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 Social distancing has left scores beyond imagination longing for the world beyond their window panes or otherwise. Nonetheless, the spatial challenges have given rise to some unique artistic efforts. Indeed, Montreal-based brother-sister duo CRi (Christophe Dube) and Alexa-Jeanne have taken doorstepping to a whole new level with their newest project, “Never Really Get There (feat. Jesse Mac Cormack)”. CRi, a rising star on label Anjunadeep, and Alexa-Jeanne, an award winning filmmaker, shot the voyeuristic project at the height of recent social distancing, the results are not only beautiful, but also unsettling, a little forlorn, and certainly stirring of the old familiarity twitch. And if the video only gets at the knees, the behind the scenes images of its character set, photographed by Emilie Mercier, will seal the deal. We caught up with Christophe and Alexa-Jeanne to talk about their collaboration and the current state of affairs. When you first wrote this song, what themes were you trying to explore? How did you convey that sonically? CRi: Jesse and I were at the studio with no particular agenda. The song took shape in several stages, we wrote the music first and Jesse wrote the lyrics afterwards. The main theme is about wanting to push away certain parts of yourself that you don't want to assume. I never really thought about it, but I would say that the further the piece goes, the richer and more sonically intense it becomes until finally ending on a totally different part. Sometimes life imposes situations on us that we never thought we would live.

How was Alexa-Jeanne able to capture that in the video ? I think the window is a good visual representation. For me, it serves as a bridge between two worlds. In this clip, we never manage to enter the characters' inner world and they never manage to leave it. You describe the song as “about being stuck outside yourself and not being able to get back in”, could you elaborate on what that means to you? It’s about “pushing further the moment you will meet with the parts of yourself you don’t want to deal with”

How would you describe your sister’s work? Are there any specific projects that she’s done that you’ve found particularly impactful to your own work? Her work is very emotional and singular. Her film "Scopic" had a big impact on the way I see things, it all depends on the point of view. The film is very minimal in its conception, shot only with a drone, and the audience dives directly into the intimacy of the characters. Alexa-Jeanne, how did the song inspire your aesthetic choices in this music video? Alexa-Jeanne: In my opinion, Christophe's work is directed by emotion. From each of his songs emerges a raw emotion that arouses an enormous amount of joy in me, tinged with a bittersweet sadness. So I wanted to create a video clip that's lively, but also carries moments of tender sweetness that make you want to shed a comforting tear.

What were the difficulties you faced filming while remaining socially distanced? How did you overcome them? Because of the nature of the concept, we didn't have to go into people's homes, which made it a lot easier. Moreover, there were only two of us; the photo director Léna Mill-Reuillard and myself. We each had our own car and we were moving from location to location talking to the actors through their half-open windows. For most of the experience, I would say that filming people in their homes was a very beautiful human and creative experience. It allowed us to capture the particular social moment we were facing, but also to give a signature and a particular identity to the clip. I would say that the real difficulties were more technical, for example, we had to work with the lighting that people had at home which made it more difficult, but, all in all, still produced beautiful images. Was this the first project you’ve collaborated on professionally? How was it working together? CRi : This is the first collaborative project between the two of us as director and musician. It's really special to be able to work with your sister, we're almost twins (we're only a year and a half apart) so we have an almost metaphysical connection that allows us to understand each other without having to think about it too much. The music video was made very quickly and I think it's our incredible complicity that made it possible. Alexa-Jeanne: Yes, it is. We get along very well in terms of our artistic tastes and sensitivity. Additionally, I had to take his work and put it into images. So we each had our respective "playground", Christophe gave me the space and freedom I needed to create.

You both cite your Quebecois cultural heritage as being an important component of your work. How does that come into play for this project? CRi : The music video was shot entirely in Montreal, so it feels like Quebec by default. I think that what's more "Quebecois" is the casting, we see people from different cultural communities living together, Quebec is above all a land of welcome. Alexa-Jeanne: I don't think you can take that kind of legacy away from an artist and that applies to all artists in the world. Whether we like it or not, we are influenced by our history, the landscapes of the land we live in, the people who live there, the memories we are told. All of this only emerges unconsciously in our creativity and our vision of the world.

What’s next for you both? CRI: Another clip I hope. And maybe even a movie? Who knows! Alexa-Jeanne : Absolutely! Christophe's music lends itself very well to cinematography. Otherwise, on my side I'm preparing to shoot my next short film that we'll shoot in September in the James Bay region of northern Quebec. The film is called Ghosts and is about the fear of death, heritage and the absurdity of the human experience.