, much like The Disappearance Of The Girl was for the previous one. Similarly, the two photos serve as an introduction to the respective projects.

Given this link, I decided to envision The Deep as the polar opposite of The Disappearance Of The Girl: while the latter portrayed Luisa as disappearing into the light, away from the viewer and with closed eyes, The Deep would have her emerging from the darkness towards the viewer and engaging them directly with both her gesture and gaze. Not only would it lin the two projects somehow, but conceptually it would also work perfectly with the lyrics and the seductive mood of the song. It was one of the first and easiest concepts I came up with in regards of the project, including a blueish colour wash, dramatic lighting from the side, a slightly downwards perspective and Luisa in a light-coloured outfit to stand out from the background.

One thing I wanted to experiment with was creating a natural gradient on Luisa’s dress, which I achieved by layering some black tulle on her rose skirt: a combination of short field of depth and progressively fuller netting made her fade into the background while also providing some texture.

Speaking of texture, I usually leave some from the backdrop, or add some subtle one when I have big dark areas such as this one; in this case, I decided to make the darkness as smooth and empty as possible to let it be as important a part of the photo as the model herself, to further dive a sense of depth or an abyss. I hope it worked out well!