Swamp Witch - Music Video
Swamp Witch was written and produced by Raby Creative to inspire an awareness of the fragility of the Texas Coast. The Swamp Witch Music Video was later produced and co-directed by Nils Hoover to deepen the awareness of the ecocide occurring in the most bio-diverse region of the U.S. - the heart of the Texas Coast.
Written, Recorded and Produced by Raby
Banjo and Mandolin by Hamp Brockman, Mixing by Jon Margulies (Hobotech), Mastering by Sean Patrick Maher
Directed and Edited: Nils Hoover, Co-Directed and Camera: Ben Lindesmith, Lighting and Photography: Maja Buck
The Challenge
The action
The fates of the Lavaca Bay, Matagorda Bay, and San Antonio Bays are in great danger due to the production practices of Formosa Plastics, Dow Chemical, and Ineos Nitriles. Known as "chemical row", thousands of petrochemical plants line the gulf coast and are considered major polluters. The factories of Chemical Row threaten our rich estuary ecosystems and propagate ecocide while making millions of dollars daily. These factories fly under the radar and build unaffiliated conglomerates in rural counties, making it easier to avoid accountability and shift blame to one another. They become mega-employers, buy out government officials, and receive county tax abatements. Here's one of many articles on Formosa Plastic's obscene production practices: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news...
I recorded and produced all parts of the track, except for the mandolin! Later, I storyboarded the video, but the footage of the initial vision was lost. Nils Hoover was a life-saver! His editing process subsidized the missing footage with ample beauty, grace, and story-telling prowess.
Swamp Witch eco-magic ritual was performed in my hometown, Port O'Connor, Texas, beneath the lunar eclipse in Pisces, September 2016. I produced this song to inspire compassion and healing for the most bio-diverse region in the U.S., the Texas Gulf Coast.
The best and brightest action I'd like to propose is to support mycological remediation and bioremediation efforts along the Gulf Coast and other major rivers. Support your local Mycology Remediation and Bioremediation Groups.
Support wetland conservation efforts where they are most needed, especially in Texas. Write your local river authority and propose mycelial log-dam inoculation of bioremediating mushrooms. And write to the EPA requesting they refine bioremediation procedures for oil clean up and pesticide clean up to include mushrooms.
Lastly, if you care about something so deeply that it could bring you to tears, harness the power of your compassion to inspire others to join your heart song. Tremendous ecocide and loss are occurring at an exponential rate. This is an undeniable fact.
We must pray… as a collective. We must share our passion. We must take action. Embrace your magic. Compassionately connect to your source and allow yourself to be moved into a vulnerable space of grieving, loving power. Blessings and rich lessons.
The Process
The process
After the death of my grandmother, I returned home to the Texas coast to support my grandfather. There, in the deep salty south, I reconnected with the spirit of Boggy Bayou, the Port O’Connor jetties, and my heart-song.
After the Wiv Luv Water Fest, I’d decided that inspiring change through the guidance of one’s own heart is the quickest path to transformation.
I composed the song from a tiny trailer. Tiny frogs consumed the grounds there as the rains came and made a swamp of my yard. My paternal lineage settled there several generations back and my love for my homeland settled in along with my grief for my grandmother, father, and soon enough, my grandfather.
The production:
With the Swamp Witch track finally produced and the mix finalized, I settled in with a storyboard and concept for the music video. The initial concept would illustrate the interplay between the maiden, the mother, and the crone, as shown below. Their journey as healers would play as a reversion in age, with the eldest and wisest being the maiden. This idea would hopefully translate into the story of the earth, somewhat afflicted and “dirty” with the age-old toxins of man. Her sensual creation would take she as the mother in the divine wisdom of mushrooms and intelligent networks of connectivity. And finally, within her own divine internet, she is healed, remediated, and made new, like the maiden.
Unfortunately we did not get the footage we needed within our camera man’s strict timeframes so we would need to rely heavily on editing and creative commons footage to tell our story.
Lyrics:
A puffball ghost says he loves her the most,
And the mocassins wind wind wind wind 'round.
Come to her orgy. Heavens know the sorcery.
Who are you healing now? Who is it now?
Swamp Witch, Swamp Witch LeeleeeLie.
Pool the soil and make your Right.
Are you goin' home in the night?
Soggy loam for tadpole eyes.
You know the ball moss breeds on the weepin' cypress trees,
And they're drinkin' up the streams through their knees. They please her
dirty southern moon with mushy-mushyroom.
The visions they consume.
She thanks the banks because they're
brimming up. Muddy water fill your cup
and now it lingers low.
The fog is on a role
so she can milk the steam
and bottle up your dreams
and sell them whole.
Swamp Witch, Swamp Witch LeeleeeLie.
Pool the soil and make your Right.
Are you goin' home in the night?
Soggy loam for tadpole eyes.
Swamp Witch, Swamp Witch easy lie.
Ocean singer, woo your tide.
Hold your rosy feathers high.
Now your leaning lefty side.
"Save my life!" Says the soil it's been toiling with poisons.
"Save my life from the demons that haunt me, OH!
Save my life!" The cetaceans are racin' the time.
Your voices will keep it in line.
The chorus will sing it alive!
Bad witch, bad witch. Itchy scratch that itch
and rule the left-hand. Bogland sees your plan
to make the water clean. "La la LEE" Sing the salty stream.
Swamp Witch, Swamp Witch LeeleeeLie.
Pool the soil and make your Right.
Are you goin' home in the night?
Soggy loam for tadpole eyes.
Swamp Witch, Swamp Witch easy lie.
Ocean singer, woo your tide.
Hold your rosy feathers high. Now your leaning lefty side.
The finalization
Mr. Nils Hoover graciously gifted thiMr. Nils Hoover graciously gifted this project with supreme editing prowess to effectively tell the story of healing the Texas Gulf Coast with the power of magic and mycoremediation. Nils told this story while incorporating my performance and building recognition.
I worked with Nils to source the found footage and structure the story for optimal storytelling. I am eternally grateful to Mr. Nils for their support.
