Music Video Premiere: ‘Do Clean / Do Dirrrty’ by The Dead Zoo
Energetic post-punk band The Dead Zoo released their latest single ‘Do Clean / Do Dirrrty’ last week, and we’re excited to premiere the video for the single today.
‘Do Clean / Do Dirrrty’ is about seeking that unknown place where you can find yourself, specifically “hitting the road, outside of the law, grit and all.” The music video was directed and edited by joint lead vocalist and synth player Somrata Sarkar, and embodies the chaotic, driving energy of the track. “It was important to me that the video had a volatile energy,” says Sarkar. “I wanted it to match the feel of the song, instead of it being a re-enactment of the lyrics.
The music video was a DIY band effort, filmed on Sarkar’s phone and edited using a free video editing app. If you’re a north London-based band, you might even recognise one of the filming locations - Storm Rehearsal Studios - by the infamous wallpaper in the background, reflecting under the makeshift strobe light they created by waving around a phone torch. You can’t get more DIY than that! “It was silly and wonderful and probably as DIY as you can get, but it did suit the chaotic, unpredictable spirit of the song,” says Sarkar.
Making a DIY music video is both fun and nerve-wracking - the ideas you originally have in your head don’t necessarily work when you get to editing. This was exactly what Sarkar faced, but in true DIY spirit she relied on instinct and intuition while editing to produce a video that captures the volatile nature of the track. “There definitely was a pit in my stomach at the beginning that it could all amount to total shit – I was learning how to use the programs on the go,” says Sarkar. “But I’m quite pleased with how it turned out ultimately, and maybe that’s all that counts.”
“The song was driven by a conviction that when trapped and lost, making a bold move to escape that reality regardless of the destination is sometimes necessary,” says joint lead vocalist and guitarist Kaoru Sato. “In my case the drive to move on emerges most strongly from my gender transition, and is particularly relevant as trans people are currently being ‘monstered’ daily in an unprecedented attack by all sides of the establishment, society and the mass media. The lawless mentality embraced by the lyric’s narrator fits well with that sense of being outside the bounds of a ‘normal' world that seeks to cancel you and all those like you.”
“That narrative is universal,” says Somrata. The prevailing forces of populism and conservatism are those that are being fought by those they seek to keep under control. The song is all about that sense of finding our freedoms and enjoying that getaway drive in the process. It’s very Thelma and Louise.”
'Do Clean / Do Dirrrty’ by The Dead Zoo is out now on all digital platforms, with monstrous psych stomper B-side ‘Siluett’.