The London-based Singer/Songwriter, Multi-Instrumentalist, and Composer Laura Guarch releases a mesmerizing and a beautifully shot music video with, "Fleeting Light."
Originally from Spain, Laura Guarch began her career with the award-winning choir Barcelona Gospel Messengers prior to venturing off in Rome, Paris, London, and Berlin. Releasing music that questions societal values, Laura Guarch's music inevitably inspires listeners to embrace every inch of their being.
With her captivating music video for "Fleeting Light," the majority of the video surrounds Laura Guarch in front of a projector where she's flooded with picturesque backgrounds that transport the listener to these serene places. Her warm vocal performance makes it easy for anyone to place themselves in a daydream along with the music video's visuals.
The music video for "Fleeting Light" opens with a nostalgic shot where Laura Guarch starts up a record player by delicately placing the needle down. Once her breathtaking vocals appear, the opening scenes with Laura Guarch in front of rich greenery create this beautiful space for listeners to get lost. As the calming and mellow song continues, Laura Guarch stands in the spotlight in front of many different transcendent backgrounds, giving listeners the perfect visuals to support the song's tranquil atmosphere.
With each breath she takes within "Fleeting Light," Laura Guarch exudes this angelic charm that grasps anyone's attention through her passionate performance and sound lyrical messages.
Hello Laura and welcome to BuzzMusic. We love the delicate and fragile atmosphere you've set within your music video for "Fleeting Light." What inspired the minimalistic yet mesmerizing scenes within your music video?
I wanted the music video to portray the metaphors of the song and to help build its meaning, while still lingering in the poetic world and not being too explicit. I have collaborated closely with visual artists in the past, for instance, live scoring a performer working with projections on live art performances. I think projections offer a minimalistic yet effective way of layering images and therefore creating new meaning with the combination of the two. In a way, it is an ecology of resources that it also fits very well with the theme of the song. I aimed for the human form to be embedded in nature scenes with birds, insects, forest and ocean landscapes as well as in more urban settings with artificial lights and pollution and contrasting that with the cosmic scenes of the universe and galaxies of stars that question if that is all we are going to have left after human action is devastating it all. Fleeting Light also compares the biodiversity with a big music score whose sounds are fading out and a vinyl needle that slides to the edges and therefore stops playing the beautiful music. I think the subtle images of the vinyl on the video help to imagine this connection.
How long was the shooting process for your music video to "Fleeting Light"? What was the shooting process like?
It involved a bit of preparation in advance like selecting all the projection clips however the shooting process was done in one day at Raphael Neal’s studio in Crystal Palace, London. He is very organized, very creative, and very professional at the same time so that made all things work smoothly! We were also lucky to be assisted by Oliver Pashley which gave us some extra hands. We tried out different sets: projections, forest setting, lake set, white lights set. And it was just about singing the song over and over in the different sets - and also in different costumes -, maybe for a total of 5 hours! I remember ending up very exhausted but it was very fun. I really have a good time being in front of the camera, I would love to do this more often! I love combining music with other art forms to give it the maximum expression and I really enjoy ‘acting’ my songs.
Seeing as your music video for "Fleeting Light" was directed by Raphael Neal, what sort of direction was given during the shoot to maximize your performance?
The main instruction for the lip-synch was to actually sing for real! Raphael said it makes a big difference if you are actually not singing. I followed his direction although not belting my full voice all the time! Then he is very creative with the sets and their lighting and effects: he creates a nice forest with a few fake trees on stools or a lake with some water spilled on a mirror and water lilies. We involved lights with gels, a smoke machine, wind effects with a fan… He gave me directions to adjust my position or looks but he also gave me the freedom to act from my own intuition. He is very good at telling you when something looks very good and that helps. He was also directing Oliver for when to press the smoke machine or activate the fan! I would say we were a very effective team of 3.
We've heard that your music tends to surround themes that question society's values. What sort of messages and concepts do you plant in your songs for listeners to take away?
I want my music to be a poetic chant to life and nature, depicting an urgent hope for us, humanity, to take action over climate change and to fight all sorts of inequalities: class, ethnicity, gender… I would love that my music helps us connect with each other and makes us feel part of a whole. I would like my music to contribute to healing humanity and the Earth. And this is aiming for a lot! But I think we all play our little part of it with what we do in our lives, with our daily choices, with our daily attitude towards ourselves and others, with our dreams.
What has been keeping you inspired this year?
I feel this urge within myself to send my message out to the world, to share my music as a part of my soul that can be of benefit to others. I feel this is the time for me to do this now, I feel prepared and ready. Even with the dramatic situation, we have lived in this year I think it is more needed than ever that we all go inner and deeper and become true to ourselves. In a way, for me, it has been an opportunity and an impulse to be brave enough to just be who I am and dedicate my life to what makes me feel good. I believe if we do what makes us feel good that will make others feel good: it’s a healing chain that I feel is needed.