Abbe May has just released ‘Perth Girls’ the third single from her acclaimed album ‘Kiss My Apocalypse’ album, bring the song to life is an eye catching video that features Robert Palmer’s old dancing girls. Along side she’s also just been nominated as best female talent at the ARIAs.
Abbe and OUTinPerth Editor Graeme Watson chatted ahead of the video’s release as Abbe relaxed on a Banana Lounge.
GW: I was reading a news report that described you as ‘underground Abbe May’ and I just thought, “how long do you have to be underground for!?”
Well yeah, I mean I guess in terms of the popularity of the other acts and the size of the other acts I guess we really are kind of underground. I would like to say that we have a cult following, but a wise person once said to me that thats just a nice way of saying that not many people like you, so….
GW: So I know you’ve been doing stuff with choreographer Claudia Alessi, is there some interpretive movement in this video?
Well, there is in terms of Claudia you know, she interpreted my lyrics and transferred them into a really kind of stylised Robert Palmer choreography, so there is some of the coolest dance moves I’ve ever seen in there!
GW: Tell us about the video
Well we’ve basically done like a ‘Twin Peak’ style of’ Simply Irresistible’. I’ve already wanted to do the Robert Palmer thing with the dancing girls, so director Paul Kommadina and I were like, “Well we need to twist it a bit”, because we’re both such David Lynch fans, and that was about as far as my involvement went. Paul just kind of took it and turned it into this kind of surreal and quite sort of disturbing treatment of a Robert Palmer sleaze fest!
GW: It’s not your only recent nod to the 80’s, why did you record the Motels song ‘Total Control’?
AM: I actually can’t remember the motive, it was about a year ago. It’s one of my favourite songs, I heard it when I was 20 and touring around the back of a truck with some heavy rock and roll boys – it was so much fun! I heard it and remember thinking “Oh my god, imagine being able to sing something like that!” It just changed my head space about what is possible with performance and writing. It’s a really important song for me and last year we wanted to put a cover into our set, and ‘Total Control’ was one for me!
Take a look at Abbe May’s new video for ‘Perth Girls’ on below.
