“The fly-on-the-wall video illustrates the intense peaks and sobering lows of a relationship”
BY DANIELLE MUSTARDE. VIDEO THUNDER & LIGHTENING CO
Multi-instrumentalist Lots Holloway – the young singer-songwriter, producer (and heartbreaker) many of you already know, is back with brand new single, Off My Brain – and we’re dropping it right here, right now (well, on 20 November, that is).
“Off My Brain was written in one evening sat at my piano, staring out of my window at a lonely sea of neon lights,” Lots told DIVA.
“Even now I still try and kid myself that the song wasn’t about my girlfriend at the time, but in some ways, it was. It was written just before the end of my relationship. It’s about those agonising times when you just can’t stop thinking about someone; hating that you’re relentlessly going over the same scenarios in your head but, contrarily, still finding any excuse to think about them.”
When Lots writes a song, it always comes with a ready-made aesthetic. It’s not just lyrics and a melody: “It’s a feature length film, a mood, a time-capsule snapshot of my emotion at that time and every song has its own world.” So what was Off My Brain?
“This song was a nocturnal love scene. It’s walking home in the dark with neon signs reflecting in rain puddles. It’s the smoke rising from the gutters behind your local Chinese takeaway. It’s the cheeky ‘one more drink’ as you pass the late night dive bar around the corner from your house – that’s exactly what I wanted the video to look like.”
And with that aesthetic in mind, Lots and their film crew took to the late night streets of south London to create a “candid montage.”
“There are a few spots we know that stay open late on a short strip in New Cross. The fly-on-the-wall style video illustrates the intense peaks of infatuation and the contrasting sobering lows of a relationship, emulating that familiar rose-tinted hindsight we’ve all experienced as love turns cold.”
An artistic, London-centric portrayal of how all-consuming love can be – and how isolating it can quickly become, joining Lots in the video for Off My Brain is actor, filmmaker and bi advocate April Kelley.
“I met April a while ago when I was asked to compose the soundtrack to her short film Treacle which premiered at the BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival. I wrote a song called Collide, and she loved it. We celebrated after the premiere and it was friend-love at first pint.
“After seeing the film on a cinema screen for the first time and hearing my song, I knew I wanted us to work together again. April is an incredibly talented actor and in my mind she was the only girl for this role – both cute and sexy, talented and completely professional.”
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And as for April, why did she decide to take time out of her busy schedule to join Lots on their newest musical project?
“Lot’s is quite right, we’ve known each other for a while and I did indeed somehow convince them to join the Treacle family,” April explains.
“I won’t lie to you, that was probably one of my most smug moments of 2019. Their music added an element to Treacle I never knew we could reach – Collide still makes my heart ache every time I hear it… So, you could say I owed Lots a favour, but it’s hardly a chore to run around south London causing mischief and making out with a hottie, is it?
“To be honest, I think my mum is more excited about the release of this video than anyone else, she’s constantly fan-girling over Lots.”
And how was the video shoot, running around the streets of south London snogging Lots Holloway?
“As fun and effortless as it looks! From the beers to the Chinese to the laughter and the fruit juggling, Lots knows what they want from the get go which is so refreshing and makes my job very easy. Along with them and Megan from Thunder & Lighting Co (who is a super talent), they’re a dream team.”
And the snogging?
“Oh, behave… Have you seen the amount of smooching in the video? Yes, Lots is as good at smooching as they are at producing beautiful songs like Off My Brain.”
Good to know.
Off My Brain was filmed by Thunder & Lightning. Check ’em out on Instagram @thunderandlightning_co. For tour dates, LH merch and more, visit musicglue.com/lots-holloway
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Here’s a great les/bi vid and song too https://youtu.be/BjbEBvAbsXc