Joey Salinas was born and raised in northern Virginia being the oldest of four children. Being inspired by Mariah Carey, George Michael, Aerosmith, and Janet Jackson growing up, these artists remain heavy influences on the art he creates today.
Much of Joey Salinas’ music today explores the many facets of his identity. He is a strong believer that representation matters and while his resonance and subject matter are mainstream and universal, he expresses them from his own unique perspective as a gay man of Latin descent.
Dipping into the sonic and visual pairing for Joey Salinas’ third video release from the album, ‘Identity: Chapter 1,’ we are sedated with the almost ethereal ambiance of “Wonderland.”
Delicate vibrations trickle through your speakers as the intimate subject matter stems from the essence of blossoming love. Grasping our undivided attention, the black and white footage brings life to the cinematic approach taken when filming this up close and personal reiteration of Joey Salinas’ adoration for love.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Joey Salinas. We love the pairing of both the song and music video for “Wonderland”. Could you please take us into what inspired you to make this your third video release for ‘Identity: Chapter 1?'
First, thank you for having me! I’m very pleased to hear that the video is being well received. What inspired me to make it the third video release is very simple. It’s the third song off of Identity: Chapter 1! I’m releasing the music videos to my project in album order. But, to go a little more in-depth, I can tell you what inspired the video itself. The song “Wonderland” is very intimate and ethereal sounding. It draws you in and takes you through a journey of the beginnings of a new love blossoming. The song is about love. So, with the music video, I wanted to convey all of that on a grand scale to match how big the feeling of love can be. I’m very into film, so I wanted the music video for “Wonderland” to be very cinematic in nature. I wanted to portray the feeling of love with lush backdrops and lots of water and foliage, with nature representing how love can nurture and flourish. And I kept the backdrops wide open so you can feel the grand scale of the song through the visual. My favorite part of to film was the waterfall scene. It represents how, much like water, love can breathe life and feed the soul. Water also flows and can move you, much like the feeling of love.
We love the various versions of you that are conveyed through the cinematic approach in the music video. Could you please take us into what version of you we see and the significance they hold to you?
Well, for this chapter I’m exploring Joseph. It’s the true name of ‘Chapter 1’. All of the songs in this chapter represent Joseph. The bright-eyed, hopeful and optimistic version of me that took on the world with innocence and determination. He is how I started out and how everyone knew me as growing up. He was my beginning, therefore ‘Chapter 1’ was designed by him. The other versions of me in the video represent who I will later become in the future but still rooted in how I began. This will be a theme I carry throughout the entire project.
What was it like working with Jason Anderson to get your vision across in “Wonderland?" Did your vision get executed exactly how you imagined?
I had a great time working with Jason. He was referred to me by a good friend and we hit it off when we met. I walked him through my concept and he was all in. I knew that with his dance background, he’s also a dancer/choreographer aside from videographer, that he could help fill in the gaps for me in terms of how to shoot the video. Although we did get some amazing shots and our film day went rather seamlessly, there is one thing about filming that I wish would’ve been slightly different. When I found the bridge that we shot at for the main scene of the music video, I knew I wanted it was going my main shot. I had scouted that bridge for months because the area in which it stands gets extremely foggy during the late night/ early morning hours. It gave off an awesome Sleepy Hollow vibe, and being that the song has an other-worldly feel to it, I thought it was a perfect match! The fog would get so thick at the bridge, that it made it look like the bridge stood alone with limited visibility. It would’ve been such a dream! Unfortunately, on the morning of the shoot, when we got to the bridge it was practically clear skies. I had hoped that by the time we finished setting up that it would get foggy, but then the sun started breaking through the morning sky and I knew we had missed our chance if there was to be any fog. I. WAS. DEVASTATED!! But, we made it work and the video is still something I’m extremely proud of and delivers the message I was hoping viewers/listeners would receive.
If listeners could take away one thing from the music video, what would you want it to be?
I would like for listeners to get lost in the feeling of being in love. I would like for listeners to be able to escape real life and live in the moment.
What’s next for you, Joey?
There’s still more to tell in ‘Chapter 1’. And there are more chapters to explore. So I have much more content on the way and hope that listeners will continue the story with me