Photo by Omari Spears
Using art to shine a light on the reality of specific medical and physiological conditions can be a tricky endeavor; artists with this goal in mind have to consider the most effective and accurate method of conveying their experience in an approachable, engaging, and accessible way. Ultimately, when pulled off successfully, the results are fascinating lenses through which we can better understand the experiences and conditions of others, as well as ourselves.
That’s the goal Kira McSpice had her sights on when she wrote and developed the visual concept for “Scotoma” with animator and collaborator Ryan Dight. The video creatively simulates the experience of a scintillating scotoma, a type of visual phenomenon that often precedes a migraine headache. McSpice and Dight cleverly depict this in the video. The set – a DIY effort by McSpice – depicts a dark, almost mystical forest space. The singer gradually establishes her presence in the video, surrounded by eerie looking foliage and hypnotic synthesizers. Over time, the viewer starts to notice a strange, ghostly swirl take effect in the frame of the video, swirling its way around the singer. This wisp is the representation of the scotoma, a blurring effect in the center of the field of vision.
On the choice to depict this aural phenomenon, McSpice says, “When I learned about the scotoma I thought it would be really cool to make a video where one grew over me while I performed the song. I knew [Ryan] was the right person for the job. I think he executed it perfectly, I love how it distorts the image like in a real scotoma.”
Beyond that, the set decoration from McSpice is detailed and engaging; plus she got to use one of her other talents: her green thumb. “I have worked as a florist for the past few years and I have a passion for dried flowers. I collect them and every once in a while I get inspired to do a big project with them. This video gave me a great excuse to build something cool. I wanted it to feel like I was performing the song in the middle of a creepy dead forest.”
Performing in NYC; Photo by Kit Castagne
Kira McSpice has released a slew of material over the last year and change, a culmination of her nearly lifelong study of music. “I was formally trained on the cello from the age of 3, playing in symphonies and solo cello recitals,” she explains as she gets into her musical background. “I started singing and writing songs in high school and eventually auditioned at Berklee on cello. That’s what brought me to Boston where I started playing in an ambient folk band called Neck. Shortly after that I got the idea for the migraine series, left Berklee and started working on the 4 albums.” Specializing in slow-building, emotionally affecting ambient, she cites locals wiles as an influence on her current artistic output.
“Scotoma” comes from McSpice’s latest release, the EP Aura, which came out earlier this summer. The EP further explores the groundwork laid forth in “Scotoma,” working effectively as a collection of songs about strange visual affectations, obscuration, and detecting energy via sight. Each song has received a music video at this point. “This is the fifth and final video for this record,” McSpice says. “Since Aura is the visual phase of the migraine I decided that every song should have a video connected to it. This effected how I wrote and recorded Aura with the help of Will Ponturo, us both being conscious of the visual concept and how the songs had to be short to fit in with their respective videos.”
Watch the video for “Scotoma” below and stream Aura via Bandcamp.