12 March saw the debut of “Took it to the River”, a brand new music video by Sri Lankan artist Q (aka Francesca Mudannayake). Q’s persona is iconic, from her big hair to her sultry voice. Q has been performing musically since 2017. Took it to the River is the first track of Q’s upcoming debut EP Hysteria.
Q is no stranger to performing. Since starting in 2017, she has performed at several venues such as Botanik and Café Ceylon as well as at events such as Colombo Fashion Week (CFW). Her talent goes far beyond her voice. She is a marketing assistant, model, journalist, researcher for The Arka Initiative, and a co-owner of a bed and breakfast.
Took it to the River is Q’s first music video and is a very special collaboration, with her brother, accomplished film director, writer, and actor Rehan Mudannayake coming on board as director to make this special music video come to life. Rehan is the Founder of Odyssey Film Company and best known for his 2015 short film Elephant, which was about the Colombo elite in Sri Lanka; his 2019 short film DIDI, a story of a young British Indian faced with a momentous decision when reunited with her long-lost sister which made it into the HollyShorts Film Festival; and for his role as Shehan Soysa in Deepa Mehta’s 2020 film adaptation of Syam Selvadurai’s coming-of-age novel Funny Boy.
Brunch caught up with Q and Rehan following the YouTube premiere of Took it to the River.
The story behind ‘Took it to the River’
Like many masterpieces, Took it to The River happened somewhat by chance. “In 2017, I was scrolling through Soundcloud searching for some beats to write to,” Q explained, adding: “And I came across one that was so simple but very smooth and sensual. I instantly felt like I could write to it and that’s how Took it to the River came to be.”
Authenticity is very important to Q, and she strives to be as honest as possible when writing her songs. “I was sorting through the maze of emotions that comes with being in a ‘friends with benefits’ situation,” Q said, adding that this comes into play in the song itself. “This song deals with duality – how do you assert control when you feel like you’re losing it; how do you maintain boundaries when you’re feeling vulnerable? With the help of Dinuka Jayasooriya, its producer, Took it to the River has turned into something I’m so proud of.”
Bringing the video to life
To make the video for Took it to the River, Q first sent the song to her brother Rehan in November last year. “Luckily he wanted to take it on, so the initial meeting was sorting out what the feel of the video would be and what references we could look at,” Q shared, adding: “This was the first time both of us were doing a music video so it was important to get it right. We immediately began visiting and photographing different locations for the video. After some meetings, we did a location recce with the whole crew and narrowed down which specific shots we would do before finalising costumes, props, and choreography. The entire crew did a lot of advanced preparation to make sure everything ran smoothly on the day and truly, I’m so in awe of all their hard work and how much they pushed to make this a good video.”
Like with all productions, the people you work with are key and Q was excited to have an amazing team come together to work on the video, extending the most heartfelt thanks to her Cinematographer Hasitha Warnasooriya, Producer Nuwan Attanayake, Production Designer Sanora Rodrigo, and Stylist Deeandra Bulner.
Rehan shared that when he began working on the video for Took it to the River, he envisioned serene, leisurely paced visuals set in an array of different environments, with Q at the epicentre of each frame. “I selected the 4:3 aspect ratio – which already seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance – for its classical look, quite early on in the process. I’m in love with the ratio’s ability to enhance subjects by drawing the eyeliner to the centre of the image (see: every film by Satyajit Ray), and I figured it would magnify Q’s solo performance. Rectilinear compositions, long takes, and slow dolly-ins were adopted to enhance the song’s soothing vocal tones and intimate feel.”
With the settings in Took it to the River being quite artistic, Rehan shared that there were notes of post-Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau, who Rehan described as possibly his single biggest artistic inspiration. Other points of inspiration Rehan drew from when conceptualising the video included Solange, Toro Y Moi, and Ducktails, and Kahlil Joseph provided music video inspiration. Satyajit Ray, Wes Anderson, and Jean-Luc Godard were my cinematic inspirations. Architecturally, Le Corbusier and photographically, August Sander.
Location was also very important to Rehan. “We spent over a month prepping the video, location scouting in Colombo. One of our primary objectives was selecting underutilised locations people wouldn’t recognise. There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a video set in Colombo and spotting the Rio Hotel in there…,” Rehan said, adding: “We then visited each selected location about four to five times – before the actual shoot – with our primary crew members so that everyone was on the same wavelength and ready to rock and roll come shoot day.”
When asked to describe the Took it to the River’s final concept and execution, he had just three words to say: “Mean, moody, and meticulous!”
Collaborating with your sibling: A meeting of the minds or a battle royale?
Speaking on the collaborative process between the two, Rehan (the older sibling, clearly), shared cheekily: “It was great – I got to order her around loads,” he said before going on to explain that jokes aside, in his and Q’s case, collaborating was smooth sailing, saying: “Creatively and instinctively we’re on the same wavelength; when something didn’t feel right we could both sense it. When we disagreed, we compromised. Moreover, this was actually our second collaboration – the first being on my short The Red Mustang – so Q was already familiar with my crew family and style of working. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to work and I continuously pushed her to do the best she could. We both wanted this video to be something we could feel proud of.”
Q shared that to her it felt natural working on the music video as she had never seen music and film as separate entities, and merging the two was instinctive. On working with her brother on a creative project of this nature, Q related: “Working with a sibling can be difficult as there’s stuff you will disagree on so it’s hard not to take it personally. But in that moment, you are working as an artist and director so it’s a case of compromising and working through it. We both offered each other input. For instance, when I was choreographing the piece, he would give advice on how to polish and adapt it into what he had in mind. Furthermore, he pushed me to give the best performance that I could so that the feel of the song really came across. Conversely, he would get my thoughts on what shots I particularly wanted to do or what props/designs might work.”
Took it to the River was shot over the course of a single day and speaking on the challenges of filming Took it to the River and the challenges behind the process, for Q, it was more about keeping all the moving parts to the production like choreography, production design, multiple locations, several costume changes in place, and balancing resources and time. “We had to film it all in one day and certain locations could only be shot in daylight so it was a bit of a race to get everything done,” Q said. “Added to this, for the best part of two months I feel like I went to sleep and woke with budget sheets and costs on my mind – this was an entirely self-financed production so it was quite stressful but it paid off.”
Rehan too spoke about the challenges of shooting the whole video in a day saying: “Completing 10 set-ups at four locations in 18 hours was our biggest challenge. Honestly, though, it was a lot of fun.”
The proof is in the pudding
In the week since Took it to the River has debuted, Q shared that the response has been overwhelming. “I honestly didn’t have high expectations because I’m a new artist and this was my first music video,” Q shared, adding: “But GOSH! People have sent in some beautiful messages, comments – even videos of them enjoying the song. In the wider context, it’s not that big of a deal but personally, I feel elated that people are engaging with it.”
The next step for Q is the release of her EP, featuring Took it to the River, which comes out on 5 April. “I’m looking forward to seeing how people interact with the overall project,” Q said of the impending release, before sharing a snippet of the future. “I’ve also started working on the next music video which will hopefully be out in the next couple of months.”
