Imagine a Bosch-esque garden of psychedelic flowers, blooming in a realm of eclectic delights. In the centre of the hyperreal chaos is Hua Li 化力, the only “half-Chinese, half-militant, half-rapper of your heart,” back with her most ambitious and personal record to date, ripe fruit falls but not in your mouth (March 27th).

“Part Time Muses” is an earthy, opalescent diss-track, recounting slept-on pleasures and near misses. The bones of this song were written at the Banff Centre on a beautiful Kawai grand piano. Hua Li 化力 had been starting her days playing pieces by Chopin and Ravel and weaved a melody over an impressionistic, chromatic piano line that is referenced in the incisive synth lines you hear now.

What emerged were soulful verses about longing and limerence and the story of a love triangle gone wrong. Her producer, Alex Thibault (a.k.a. Gloze), picked up on the 90s influences and created a lush, contemporary take on Timbaland and Aaliyah.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

This is a song about learning to let go and accept the ephemeral nature of certain relationships. Not everyone is meant to be in your life forever and some people can create a long lasting impact in a short moment. When I wrote this song I was in a period of longing but when I look back at the circumstances that fuelled these lyrics I deeply appreciate all the inspiration the subject of the song provided me in the few months we were intertwined. These themes of letting go, having gratitude, and appreciating my past are central to the album on which the song appears, so it felt important to create a visual for this piece that is a microcosm of the larger body of work. 

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

I play a somewhat delusional and desperate adult dressed up as a prom queen. I tear down Montréal’s Plaza St. Hubert, a hub for wedding dress and prom gown stores, looking longingly at the romantic merchandise around me, trying to find the “prom date” that’s right for me. Director Yang Shi was inspired by 90s nostalgia and wanted to draw on a 90s teen movie aesthetic to reflect the sonic elements of the song that draw on that era. The icy-blue backdrop compliments both the aesthetic references we were working with and symbolizes the cold and elusive nature of our deepest yearnings. 

3. What was the process of making this video?

Anytime I work with Yang the process is easy and joyful. We met to chat about the song and I gave her carte blanche on concepts for the video as long as they were possible within our tight budget. She came back with the idea of shooting Plaza St. Hubert which I loved because it’s truly one of my favourite Montreal oddities. I brought director of photography Evan Shay onto the project – I know him as a musician through the jazz and beatmaker communities in Montreal but I knew about his alter-ego as an amazing videographer and always wanted to work with him in that capacity. We shot the video on one extremely cold day in December but despite the low temperatures we kept each other warm with positive attitudes, jokes and supportive energy.

“The video was directed by Yang Shi who is a brilliant director in Montreal,” says Hua Li 化力. “She heard the delulu longing in the lyrics and came up with the idea of having me embody this as a 30-some-year old prom queen. We shot in Plaza St. Hubert, which is one of my favourite Montreal oddities.”