'Origin' songwriter Stan Walker on composing 'I Am': 'This song is about a reclamation of identity'

Stan Walker you co-wrote and performed the song I am from the film origin which is about how systems of Oppression kind of their commonalities across cultures um how did the opportunity come about to contribute to the film social media is a powerful thing um I had done this cover a Kanye West cover ultral life beam years ago like I think like say four years ago or something like that um and Paul G who is the producer of um origin uh he saw this video him and his wife Tammy and then they showed AA this video and she's like who is this I need to find out who this I love his voice who is this so she went onto social media uh she went on to my Instagram page and she went uh to see who I was following and she was like she thought to herself surely I know somebody we know somebody in common and that person that we knew in common was um Chelsea with Stanley who's a a mildy uh female producer um film producer in in New Zealand and anyway so AA DMD her on Instagram and said hey do you know this guy St she goes yes I know him very well she's like can you get us give me in contact put us in an email 48 hours later um we were on the phone talking and like everything everything happen so fast and so quick um she say she loved my voice and that she's got this film that she's been working on and she would love H for me to be on on there um to have a song on there and um then but she sent me the film I watched the film I was I was supposed to wait for my wife actually and she's like wait for me to get home I couldn't wait it was on my phone so I was like I just watched it on the phone I had to watch it by myself bowled my eyes out um I was so moved I was emotional um there were so many themes within the film that I resonated with that I I shared similar um experiences with um and so it just it got me straight away and then um we had basically two and a half weeks uh to write record produce and finish and master a song and um thank God that she trusted mean she trusted me enough to go away and bring something back to her and um that's I am so I am uh is the my response to to watching um origin and for me this song is about a Reclamation of of identity of of our culture um of our languages um and it's how we connected to the Natural World the environment and how we connect um as human beings Humanity as a whole and that's what this film um has taught me and by the end I was educated um and it just connected me to humanity as a whole um and the commonness and our humanness um so yeah that's the whole story it happened really quick and I'm made the cut and now I'm here in La um helping to promote uh the song and the film and that two and a half weeks how does that yeah obviously it's very quick turnaround uh how does that compare to like how much time you would normally spend uh you know working on a song yeah sometimes a song can take a year um but I I kind of love the way that it went because I love being put under pressure uh I feel like that's where some of my best and greatest work has has um happened has um been in that pressure sometimes when I get um a little bit too much space it gets like I need to be on it constantly on it um sometimes you need a break from it to to come back and have fresh fresh ears and a um fresh perspective but um I I usually have a lot more time but this time it was just and everybody my whole team was incredibly they were so kind uh to give me their time when I would call them at two: in the morning say hey we need to put this on or and because time differences my my mate Michael Fen who produced it uh he was in LA and I was in New Zealand so I'm calling him at whatever time where I'm in my country and I didn't even like stop to consider oh he might be actually asleep and he would always take every single call and he'd be like yes sweet I'll get this done get that done I was like oh can we do this can we change this can we add this and um we yeah we had two and a half weeks to do it and we submitted it and I thought oh you know what what an incredible experience and we made an incredible song If it doesn't make it then it's all good um but it made just in time before PCT Lo um and yeah did Ava D have a a lot of input at during the process or was that something where she just kind of gave you the the assignment and just said go for it she she she entrusted me like she trusted me to to bring the the best that I could and um we did uh collaborate in terms of like you know there was certain things that we wanted to bring together uh production wise so that would be it would match and be an extension of the film rather than this random track that comes at the end with all this production um we wanted to be impactful but also be a part of the the family you know be a part of the film so um there were yeah just few notes but the the beautiful thing um that I really appreciate her I really appreciate her for allowing me to express myself the way that I did in the song um to be able to sing in my own language um and I you know that's that says a lot about Ava that she really yeah just let me do my thing and and for me to do something a song like this for a project like this and in my language um it really means a lot it really really means a lot and um I thank you for that because uh that doesn't always happen in this world so she's she's on she's on uh and the film is is so unique in and of itself just the way it sort of combines Isabelle wilkerson's personal life story with the the theories and the ideas she was exploring uh what did you think about the way the the that the film kind of you know introduces us to that those ideas I think it was told so beautifully um we got an insight into how Isabelle uh came to these things and stumbled over a photo of of a meeting that happened in Germany with um people who made those laws possible when um the Holocaust happened and how they um how she connected this how she connected the interconnectedness with all different people and different countries and different um races and how there was this connectiveness um when uh the Germans who were learning from how black slavery was happening in America and they were trying to adapt some of those themes to you know to enforce that to have power over um Jewish people um back in those times and just how Ava just brought that all together the Journey of um Isabelle and how she um how she came to the whole like finished the whole thesis but the Journey of um her whilst going through her own loss you know she lost her husband she lost her mother she lost her best friend her cousin um and still powered through so it was beautiful to see um Isabelle's life um as well as you know the book that she created this masterpiece this thesis that she created and and there was so many themes within the um within the film that I just um that just hit home for me you know being being an indigenous man from New Zealand and