A Vase

Submission by ____ Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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Dream, a leitmotif, enters the frame within the first seconds of the video, suggesting a thin line between the character’s state of sleep and awakeness. Moving along bedsheets... crossfade and the new scene emerges - the possibly futile attempt to escape - while the sound builds up, evoking anxiety. The distorted sound pierces with high frequencies and builds suspense.

A certain feeling of hope emerges when vocals enter, soon to be shuttered with the appearance of blurry light, which later takes the shape of the car lights. The house in the daylight becomes an additional character, an anchor, which reminds of the real (of before or after the dream occurs). The technical side of shooting on a VHS camera, the combination of footage from day and night, the montage of the short film with crossfades assist in questioning the state of the character.

Tamir Faingold is a filmmaker and photographer from Tel-Aviv. Itzik Gil Avizohar is a multidisciplinary artist and a part of the experimental-noise duo Kashaiof, currently studying towards his Master’s degree in Germany. The video for A Vase, a track from Kashaiof’s debut album Home released on Chondritic Sound, is a collaboration between the two artists. The team also includes Daria Lior Shoshani, an Art and Creative Director; Shira Haimovici, a Producer and a Second Camera; Lisa Molina, a stylist; and Noga Shargai, an actress.

We speak with Tamir and Itzik, long-time friends, to discover more details about the track and the video created as if with the desire to decipher the sound. Itzik describes the sound and atmosphere of the debut album created by him and Eyal Bitton as, “The overall atmosphere is very cinematic. One of the reasons was connected to the process of creating the album, which involved a lot of the Music Concrete approach.” As Tamir shares, “The music of Kashaiof is already cinematic by itself, by its immersive and gripping qualities. Their powerful sound immediately puts the listener in a specific atmosphere that is hard to capture by words.” We speak about their hometown Jerusalem, the pandemic as a mysterious timing for the project, Daria’s house, which served as a location for the shooting, and the climactic scene of Noga running in front of the car.

Directed, Shot, Edited by Tamir Faingold  Produced & Second Camera Shira Haimovici Styling Lisa Molina Art & Creative Direction Daria Lior Shoshani Produced & Additional Editing Itzik Gil Avizohar Staring Noga Shargai

A Vase · Kashaiof Home

℗ 2020 Chondritic Sound Released on: 2020-09-07

Composer & Writer Itzik Avizohar & Eyal Bitton Home - Debut Album All songs composed and performed by Kashaiof (Eyal Bitton & Itzik Gil Avizohar)  All Lyrics by Itzik Gil Avizohar Recorded in Studio Straus 2018  Mixed by Assaf Tager  Mastered by Harel Schreiber

‘As teenagers, we found ourselves spending time together in the same groups and circles of the alternative nightlife & underground culture of Jerusalem: in places such as Uganda record shop and venue’

— Tamir Faingold and Itzik Gil Avizohar

Hi guys, we’re happy to present the video clip shot for the track A Vase from the debut album Home by Kashaiof on our platform. It appears that the creation of the video has been a happy coincidence that brought about this collaboration; starting with Tamir listening to the track and contacting Itzik. What were some initial ideas you discussed for the video clip? 

Tamir & Itzik: We’ve known each other for over a decade, as both of us grew up in Jerusalem: Itzik - a musician, Tamir - a film buff. As teenagers, we found ourselves spending time together in the same groups and circles of the alternative nightlife & underground culture of Jerusalem: in places such as Uganda record shop and venue, which was a strong influence, shaping our taste in music specifically and art in general; and Studio Straus, a venue for extreme music and a tattoo studio in Mea Shearim, an orthodox-Jewish neighborhood. This is also where Kashaiof recorded their music, and both Itzik and Eyal are members of the studio's collective.

Even though both of us are not living in Jerusalem anymore, Tamir is a filmmaker based in Tel Aviv, and Itzik is doing his Master's in Hamburg; we decided to shoot this video there. We truly believe that Jerusalem, our hometown, has an important role in shaping our aesthetic approach in our works both individually and also in this collaboration. This is a unique place that contains so many conflicts and dichotomies; stress and absurdity are resonating everywhere. In the core of the experience of growing up in this city, there is something traumatizing, maybe in a good sense, but this trauma has been part of our works since.

