- Words Notion Staff
- Photography Gillian Mapp
a l l i e gives Notion an exclusive look at the making of her music video for "Clean Sight", featuring Casey MQ.
Toronto-based singer-songwriter a l l i e recently dropped her new album, ‘Tabula Rasa’, and now shares a jaw-dropping new music video to accompany the track “Clean Sight”.
Featuring Casey MQ, the sensual modern R&B single juxtaposes Casey’s hushed tones with a l l i e’s sultry yet soaring vocals.
Speaking on the track and music video, a l l i e said:
“Clean Sight is a song about finding clarity in your vision and understanding of yourself. Casey MQ and I cowrote it and we actually wrote it backwards working it from the ending towards the beginning. We made it when I was doing a lot of shadow work. I was unearthing things that were in my spiritual depths and as a result, a song with a lot of duality came to life. The song feels hard and abrasive but it’s actually about a beautiful spiritual awakening.”
“The director of the Clean Sight video, Roya Delsol knew she wanted to play with the dichotomies of darkness and light to bring the song to life, so we worked to weave that theme into the lighting, editing and styling. I’ve been working on my movement and learning choreography with an incredible dancer, Tati Parker, so Roya and I got together and wrote a story where I’m fighting to uncover my shadow self, uncovering trauma and beginning a metamorphosis with an army of dancers behind me.”
“Bringing this visual to life required a big push for me in terms of elevating my dance skills, and stepping away from my comfort zone stylistically. I had to fully embody this assassin archetype – the one of a woman who can fight and cut through the bullshit and honour her most fiery element. She knows you have to burn down the field in order for the soil to become fertile.”
The eleven-track ‘Tabula Rasa’ album brings together a l l i e’s collective experiences, an entire two years’ worth of material that was influenced by a trip across Europe and a cathartic homecoming to Jamaica.
“Music and sound are predominant healing elements in my life,” explains a l l i e. “’Tabula Rasa’ came together after I spent a lot of time reevaluating how I was going to approach music holistically. I needed to bring more meaning to my work in order to keep going. So I cleared out all of the programmed ideas of what I am supposed to be doing in this very material-driven realm and shifted my mission to a soul level. This is my clean slate, my fresh start.”