We’re just a few days out from the release of Ivy Flindt’s new Sphynx EP, the Hamburg art-pop duo’s first release since their 2018 debut album. And while their “Neighborhoods” performance of the pre-release single “Welcome to L.A.” speaks for itself in setting the scene for that release, the sense of purpose in finding the right filming location may do more to express the level of intention Cate Martin and Micha Holland maintained through every step of the project’s recording process. “When we started looking for a location, we imagined something visually spectacular: a Hamburg rooftop overlooking the harbor and the Elbphilharmonie—sunset, pastels, all in,” the duo shares.
Yet in the same way Sphynx doesn’t adhere to generic pop convention, the performance video they filmed feels distinctly personal rather than particularly glossy. Set up in front of a gently swaying corn field largely eclipsing whatever view may loom behind it, the band itself becomes the focal point. “Somehow what started as asking a friend of a friend for a favor turned into them wanting a lot of money, and that just didn’t feel right. It made us realize that perhaps a more impressive place is one where you feel welcome, invited, and safe enough to open up and let go. That was also the thinking behind recording our EP in our own home studio, with Danton Supple flying in from London. This is where Cate wrote the songs, where Micha developed the first arrangements and demos, and where we recorded them together.
“So we continued that thread and filmed just outside the studio,” they conclude, “in our garden near Hamburg in Northern Germany, with our neighbors’ cornfield behind us. We really like the choice we made, both for the outcome and for what brought us to it in the first place. We hope you enjoy it, too. In the end, the location says much more about the songs, and about us, than the rooftop ever could.”
Check out their performance of “Welcome to L.A.” below, and pre-order Sphinx ahead of its November 13 release here.