What was the visual story you drew in your mind after hearing the track, Tamir? 

Tamir: As a filmmaker, I always wanted to explore the idea of creating a cinematic experience that follows a feeling or a memory that cannot be said in words. When I first listened to this track, it blew out my mind. The music of Kashaiof is already cinematic by itself, by its immersive and gripping qualities. Their powerful sound immediately puts the listener in a specific atmosphere that is hard to capture by words. This is why I felt like I must try to grasp this unique atmosphere with a video. I found inspiration especially in A Vase, the first track of the album, and thought to myself that this is a great opportunity for collaboration and great timing to create a video-art engaging the home experience in the lockdown situation.

‘Suddenly, almost everyone in the world has spent most of their time inside their homes, inside their own inner spaces, between four walls alongside their familiar furniture and mundane objects in this unfamiliar situation.’

— Itzik Gil Avizohar

The Story —

What was the leading emotion you wanted to transfer from music to the visual story? What is the role of and the purpose behind the actions taken by the faceless, slightly reminiscent of David Lynch’s films, character played by Noga Shargai?

Itzik: The world has its own mysteries, and one of them was the fact that our album, Home, was eventually released a few months after the pandemic’s outbreak. It is so mysterious that it emphasizes the whole conception that Eyal and I were dealing with in the album process - the uncanny. Suddenly, almost everyone in the world has spent most of their time inside their homes, inside their own inner spaces, between four walls alongside their familiar furniture and mundane objects in this unfamiliar situation. Moreover, loneliness is a strong aspect these days. And the fact that many people around the world are feeling the same simultaneously made it very important for us to present those states of mind in the video. Showing this character, played by Noga, who's dealing with her own isolation and loneliness, reflected by her home and objects and the difficulty of distinguishing between the inner and outer space.

Tamir: It was clear to me that I need to maintain this enigmatic atmosphere created by the music as if someone is trying to describe a vague dream. I also was inspired to try and capture the feeling of one’s daydream turning to be a nightmare for a moment. When we were thinking about where to film it, I immediately thought that Daria’s house would perfectly fit. This house is beautiful and magical by the way the windows are facing west to the forest. The house is changing so much during the daylight’s movement and especially in the twilight zone. Daria was the one in charge of the artistic direction since she spent so much time in this home, and she knew exactly how the rays of light are breaking in the window’s glass, creating these reflections, or casting these shadows. It was important for us to idealize this uncanny atmosphere, the way one can create this strange feeling with everyday objects.

The Scene —

One of the most memorable frames is the ending of the video in which the character runs into the darkness. What makes it stand out is the combination of styling, the car lights following the character, the movement of the camera, and the atmosphere created by music. Tell about shooting this scene? How did it come about? 

Tamir: Since the music is already colored by dark shades, I found it tricky to maintain this surreal dreamlike atmosphere without going so easily into the generic horror-movie-like images. When we shot Noga running in the forest, our goal was to achieve a disturbing yet abstract feeling of being haunted, but not necessarily by someone or somewhere specific but more in the sense of anxiety or this rather specific moment when a dream becomes a nightmare. I think this feeling is emphasized by the way Lisa made the styling with her vintage ghost-like dress... Besides that, I remember while shooting the scene with my VHS camera, I felt a bit like a kid again, wandering in the dark forest with my friends, trying to shoot a vampire movie.

The End —

What do you think is the real ending of the video, the one in which we only get a hint of the ending, seeing the car passing by in the darkness of the woods? 

Itzik: The end is the disappearance of the noise into the music.

Home —

‘Home is an album that deals with ideas of the uncanny, alienating feelings we have in our everyday objects. The way we chose to represent the compositions by naming them after different types of furniture was a way for us to examine how the sounds and lyrics are resonating in each one of these objects or the other way around.’

— Itzik Gil Avizohar