‘God Tiger’ by Mayberian Sanskülotts | New Album, ‘God Tiger Need Chemical Works’
Exclusive video premiere of ‘God Tiger’ by Budapest-based Mayberian Sanskülotts, taken from their upcoming album, ‘God Tiger Need Chemical Works’, out in May 2022.
The video, starring real-life professional wrestlers, was directed by well-known Hungarian director Barna Szőke, and the song was given its final form with the help of producer John Foyle, who has also contributed to Gorillaz, Blur, and the albums of Damon Albarn, among others.
The song, completed three years ago, was the first written for the album. Later, in 2021, the band submitted the demo to the HOTS Songlab producer workshop series, which is responsible for exporting Hungarian music. This is how ‘God Tiger’ ended up in the hands of British producer John Foyle, and during his one-day collaboration with Mayberian Sanskülotts, the song was shaped and transformed by a lot of new ideas, and the final version was recorded in the studio of legendary label Tom-Tom.
Aside from the Vietnamese tiger balm, the song is also influenced by The Legend of Zelda video game, guitarist Gallusz Balogh said. “I condensed a lot of stuff into the lyrics, like the experience of watching really bad paranormal shows all night because I couldn’t sleep, drinking problems, social anxiety, self-blame. So really nice themes, and half of the chorus is taken from Zelda”.
It was clear for the band that ‘God Tiger’ would not only be the first track on the album, but would also become a music video. As Mayberian Sanskülotts singer Zita Csordás says: “We’ve been following (video director) Barna Szőke’s work for a long time, we like what he does. Other people recommended him, which is why we approached him in the first place, and he immediately liked the song and threw in this wrestling idea, which we all loved. This is our first video shot with a proper crew in which we finally didn’t have to appear ourselves. I like almost all of our videos, but this one turned out to be something completely different and new and I think it turned out quite well”.
Director Barna Szőke involved the team of Budapest-based production company Odesa Films, and the video was made with the help of cameraman Bence Szemerey. “We are constantly fighting with ourselves, we are our own worst enemy”, Barna said about the clip. “I think that was the biggest inspiration when the band sent the song over. Our protagonist is Tiger, a formerly great wrestler who has been forced to retire completely and move back in with his parents. Tiger is constantly haunted by visions. The only way he can defeat his inner alter-ego is to fight one final battle, and the question is whether he will succeed. It’s a pretty important question in all of our lives. It was a great help to work with real professional wrestlers. I’m a big fan of wrestling, I’ve been watching it with admiration since I was a kid”.
Following the release of the single for ‘God Tiger’, the full album will be released in May, preceded that same month by a European tour with stops in Munich, Viethlach, Offenbach am Main, Freiburg and Mannheim.
Mayberian Sanskülotts Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
