amnita underwater
[Photo via YouTube]

Amnita show environmental awareness themes in new video “Underwater”

Ottawa, Ontario indie outfit Amnita crafted their first-ever music video with stunning oceanside views and lush green backdrops for “Underwater,” exclusively premiering on AltPress. 

Last summer, the group underwent a name change and began a new chapter in their music endeavors. “Underwater” serves as the follow-up to 2020 singles “Tell Me I’m Okay” featuring Laeland and Woven In Hiatus and “Break You,” setting the stage for a new era. 

Read more: This ‘Riverdale’ star just revealed the brutally honest reason he left the show

AltPress got to chat with the band about their debut music video, how they’re staying sane in quarantine and what listeners can expect next. Check out the full interview and watch the scenic “Underwater” video below.

Your music video is visually stunning and even a little funny right at the beginning. Where did you generate the ideas to create this music video?

We were on tour last spring, and we ended up spending the night in a rehearsal space in Long Island, New York. We were there to sleep, but obviously, when you put a band in a jam space, they’re going to jam. We picked up guitars, and this song eventually started to flow out pretty naturally. I think being near the coast was having a pretty large influence on our writing, so when I started to flesh out the “underwater” lyrical concept, we began to have all these visual aesthetic ideas for a potential music video. The day after, we visited Jones Beach, which I think sealed the deal for establishing the atmosphere of the track. Our director JJ Sorenson then brought our vision to life. 

What life experiences, if any, helped inspire the lyrics to the track? What do you hope listeners take away from this album?

During this time, there was pretty substantial flooding in and around our home region of Ottawa, Ontario. I think we were feeling the weight of some of our favorite places in the city, places we consider home, being washed away. It was a tension that we were all feeling and talked about, even the day we left for that tour. I think the feeling of really missing something or someone that you can’t have back combined with the overwhelming presence of water was the lyrical driving force for this song.

Read more: twenty one pilots added another major achievement with ‘Trench’

This marks your first official music video. You’re already off to a great start. What other messages do you hope to share in future projects?

I think we’re a band that draw inspiration from our environment, whatever that may be. We’re very much inspired by the world around us, and that comes paired with a deep concern for said world. We don’t ever really have a specific agenda with our art, but I do hope that we can convey messages of environmental awareness or even just a sense of togetherness. Music has always been one of the only things that has made me feel like I wasn’t alone in what I was experiencing and feeling, so I hope we can do that for others. 

How has your music changed and grown since your early teens when you started playing music? What direction do you hope to go in the future? 

When we first started making music, there were no expectations or goals. We just did it because that’s what we’d always done. After we recorded our first-ever EP as a band, we let our expectations get to us, and we lost some of our spontaneity that made our early music special. When we rebranded, we took that as an opportunity to continue the natural spark that propelled our creative identity from the very start. It’s a fine line to walk: “What music do we want to be making versus what do people want to hear?” I think we’ve learned that staying unconditionally true to ourselves is above all. All we can hope for in the future is to home in on our innate vision as much as we possibly can. 

How are you staying occupied during this crazy time in the world? What can listeners expect throughout the rest of 2020?

Being away from each other is definitely a hindrance, but it’s also easy to see the silver lining even through such a tragic time. Having to work and communicate solely through a screen has sparked new ideas and concepts that probably would not have been thought up otherwise. For instance, we made an alternate version of our song “Control” where everyone recorded their parts from their respective quarantine locations. Prior to that, we were fortunate enough to have spent the whole month of March together isolated in an Airbnb rented cabin to focus on a body of work. I personally think that some of our best and most genuine art was created during this time, and I think we’re all very excited for the world to hear it. 

How do you plan to continue connecting with fans if touring, shows, meet and greets, etc. remain suspended?

Online interaction is more important than ever right now. We’ve been hashing out a plan for our social media engagement that consists of more regular posting, stories and livestreams. We’re working on new ways of making content for our followers to try our best to fill the hole that shows have left. We’re eager to be back on the road, but for now we’re fully up for the challenge.