Blue Tiger – Eta Carinae (Video Premiere)

Watch the video for Eta Carinae by Edinburgh-based musician Blue Tiger

Video by Tallah Brash | 11 Nov 2020

Edinburgh-based Peruvian-born Mario Cruzado – who you may know from fronting the sludge-rock band Plastic Animals – releases his debut EP as Blue Tiger, Artifice, on 27 November. The EP is the latest release to come from the DIY indie label, OK PAL Records, run by Faith Eliott and Hailey Beavis.

This Friday (13 Nov), Blue Tiger releases the first single from the EP, Eta Carinae, and we're delighted to be bringing you a first listen of the track. As well as being a musician, Cruzado studied film and works as a videographer, so not only is this a first listen but a first look too, as the single comes accompanied by a stunning video, edited by Cruzado, shot by Eliott and directed by Beavis. Teamwork makes the dream work. Yes, we just wrote that.

You can read more about the EP in our monthly new music column here, but for now, enjoy the warm hug of Cruzado's beautiful rich voice as you watch the music video for Eta Carinae in the above YouTube player (click here if it’s not displaying correctly).

“I saw pictures of the Frank Bruce sculpture trail near Kingussie," Cruzado tells us of the video's inspiration. "The sculptures vary in sizes and are all carved in wood, left for nature to take over. The sculptures have a sort of supernatural, totemic thing about them and I liked the idea of a pilgrimage, a voice or a vision that leads you somewhere. I wanted the video to have a slightly weird edge to it.

"Another aspect was the physical change of the character in the video." Cruzado continues: "I decided to wear blind contact lenses as [a] very ‘on the nose’ symbol for someone who is a bit lost. What developed during the shoot, that I wasn’t expecting, was this emotional connection to them since my father was blind from the age I was three or so. It gave me the opportunity to feel the way he felt. I thought of him a lot while filming." 

Of the filming process, Cruzado adds: “Hailey Beavis and Faith Eliott were essential to the making of the video. While Faith took charge of the camera, Hailey helped with directing and the production side of things. A dream team! I film for a living and letting control go of the practical side of things was really enjoyable for me. We saw a red squirrel, a supposedly incredibly hallucinogenic mushroom (seen in the video) and it was great to walk about in the woods at night. We had fish and chips for our tea and the drive there was a dream. Britney Spears’ best of soundtracked the scenery."


Eta Carinae is out on 13 Nov; Artifice is released on 27 Nov via OK PAL Records

facebook.com/bluetigerrr
bluetigermusic.bandcamp.com