Patrick Shiroishi Music Video Interview: “To Kill a Wind-Up Bird” (Premiere)

Vee Hua 華婷婷3 min readSeptember 15, 2021Add comment

Patrick Shiroishi Music Video

In Los Angeles-based musician Patrick Shiroishi‘s latest music video for “To Kill a Wind-Up Bird,” excitable free jazz comes face-to-wrinkly-puppet-face with a Looney Tunes-inspired experiment, which sets skronking sounds to mismatched visuals. Sculptor and video artist Dylan Pecora and Shiroishi offer some insight and behind-the-scenes looks into the process in the Q&A below.

Patrick Shiroishi – “To Kill A Wind Up Bird” Music Video

This article is a part of our Compare & Contrast Series, where we analyze a creative project from its many varied viewpoints. VIEW THEM ALL

 

How did this project come to fruition? How collaborative was the process between the two of you?

Patrick Shiroishi (Musician): I first encountered Dylan [Pecora]’s work when he did the visuals for Upsilon Acrux. I believe the label set it all up and we were just blown away by what he did. Ever since that, I’ve tried to have Dylan work with me on visuals for my solo music and am in love each and every time. Please check out the video he did for “the screams of a father’s tears.” I love it so, so much. Regarding how we work together: I send Dylan the music and give him free reign to do whatever he hears through the music. I try to give any parameters and let them bring the music to life.

 

How did you craft this particular character, and can you walk us through the process of shooting it?

Dylan Pecora (Video Artist): I thought of the face very clearly immediately as the song began, so I just began sculpting as I was listening.

Patrick Shiroishi Music Video
Patrick Shiroishi Music Video
Patrick Shiroishi Music Video
Puppet work-in-progress photos

 

Could you speak to the off-kilter feelings you were hoping to convey with the relationship between sound and visuals, and why it felt appropriate?

Dylan Pecora (Video Artist): It’s a gentle attempt at a Looney Tunes / Carl Stalling type of thing, where we’re getting a 1-to-1 fraudulent representation on screen of the sounds we hear. A tiptoeing porky pig sounds like a xylophone ascending. A puppet shaking an ancient bowl sounds like this.

 

What is next for the two of you, whether individually or together?

Patrick Shiroishi (Musician): I’m always working on music, although things are looking to slow down in the near future as my soon to be wife and I are planning on having a child, but I always keep Dylan in mind as far as accompanying visuals for my music.

Dylan Pecora (Video Artist): I always a joy to work with Patrick. Up next for me is a multimedia project about carrot farmers called Ecology:HomeStones.

Patrick Shiroishi Music Video
Patrick Shiroishi Music Video
Patrick Shiroishi Music Video

 

Patrick Shiroishi’s upcoming full-length album, Hidemi, is now available for pre-order on American Dreams Records. His previous solo album, the highly praised Descension, was centered on America’s internment camps, but Hidemi focuses more on telling the story of his grandfather’s life post-World War II.

The album will also be accompanied by a chapbook titled Tangled, featuring contributions of essays, poems and interviews from other AAPI musicians in the free/improv scene.

FOLLOW THE ARTISTS:
Patrick Shiroishi: website + instagram + twitter
Dylan Pecora: website

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Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and artist who splits their time between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Seattle, Washington. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Editor-in-Chief of International Examiner, and an Environmental Justice reporter at South Seattle Emerald. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in 2026. In 2025, they premiere their documentary short film, Hunt's Trading Post, set just outside of the Navajo and Ute Nations.

In 2017, Vee released the narrative short film, Searching Skies — which touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States — and co-organized The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!. They have a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota and are pursuing a certificate in Incidencias en Problemas Socioambientales at the Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Mexico.

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