Do you struggle with self-sabotage? Are you addicted to the drama of personal turmoil? In her buoyant yet bittersweet new single, “Make It Up to You,” Hamilton-based indie rock artist Lisa SQ wrestles with the inner saboteur, the irresistible urge to blow things up, and the hope that there’s still time to repair the mess left behind.

“Make It Up to You” is duking it out with your inner saboteur. “Make It Up to You” is resisting the urge to push the red button. “Make It Up to You” is touching the hot stove, even when you know better. “Make It Up to You” is groveling. “Make It Up to You” is digging out of a deep hole. “Make It Up to You” is one final shot. Recorded live at Toronto’s Dwaynespace with a trusted circle of collaborators, the track begins with the sunniest of guitar riffs from Dave Dalrymple (Wax Atlantic) and a playful body-percussion loop by Adam Hindle (Dwayne Gretzky) – created from couch slaps and self-smacks – before erupting into a full-band groove driven by Michael Brushy‘s (Dwayne Gretzky) explosive drums. Nintendo-like keyboards (Simeon Abbott) and shimmering autoharp (Adam Hindle) add whimsy, while producer Ian Docherty (July Talk) ran everything through tape for just the right touch of drunken floatiness.

The inspiration? Lisa SQ‘s porch-sitting neighbour, whose stories of drama, missteps, and resilience sparked musings on why some people seem to thrive in the chaos of their own undoing. “Tyler Kyte (Dwayne Gretzky) and I were talking about people who always invite drama into their lives, and I kept picturing these classic tragic heroes, doomed but relatable,” Lisa explains. “The song grew out of that and my own pacing, daydreaming, and writing in the attic.”

Her forthcoming debut full-length album – recorded at both Toronto’s Dwaynespace with Tyler Kyte and Ian Docherty, and at Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle of Wight with producer David Granshaw – captures the warmth, laughter, and collaborative spirit of her creative community. “Make It Up to You” offers an early glimpse: bouncy, beachy, a little bruised, and impossible not to move to.

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

The temptation to touch a hot stove, or self sabotage your chances at happiness is a weird human tendency we all have to grapple with. Inevitably things get messy even with the best of intentions. In my observation, people are attracted to friction. Obviously there is a sliding scale of the amount/type of personal drama people invite into their lives, but I think the feeling of losing your grip on things and cracking under pressure is familiar to everyone. The song, “Make It Up to You” tries to capture that moment, when shit hits the fan and life blows up in your face a little bit. So, when it came to choosing a song to make a video to, I asked myself: Who doesn’t enjoy watching a buffoon being put through their paces, trying to make amends for some dumb thing they did? At points, we have all been that same buffoon trying to make it up to somebody, or oftentimes ourselves… no?

The song production on “Make It Up to You” is very playful, including butt, back and couch slaps, autoharp and nintendo-esque keyboard sounds. The recording process was so free and fun, I knew I wanted that scrappy spirit to come through in the video as well. Therefore, I thought the classic storyline of a tragic hero type character (me), on a journey to prove themselves, while navigating some comical chaos; not only seemed hilarious to make, but lent itself well to the lyrics of the song and most importantly, seemed achievable in its simplicity.

The “Make It Up to You” video is definitely not trying to reinvent the wheel by any means. In fact it purposefully embraces lots of classic tropes like, sleeping through your alarm, or falling on your face during a triumphant moment…  The hope was that even though it’s a story we’ve seen a million times the familiarity would be relatable, allowing for viewers to connect their own experiences to the song. I think the quirky, DIY execution is where the creativity and charm really kick into action. Obviously not having a budget beyond some extra pocket money can seem limiting, but I love the challenge of having to think outside the box, it forces you to be crafty and resourceful which I find very satisfying. In fact, the idea of using the projector screen as a background for all of the biking shots was born out of necessity. In my mind, I pictured actually biking around outside but the logistics of filming something like that, on my i-phone, by myself or with a couple of buds seemed daunting (and dangerous!)… In the end I think leaning into using the screen for a good chunk of the video, was like embracing the humbleness of the project by making it a stylistic choice. 

Pre-production was mainly gathering/making props and brainstorming scenarios in which I could be a total fool. My favourite prop was the fake recipe book I made, all about how flan can miraculously save your relationships. Not sure how many people notice that detail in the video but it was “important” to the plot line and I think it looks pretty legit. 

The video was filmed in two parts. The first day we did all of the studio content: shots of Adam Hindle and I goofing around with caution tape, playing instruments, biking and singing in front of the projector screen. I had created some 2D “arcade” style background videos to project behind us, hoping the retro vibe would tie into some of the sounds in the “Make It Up to You” track. I didn’t really know how the screen stuff would end up looking but I trusted that with some creative problem solving and experimentation we could gather enough footage to intersperse with the storyline portion of the video. Lighting was a bit of an issue but c’est la vie… I had packed a bunch of props to play around with including some rhythmic gymnastics style ribbons I MacGyver’ed together, using caution tape, paperclips and old chopsticks. Over a few hours we worked through a shot-list I had prepared with some specifics I wanted to capture, plus a few silly scenarios for Adam and I to improvise around. I also planned to leave space for some good old fashioned tomfoolery as those spontaneous interactions generally become some of the best moments to edit in. 

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

The storyline part was filmed piece meal, a few shots here and there whenever I had some spare time. I did a lot of inserts by myself with a tripod or by propping my phone up precariously somehow. My partner Tyler Kyte (Dwayne Gretzky), the main camera (iPhone) operator for most of the video, was crucial in helping with certain action shots. For example: I was attached to the idea of a long, meandering shot for the opening sequence. I thought this would be the easiest way to set the scene, establish my character and get the plot rolling quickly. I needed this shot to reveal important details for the story to make sense and wanted it to be somewhat timed to the intro of the song, having a similar buoyancy to the track. Every other shot in the video could be puzzled in, but this shot we needed to nail. Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out, I especially love the colourful, sticker-ed up calendar and the “Make It Up to You” post-it note at the very beginning. Also, Arthur the dog swooping in to eat popcorn as the panic begins always makes me chuckle. 

3. What was the process of making this video?

Once we had all of the footage I began editing the video using Final Cut Pro, and luckily because I had a pretty clear idea of the flow in my head, it came together fairly quickly. Some fun things like Adam’s rhythmic gymnastics routine to the song at 2X the speed, or Arthur the dog’s judgmental reactions to my shenanigans mostly ended up on the “editing room floor” as they say in the biz, but overall bits of everything we filmed got used in the final edit. I enjoyed affecting certain shots with distortion, or a bleached out treatment to again lean into the lo-fi production quality. With music videos, finding lots of camera movement and quick cuts I think adds a lot of personality and energy to the finished product. I think the balance between the studio and storyline shots ended up working out well and overall I’m super happy with how the concept came to life!