(Emily’s Version) Dearly Departed by Marianas Trench
Project Backstory
A question I ask people a lot is "what is your song mood of the day?'. This question means what is a song that captures how you are feeling currently or describes your state of mind. We often hold music dearly to a personal state that we hide sharing with others. I took the opportunity to be vulnerable with people and ask them about a song they connect with on a deeper level. Taking inspiration from sharing music with others to truly reflect on how music connects us to different flashbacks of life and emotions we hold dear. Thinking about a song that brings you back to the days of high school singing in the car with friends. Thinking about a song that reminds you of an old love and how it made you feel. Thinking of a song that brings you back to a darker place that you can't listen to anymore because of the pain. Music reminds us of all the high and low moments of life.
Whatever it may be, I hope to discover those stories underneath these songs that are connected to the listener. This is the first part of a photo series discovering people’s personal connection to music. Collaborating with the model to find what emotions, visuals and stories are evoked by their song of choice.
To start this series let me introduce you to Emily. We started this collaboration thinking about the song Dearly Departed by Marainas Trench.
Why did you pick this song for the photoshoot?
Emily: I chose this song because I’ve always been touched by its story, and finding myself relating to parts of it post-break up. The song is about breaking off a marriage. The lyrics show appreciation for a meaningful relationship, the tone is light-hearted for such a difficult situation, and ends with saying goodbye as friends. It is by one of my favorite bands I’ve loved since middle school.
What was it like to break up and let go of someone when you're still in love?
Emily: It was pretty difficult. I looked for every reason not to. It took time to come to terms with, but I knew it was the right decision. I’m grateful to have shared a similar yet amicable break up to the one reflected in the song.
What is something you would tell your younger self ?
Emily: Not advice, but a thought-provoking question: What do you want to make constant in your life?
The visuals for this shoot were created by setting a pink dim lighting.
We created a dreamy room where Emily makes a breakup phone call.
letting music guide the way in the new photo series. We took inspiration from Mrs. Hannigan's dressing room from 1982 "Annie" with her layers of pearls, perfume and aesthetic messy room when creating the space. We pulled props such as old photos of couples, poems, pink dial phone, handwritten song lyrics and created a wedding bouquet with complementing colors.
The outfit was Emily’s mother’s wedding dress which added an extra layer of meaning to this series. When planning this shoot Emily and I paid extra close attention to detail to find accessories to fit the aesthetic such as pearl lace socks, a pearl silver choker necklace. These accessories added to the overall edgy moody break up vibe.
Overall from this series I discovered how songs can capture such strong emotions. Music heals the soul they say and sometimes it can put into words what we can’t describe even in the most difficult times of a breakup.
*****Behind the scenes ****
