Talltale Hates The "Tennis Club"
- BUZZ LA
- Nov 17, 2021
- 4 min read
Canadian singer-songwriter and pop recording artist Talltale releases a humorous music video surrounding a not-so-funny topic entitled "Tennis Club."
Having generated over 330k streams as an independent artist, Talltale is known as one of Canada's most promising songwriters. Her clever lyricism, rhythmic melodies, and distinct vocals have won her Best Electronic Song of 2018 in the Canadian Songwriting Competition, Artist to Watch at the EMAs, and a nomination as Electronic/DanceArtist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards.
Now releasing her shimmering and glimmering single, "Tennis Club," Talltale shares an emotional and heartbreaking message while attempting to distract herself in many different ways. "There are a lot of sad and serious songs written about this topic, so I thought it would be fun to do a more humorous take on it and write about joining a tennis club to get over the break-up," said Talltale.
Taking a peek at the music video for "Tennis Club," the venture begins with amusing scenes of athletes getting ready for an intense tennis match while letting their hair blow in the wind and pouring water on their faces in a sexual yet humorous way. As Talltale makes her hesitant appearance, she says, "the only games I play are not on the court."
She then proceeds to get pelted with tennis balls in hilarious slow-motion shots, only for her to return at night alone to practice and get better. With lyrics like "I hate this tennis club, but I'm here every night working so hard," Talltale makes it clear that she's willing to do just about anything to get herself out of heartbreak and onto the right track...or court.
Catch Talltale's conceptual and comedic music video, "Tennis Club," on YouTube.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Talltale. We're thoroughly impressed with the hilarious yet relatable concept of your music video for "Tennis Club." What inspired you to create a funny music video surrounding a more serious topic?
Hey, thanks so much! I really wanted the song to be fun and not take itself too seriously, so it only felt fitting that the video would be the same way! My personal internal dialogue is very melodramatic, and while I listen to those emotions and see them as valid, I also think it’s important to laugh at myself sometimes, and I hope that the song and video can capture that dichotomy.
Did you work alongside any videographers or directors on set for "Tennis Club?” What was your shooting process like with your team?
I actually direct, shoot and edit my music videos! Music and video have been my two favorite things for as long as I can remember, so it always felt natural to do my own music videos. But of course, shooting scenes with myself in them is quite tricky, so my friend Bailey Sutton is the absolute best and is always on board to help me with shoots. She’s gotten used to my scattered and odd style of explaining things and is always there to help me figure out the logistics of some of my crazier ideas. I’m so grateful for her. I’m used to working on a team of just me and her, or sometimes a third person, so this shoot was extra fun since a few of my friends were happy to volunteer their time to play the roles of the guys in the tennis club!
Regarding the song itself, did you work alongside any producers or musicians to help bring "Tennis Club" to life? What was the behind-the-scenes process like?
I did! Mike Bilenki is a writer/producer out of Toronto, and he reached out to me after hearing one of my songs on a playlist. We did a Zoom write together and wrote the track and lyrics to Tennis Club! I wouldn’t have been able to write this one with anyone else, Mike shares my love of cheesy 80s pop music and totally got the vibe I was going for. Then Laurel Clouston helped me finish up the melodies, and my usual producer, Father Bobby Townsend, polished up the production and mixed it. Joel Jeschke added some killer live drums to the track to liven it up, and then we had a finished song! Usually, I do my songs in a short period of time with just me and Father Bobby, but this was one that really benefitted from having a lot of super talented folks on it.
What do you hope your audience takes away after watching your comedic yet relatable music video for "Tennis Club?”
Break-ups suck, and I think we all do some things to get over people that we can later look back on and find funny. I hope that if they’re going through a break-up, they can feel seen while also being able to see some of the humor in the situation. And to remind them to do things for themselves! In my headcanon, my music video self goes on to take tennis really seriously and becomes a tennis champ, and that would never have happened if not for the break-up.
