Convincing a Japanese biker gang and giant robots to be in a music video can be pretty difficult, especially after flying into Tokyo at 6am and starting to shoot immediately, but thats exactly what Charli XCX and director Ryan Andrews did for their latest video, "SuperLove." The colorful video has a lighthearted and fun vibe, but it turns out the production was actually pretty hectic. We talked to Charli and Ryan about shooting the video in Tokyo, casting robots and bikers, and how the videos from Charlis new album will compare to their previous collaborations.
Doug: How did it turn out that you guys would shoot this video in Tokyo?
Charli: As soon as I recorded "Superlove," around a year ago - I knew as soon as I finished it that we HAD to shoot the video in Japan. Ryan and I had always wanted to shoot something out there, and I'd never been to Tokyo before but I just knew it would be perfect.
Ryan: We actually had been working on a different pitch. Then I was watching Akira and thought, "Fuck it would be Amazing to shoot Charli with a biker gang."
Doug: This video has a bit of a spontaneous feel to it, like you guys were also exploring Tokyo while making parts of this video. Was there a lot of spontaneity in the production process of this video?
Ryan: Yes, Tokyo is a pretty hard place to shoot and we had no permits so we had were we wanted to shoot, then we went guerrilla style. The street shots where in the sex district and it can get a little ropey down there.
Charli: Oh my god yes. It was crazy. I got of the plane at 4am and we started shooting at 6am and just kept going for like 24 hours. It was intense. Even though we'd found the robot bar and we'd been speaking to the biker gang before hand, everything was all on the edge - things could have fallen through at any minute. It was exciting but kind of crazy.
Doug: A lot of times your videos are inspired by other films or things from the internet. Was there something specific that this video was inspired by?
Charli: I was definitely Akira and also for me just the colour red. I'm feeling really inspired by that colour right now. All of the songs I'm writing for the second record sound red to me.
Doug: How did the robots and the biker gang work out? You mentioned you guys were on edge about them both.
Charli: Ryan and the fixers sorted everything out. It was all very sketchy and last minute, particularly with the bikers. We were told they might not even show up for the shoot if they didn't feel like it on the day. They are considered outcasts in some ways and always do what they want... But luckily they came and try we're incredible. So real and so nice with killer bikes!
Ryan: Yeah is was super tricky. No one would set me up at first and every one said the bikers were like trying to shoot with gangsters. I thought it was going to fall through so many times. I approached the Robot Resturant and they loved the "YOU HAHAHA" video and where super up for it.
Doug: This is the first video off of Charli's upcoming album. Are you guys looking to establish some new themes in the videos for this album, or to build on some of the themes you established on the videos from True Romance?
Charli: It's new. The colour red will be a running theme definitely. And there will be fewer videos than before, and they will be much less inspired by Internet culture and whole idea of cut and pasting your own life. The videos from this record will move away from the whole idea of the tumblr generation and will be embracing the idea of complete femininity, passion, anger, exhilaration, and rawness.
Ryan: For me it's now about establishing a high quality product and using the skills I've learnt to make killer vid's. I really want to push Charli right up in the fore front with her performance as she's really on point now. She a power house.
