Singer and pianist Katrīna Gupalo has published the song “Agonija” and its video. With this message, the musician, in cooperation with the crisis and counseling center “Skalbes”, calls to pay attention to the currently obvious public mental health problems.
The song “Agony” tells about the last breath of love – about the last moment before the inevitable divorce. “It’s a moment full of sweet bitterness towards the morning, when the party is almost over and everyone is scattered. When you want to sleep so much, but you are afraid to fall asleep, because in the morning everything will be different, so with the last effort you desperately try to stick to a reality that no longer has a future, ”the publishers explain. The song itself is almost psychedelic in its mood, but the clip is gloomy and mischievous, absolutely uncharacteristic of the cheerful and smiling Katrīna. “I wrote the song two years ago, when I was very depressed for a long time. It was a time when I felt cruel and ruthless criticism on my skin, which I was unable to filter out and received very directly and painfully. At the time, I didn’t really see any light at the end of the tunnel, and the only thing that pulled me out of my deep depression was the resumption of active concert activities and the creation of music. Only after a while, looking back at my thoughts and feelings, I could easily perceive it – as a normal stage in creative growth. But if I weren’t a fighter by nature, maybe it could have ended differently. This situation made me remember my grandmother’s grandmother Sofia, who dreamed of becoming a doctor, but when her husband forbade her, Sofia hung her in the attic of her house, ”Katrīna Gupalo shares her experience.
The director of the video “Agony” Jānis Škapars has discovered the song from the moment when dark, depressing thoughts and feelings have filled the reality of the pandemic time. “When creating the video, I wanted to show a multi-layered and ambiguous journey of an individual into the world of thoughts and dreams. The darkest place is sometimes the mind and the subconscious. When we close our eyes, we get into the darkness, our thoughts and fantasies – often it can soothe and hide reality for a moment, but sometimes we pull it so deep that it is very difficult to break out. With this video, we want to emphasize that suicide is not a solution and that the complications that lead to it can be solved, ”said its director.
With its help, the video’s creative team “wants to draw attention to the obvious public mental health problems caused by the year of the pandemic that affect each of us”: face-to-face contact has long been limited; sharply blurred boundaries between work, home and school environments; nor are the traditional resources available to deal with everyday worries and to have joy and energy. “We urge everyone – women, men, children and adolescents – not to hide and not be ashamed that they are in more or less trouble, and to seek help before the situation worsens. In such moments, an open conversation with a friend, relative or a call to a crisis helpline can be very important. We also invite you to contact your loved ones more often to find out how they are doing, because such a call can provide not only joy, but also the necessary support, ”urges Katrīna Gupalo.
The video’s creative team and the Crisis and Counseling Center “Skalbes” encourage everyone to share their experiences of the experiences of the pandemic on the social networks “Facebook” and “Instagram” using the theme. also ways of overcoming difficult situations or distressing thoughts. You can also express your emotions in a song, drawing, poem or other creative way. Experience stories will be collected and published in the accounts of Katrina Gupalo Music and the association Skalbes on Facebook.
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