“Zach and I spoke on the phone and I asked him: ‘Zach, who is singing the song?’ and he said ‘a safari hunter’. That’s how it started.” – Alma Har’el

We were right! Sexy AND Foreign is the way that Zach Condon (aka: Beirut) and Alma Har’el took us, and good god are we glad they did! Lucky (again) for you that we worked our magic and actually snagged Mrs. Har’el for a bit and delved into her head in order to find out the on-goings both inside and outside of the frame. The interview we danced away with is in-depth (we don’t fuck around here) so we split it up for your benefit and will bring forth the second part next week. In the meantime, take the weekend to study up on the video a few times, show the kids, read the interview and get ready for round two where we discuss getting in the mood, mixing work and play at the beach, and underage drinking? The plot thickens…

SRO: How did you come to work with Zach? Were you a fan of his music and approach him? Or did he approach you?

Alma: I just finished a music video with Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders and was looking for my next video. I heard a few tracks and didn’t know what to do with them, so I decided to look for music that had some Eastern European influences or interesting instrumentation. I love hearing the essence and the spirit of the old world mixed into something new; I’m Jewish and Polish and grew up in Israel where music has very strange roots from all around the world, and I felt like I wanted to connect to something in that world again.

I saw Zach’s CD in Amoeba records and listened to it on the way back home and played it every day all day for a week, so I decided to try and find him. It wasn’t too hard ’cause “Myspace“ was a keyboard away— so I just emailed him and his manager and offered to meet and do something together.

Once I met Ben I knew it would all work out— I just loved him instantly, he cares so much about the artists he works with and their music. It was agreed by both Zach and I that we didn’t want to try and pretend that we were from a Gypsy Village in Romania, we wanted to borrow the romanticism and spirit, but bring it home to who we are. Then we just started working.

SRO: What inspirations helped you design and create the shoot for ‘Elephant’?

Alma: After meeting with Ben in NY, I went to Israel and stayed in my mother’s house for 2 weeks; I listened to the song late at night and dreamt what it would look like. I knew it would have a dance scene, but that the dancers would be tipsy and a little drunk— it’s that feeling at the end of the night when you feel you have a lot in common with everybody who’s in the room, whether you know them or not. Then Zach and I spoke on the phone about it and I asked him: “Zach, who is singing the song?” and he said – “a safari hunter”. That’s how it started.

It went through a few changes— In the beginning I wanted to shoot in a bar; then I decided on the space covered with old maps of the world, and I really got a handle on how I wanted it to look. The color palette was all coming from that and from Mucha paintings. The maps were a huge operation, getting them was the hardest thing and then the night before the shoot we were still taping maps to the walls. My husband and all my friends just surprised me and showed up in their pajamas, they sent me to bed and finished it. I came in the morning and I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. There was a map there of every place in the world— including the stars!

For the dance I watched a lot of Bob Fosse films— they’re still the best reference for me. JoAnn Jansen was the main choreographer, she’s an incredibly talented woman. She did the choreography for a dozen movies in Hollywood in the past few years, and worked on films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights… she can do everything.

SRO: What type of equipment did you use? Cameras, programs, etc to complete the video?

Alma: We shot it on HD with a steadycam and a jib and did the post on with Ghost Town Media, they’re very cool. Andrew Shulkind did a great job as the DP, he was fast and allowed us to work in the whole room without having to change lighting set ups all the time.

SRO: What’s one thing (or all) you’d like the audience to take from your work on ‘Elephant’?

Alma: I want them to feel the spirit of the dancers who worked on this, the harmony of their natures with Zach’s music. I hope they can feel the beauty and the sadness of Zach’s trumpet. I hope they have the nose for it.

SRO: What type of music/bands are you into presently?

Alma: I’m currently listening to the new CD by my best friend from Israel, Rona Kenan. Her new CD is the #1 selling record over there, and you can listen to her on her Myspace. She’s a troubled, romantic soul, with a beautiful, confident voice and a fragile heart. She sings in English too, and I wish she would move here and start making records in the US, so if you know anybody that can help with that, send them my way.

High Quality: 51 MB

iPod Compatible: 53 MB

High Resolution: Via Alma Harel

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