DESCRIPTION:
Intothewoods.tv

Directed by Matthew Gamlen Additional Camera by Rodrigo Melgarejo and Cohen Audio Engineering and Mixing by Jeff Hylton Simmons Photos by Hannah Gregg Words by Anna Barlow

Heading to the Metal Mother shoot at 10 am, Portland was already
dripping with patriotism and early risers. The sparkle of firecrackers
and kids with glitter and hot dogs were numerous for the early
hour. The Fourth of July.

I jumped on the freeway headed toward Skyline Drive, deep in the NW
hills. As the road grew narrow and the bright forest swallowed us up,
the animation of parades and American flags faded. Driving was a
quenching relief from the hot city holiday.

The location for the shoot could have doubled for a goth-themed Better
Home and Gardens tea party. The band loaded gear in and out of the
large, manicured white house. Smells of oatmeal and sugar wafted
from the door. Inside, the home seemed to be inhabited by a shamanic
grandmother living with an eclectic art student.

Metal Mother had driven from Vancouver the night before on the last leg of
their NW summer tour. Their exhaustion was not unlike that of the Into
the Woods crew, who had been celebrating the 4th until someone lit a
round of fireworks in Miliken's house at 3 am the night before.
Regardless, the hot summer morning and beautiful location had everyone
in high spirits.

Three dark, primitivist songs were performed. Taara Tati, a
self-taught pianist and passionate architect of words and music, wore
a sequin dress and tasseled leather vest. Dashes of teal and silver
face paint accentuated her dark eyes. Metal Mother is Tati's vehicle,
serving the thickness of her voice with a sense of magical barbarism.

Chatting with Taara after the shoot made her forest catharsis all the
more understandable. "I'm inspired by biology, geography, and the
cosmos, and use those elements as inspiration," she explains. "At the
same time, I'm embedded in urban and pop culture, and can't help but
be inspired by machines, fashion, and drama as well. It's a
post-primal, apocalyptic art movement."

We went on to talk about the feeling of urgency when so inspired by
everything around you. The internal swell that comes from the
transformation of idea to creation. "I'm working on the next album,
and there's definitely a stronger pulse, it's faster," says Taara,
adding, "It's about celebrating the temporal."

"I think it's gonna be a good soundtrack for an apocalypse party."