BIC FLASHBACK #11 - 'STRANGER' ft. KAT LEON

‘Stranger’ is not one of my favorite BIC songs, but an important track on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’. Originally planned as a 4-Song EP, ‘Temple Of Desire’ and ‘Stranger’ injected a bit of ‘sonic' diversity’ into the record, also pushing into into full album territory. For a fleeting moment, I considered holding ‘Stranger’ off the album… as I felt it was more in line with where I wanted the NEXT record to go …. but opted to end the vinyl/CD version with the song, sort of a bridge or ‘foreshadow’ as to what comes next. The music, Mr. Rozon’s textural production and of course Kat’s voice and lyrics make this, IMO, a stellar song (which is punctuated by so many diverse remixes on ‘ Out Of OutChaos Comes…). I’m grateful to have stumbled on to HOLY WARS, and for a great friendship with Kat Leon. I look forward to her being part of the next incarnation of Beauty In Chaos.

It was such a pleasure to be a part of writing this song with Beauty In Chaos. When Michael first reached out asking me to be a guest singer and songwriter on his new track,  it was an honor to be included and I was so inspired by his work. As soon as I heard the instrumental , it gave me such a vibe and it was so beautiful as I heard something so heartbreaking in the song as well . This inspired me to write something very personal lyrically to give it the life it deserves. 

I chose to speak about the feeling of grief and feeling completely disconnected from myself and from life itself after the loss of my parents. And how long that feeling tends to linger even years after their passing. Hearing the finished song was incredible and brought tears to my eyes.  I can’t wait for this song to be released and speak to others who may be feeling the same way….Kat Leon

Now on to the video. This was the first video that we did not use Vicente Cordero as Director. Nothing at all against Vicente, as I love working with him and will continue with him behind the camera on future BIC videos. I just felt this song needed something different. I enlisted Leslie Gladney (who had assisted with many of the other BIC videos). I guess I wanted ‘Stranger’ to have more of a ‘woman’s eye’ ? Soft focus, textures and slow dissolves where on my ‘notes’. Tish and I hit the LA fabric district (right as the Cover shutdowns and curfews where starting) to get the flowing material you see having from Tiger Lab’s trussing. We also convinced our youngest daughter Sophia to be the ‘moving statue’ in the video … with fantastic makeup by our oldest Nicole! Going for a minimalistic approach … the only props we used where the roman column and the swing. Colors are key in this one … along with Kat reaching inside herself and bringing out the ‘pain’ of her lyrics, which she is an absolute pro at. This video was probably the most challenging to edit; but I love the result!

Check out the video and some behind the scenes photos below!

MC X