Wiley from Atlanta; #FilmClub

Jan 08, 2020 |

Recently , we sat down with #Atlanta born and raised talent , @wileyatl .

Wiley came across our attention with his beautiful soothing piece of work named , "Blood Orange" , that sound about right ? great mind think alike.

when we took a step back , blood orange nearly felt like a film in its own. 👀 it was only right to approach Wiley , get to know him and see what he was about. Surly enough, the lad loves film likewise.

wiley photographed in our film club jumper and bridge badge hoodie.

Lucid: does film inspire your work? If so, in which aspect? Music , visuals , artwork or all of those?

Wiley: "Film is a huge part of who I am as an artist. I draw a lot of inspiration from films when writing songs or video concepts, while recording my album there were a lot of movies we’d play for inspiration." Wiley went on to say it's not nessicarily new films he finds inspiration in... "I really liked the new Tarantino movie. The best movie I watched this year was “La Haine”, but it came out in 95."

Lucid: When creating a new track, do you focus on songwriting? Are there ever any motion pictures involved in your daily life or artistic creations?

Wiley: Whenever I’m working on a new song, I usually try to free write whatever I’m thinking of as it fits with the production I’m listening to. But there are some songs that draw direct inspiration from films, even lyrically. My song Vienna was written and recorded while watching Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, and I think the tone and visual mood of that film had a huge impact on the way the song was written.

wiley photographed in our film club jumper, club lounge pant, and sport socks.

Lucid: recently , we came across your song Blood Orange. This song reminds us of a specific film genre , Italian horror films. Films of that nature often include passionate love , violence, blood , and mystery. In blood Orange specifically, the song writing is a Manifestation of your emotions. Is that right? Tell us more? Do you ever write about emotions that you maybe feel in a different life or in dreams?

Wiley: Blood Orange is kind of an accumulation of ideas I’ve had over the years. I like to think that it represents my experience with love and relationships, and condenses a lot of the themes of heartbreak and betrayal that I’ve implemented before into one song. The song is definitely meant to represent emotions more than literal feelings or actions, but I’ll leave it up to the listener to determine what it’s about. Whenever I write a song, I like to picture a scene in my mind. Something visual that grounds the song in real feelings; if I can picture a scene or a moment while writing it hopefully that will translate for the listener.

Lucid: are there any film or cinematography in your journey of creation with blood orange ?

Wiley: Blood Orange and the blood orange video are probably most inspired by Romeo + Juliet, in the most dramatic sense. I grew up watching the Baz Luhrmann rendition of that story and I had the soundtrack on CD. I think it’s a powerful take on the Shakespeare play, but more so the design and style of the film had a significant impact on me as a kid.