and the fight that you know that I have had to fight in my own life in my own Journey my parents my grandparents my great-grandparents fighting for our our voices to be heard for our for our rights um for our human rights for our culture for our language for our history for our stories for our own narratives so it hit home for me there was so many things in there that hit home for me I'm not going to say I experienced the same thing but I I have lived similar experiences that I can empathize with and that made me feel something so deep and um so emotional so man the storytelling on the on the film and just Isabelle's life and the people in her life and and the journey um of making and creating the book um cast was was incredible got to see the person and the and the journey I loved it um and the music video for the song uh incorporates some of the the imagery the the nature um you know and you know the themes of of identity uh and culture like tell me about the ideas that went into the music video and and what that was like to shoot um it was pretty easy uh so I direct all my music videos and I have an incredible um uh mate a friend who does all my videos um he films and he uh he co-directs with me but I bring all the concepts and it just we just went on this journey we went we filmed gorilla styles so it's only a Twan Army it's my my friend who Co directed with me sha Sterling and um uh the assistant and producer um Amy we were just doing our thing we were climbing up on the sides of mountains climbing out waterfalls um in the forest um on top of the geers and all these different and at the beach but every single location was a place that I'm from except the mountain where my wife is from so every location has a connection to me and to my family and as as a mildy person indigenous person that is so important to me because when we greet people or if we go to say a speech or we greet other mildy people we say our Mountain our River our mudi our meeting place where we're from the canoe that we came in from our tribes our subtribes our parents were so we we State these things that's our hello you know that's how we group people we we State these things to let people know where we come from who we come from and um it was important for me to show that my identity um because I feel like um the most powerful thing that I have is is my story and my identity and if that allows people gives people permission but more so empowers people uh to be STA and to be strong in their own identity that was my goal and it was just so cool but you know behind at the end of the day the video was beautiful but man just like the the journey to it and how cold we were in the water me climbing up trying to climb up in my costumes and people like you know bystanders just staring at me and I get too shy of film so I'm sitting there in these little clothes in the water waiting for people to go past um it was an awesome experience and I I I have an awesome team which is Shay and Amy um to create that and then even editing it like I I was so emotional because you know this is a um it's a declaration uh for for who I am and my own identity um and for my people and um I hope that you know my hope for this that it will bring hope life healing and joy and Empower people to be proud of where they come from and who they come from um and you mentioned bringing hope uh it's a very hopeful song um and did you come away from the film and you know creating the song feeling hopeful that these kinds of cycles of cast and these social hierarchies that they can be overcome you in time oh definitely like I mean that's that's exactly what this song is is like you know that hope um for Humanity and and also to empower people to empower people to take back the power to take back their own power their identity um and I believe anything is possible I mean in my short 33 years I've I've seen incredible changes in in my own country and um and Society where I come from um it's been crazy I mean we're in a whole new season with a whole new government back home that things are starting to shake up and but it's but our people I can only speak from my perspective and from my people in my country we we we're ready to go we're empowered you know we're in positions and places that we've never been before that we're ready we're locked and loaded and just ready to go and we're ready to rise and we I feel like um it's it's possible for everybody in this world um to Rise From the Ashes like you know that Phoenix and that's you know I hope that people um feel that through the song and especially through this movie because um at the end of the day we're all human and and we're all in some sort of cast system um in within our societies our own societies communities and and um if people can see the humanness in each other and respect each other and come together man anything's possible I've seen some stuff happen and changes happen that I never thought I would see um happen so I'm very hopeful for the future for for Humanity and the film has uh you know generated a lot of positive attention a lot of positive Buzz potential Awards Buzz uh what would it mean to you if uh your song were say nominated for an Oscar or to win an Oscar ah it would mean everything to the people who look to me uh for help guidance inspiration that um anything is possible I mean for me personally oh my goodness that would just be abs absolutely incredible I I don't see you got no words but I know what it would mean to my children to my grandchild uh to the Next Generation because they will see that and for me that would be my ceiling and my hope is that my ceiling will be my children in the next generation's floor that they would see that anything is possible doesn't matter where you come from uh what race you are what religion you are that you can become anything you want to and um it would be a reward for the generations that went before me who paved the way who fought and died for me to be here to exist to to be outrageous and to be the big dreamer that I am and so um I think the the way to be nominated um winning uh would just mean a lot to to my people and uh to people just like me to all the little mes that are running around out there well I want to congratulate you on uh your song from the film and success that the film and the song are having uh it and you know more success to come fingers crossed uh thank you so much for talking with me about it today oh thank you so much I really appreciate it thank you

Channel: GoldDerby / Gold Derby

Views: 23,338

Keywords: webcam interview, hollywood filmmaker, entertainment industry, zoom call, fyc, for your consideration, nomination contender, 2024 oscars, film news, movie news, movie award, film award, 96th Academy Awards, oscars 2024, Academy Awards, 96th Oscars, syndication, Stan Walker, Origin, Neon, I Am, songwriter, original song

Id: uZZJ9D9qJJs

Length: 16min 18sec (978 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 12 2023