Dialogue From A Silent Film releases "Grey Skies" video.

Dialogue From A Silent Film is post-punk indie-goth trio from Brooklyn, NY. Back in November, they released a video for their new single "Grey Skies." Shot one afternoon in, on, and around Pet Rescue (which lies squarely in a no-neighborhood industrial area where Williamsburg meets Greenpoint meets Queens and Newtown Creek),  the video follows the band through a somewhat abandoned warehouse complex, eventually giving way to the almost Montana-esque big sky of the building's large, flat roof. I sat down for a brief chat with vocalist/guitarist Daniel Kasshu. Here's the transcript (the video is at the end):


Hearts Bleed Radio: Grey Skies is the new video from Dialogue From A Silent Film. What's the concept behind the video?

Daniel Kasshu: The concept is, well, three guys being angst-y and loitering around Pet Rescue. Or something like that. ACTUALLY, I think it's a bit more about being lost. Katrin pretty much directed us as she felt matched the song's atmosphere. I think she did a great job with it.

HBR: You shot the whole thing in Pet Rescue? How long did it take?

DK: It was a nice simple shoot, all of us (myself, Brian, Brandon, Katrin, and Zak) all met at Pet Rescue in the early afternoon, drank coffee, hung out, and shot until the evening. The whole thing probably took about five hours.

Dialogue in full concert glory.

HBR: So it was just you being directed, moved around, etc... and then Katrin disappeared into the editing room and that's that?

DK: There was a LOT of joking around, too. I mean, of course. The best part was when I slammed myself in the face with my guitar. The video was actually edited by Jennie Vee, who did it a great job and really quickly, too.

HBR: How did you sync up the performance (you singing/strumming) with the audio, was that done in the editing phase?

DK: We just played the song off of Brandon's phone, which we had hooked up to this tiny little portable speaker my mom bought for me from the Home Shopping Network, so I guess you could say my mom played a pretty important role in the video.

HBR: Yeah, she should get a credit...

DK: I still have to show her the video actually... Added to the list of responsibilities for the week.

HBR: I like that shot in the aluminum alley-like thing, with the razor wire on one side. Is that there to keep thieves out, or to keep you in?

DK: It's there to keep in all the sadness. All the FEELINGS. My life is one dark room. One. Dark. Room.

HBR: What's next for Dialogue, you have another single coming out?

DK: Yes! In fact the day after the release of the Grey Skies video, I was back in the studio. The next single also has a guest appearance by Mariko, which is pretty exciting.

HBR: The same place you recorded Grey Skies?

DK: Yes and no. Grey Skies was recorded in two locations, partially at Brooklyn Brewery and partially at 3PM Manhattan. The next single was also recorded partially at Brooklyn Brewery, but the rest at the Sojourn Records studio in Elmont. It was an honor to have Mark Ambrosino engineering the session.

HBR: How do you guys record? Do you live track the core (bass, drums, guitar) and then overdub the rest?

DK: It varies depending on the song. Usually we live track everything and then spot-check/ re-do until we're all satisfied with the result.

HBR: Are you ever really satisfied with a recording?

DK: Sort of. There are a lot of great things about the recordings, but I also prefer the live version, too... it's easier to view the recordings and live versions of the same songs as completely different animals. Sometimes we'll be rehearsing and one of us will do something random or cool or different and I'll be like "Ah, maannnnn, I wish that could've been on the recording!" So, yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with the recordings. I think they're generally a very good representation of my writing and composing in a controlled environment and an advertisement to see the same songs performed with reckless abandon and additional profanity in a grimy Brooklyn bar.

Check out the video for "Grey Skies"

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Cheers (and Happy Holidays)!