Luigi Calabrese Captures the Raw Energy of Anna Calvi and Iggy Pop in ‘God’s Lonely Man’
The Corner Shop director Luigi Calabrese recently had the exciting opportunity to team up with singer/songwriter Anna Calvi and punk rock royalty Iggy Pop for the new music video ‘God’s Lonely Man’. The new track features on Anna Calvi’s new EP ‘Is This All There Is?’ which was released on the 20th of February. Luigi captures the raw energy of the music matching striking visuals with the rock n roll tempo that comes together to create something kinetic and provocative.
Luigi discusses the creative process of working on the music video and what it was like for him to get to work with two incredible artists.
Q> Were you a fan of Iggy Pop and Anna Calvi's music before working with them?
Luigi> This was my first time working with Anna Calvi, but from the get-go we were very much aligned in terms of creativity, and she was awesome in how she let me run with it. We didn’t have a lot of time either - from our first call in LA to me flying to Miami, the whole thing came together and was in the can in five days.
As for Iggy Pop, this was a big one for me. His music has been such a great part of my life since I was in my early teens. My mom was always cool and let us watch a bunch of things that I think nowadays would raise the hairs on most parents’ necks. I was about twelve when I first saw Trainspotting, and from that day on Iggy Pop and Underworld became part of my teenage identity, with “Lust for Life” and “Born Slippy.”
Q> Iggy Pop is a punk icon who has an almost mythic element to him, how do you try to capture that on film?
Luigi> There are things that he does very naturally in terms of movement. We can call those his signatures. In my mind, I imagined him almost like this preacher of rock and roll, giving a baptism in the light. By taking that idea, and knowing how he moves, I imagined what kind of elements would come forth in presenting that. You always try to prepare for something, but I think it’s important to allow the talent to express themselves naturally, especially someone as legendary as him.
Q> The production had a quick turnaround so how do you prep?
Luigi> That’s a tough one to answer because you really have to be surrounded by great people and let them do their jobs. You can only communicate what you want to achieve and allow your team to take ownership. Also, lots of prayer and stomach acid medicine. I was blessed to have a great team, and we pulled it off. But that’s also the case with music videos in general - the people who do it are in it because we can push for creativity and experimentation. The trade-off is you don’t always have the same resources or time as you would on other projects. It’s a great exercise in thinking on your feet.
Q> What's it like directing musicians compared to trained actors and on set do you get much time to improvise?
Luigi> Everyone is so different, and being a director, a lot of the time, is about finding common ground with the human being in front of you. I try not to think of people as roles on a project and instead focus on them as human beings. I feel that through genuine connection and conversation, we can artistically reach a goal together that otherwise wouldn’t be achieved by me just saying, “Walk here, do this.” Of course, you always have to frame a scene in someone’s mind, especially with actors, but musicians feel their music, and it brings them to life. So steering specific emotions sonically, I guess, would be the main difference.
For more information about directors at the The Corner Shop, please contact
tanya@thecornershop.tv or heather@thecornershop.tv
