Anyone who enjoys alliteration will appreciate Blue Child Collective’s Salt Spray, off Saturn Saw The Seaside. But those who have an ear for blues-jazz-folk-funk, as the Collective tout themselves, will find plenty more entertainment within.
The brainchild of Dan White, Blue Child Collective have now unveiled their latest clip for the blues-tinged Salt Spray.
Filmed in the mountains of Corsica, where their debut album Saturn Saw the Seaside was also recorded, it’s an ethereal visual showing from Blue Child Collective and Her Name is Murder Productions.
A tingling folk hymn about life’s transformative periods, Salt Spray from Blue Child Collective evokes the gentle rhythms and roaring freedom of Australia’s seaside.
A silhouette of White sat in front of the pop shield delicately finger picking his guitar makes for the bulk of the clip, interspersed with frames of Kiwi vocalist Emjay who joins her voice with White’s on Salt Spray.
The track also features contributions from an international group of musicians; including French percussionist Roger Biwandu and Corsican icon and genius producer Jean-Bernard Rongiconi. Lastly mastering engineer Sean Diggins, also from WA, brings his expert touch to the track.
With it’s evocative melody, Salt Spray blends the dual vox across the simple but beautiful instrumentation. There is a folk feel to the acoustic guitar and light touch vocals, but as a cocktail of resounding drum hits pick up the offbeat the track slides into a bluesy, roots style.
Emjay is a whispery counterpoint to White’s baritone, and visually she is a sun-silhouetted, salt-tousled character against White’s shady stone wall setting.
The duo characterise the allusions to light and shadow throughout the song, with frames filmed through rippling water providing the visual link between the clip and the hook of Salt Spray.
Drawing comparisons between the transformative powers of nature and the sometimes surprising evolutions of life’s cyclical changes, there’s a truth to the refrain “Rough transitions tend to leave you in a better position”. And of course the quiet chorus of “salt spray softens my heart”.
Salt Spray moves with an ebb and flow that reflects it’s oceanic bend. Gentle with roots and blues, it’s a beautiful moment from Blue Child Collective. The clip is a glimpse into both the real, and idyllic genesis of Saturn Saw The Seaside as well as the basic nature of the song.
Blue Child Collective are coming to end of their Australian national tour following the launch of the album, but you can still catch them across WA up until late December.
