Fidelity Kastrow’s 21st Century Cause

Berlin DJ / musician / vocalist Fidelity Kastrow is releasing her debut video to accompany her single ‘21st Century Girl’, which comes out shortly on Mark Reeder’s ‘Five Point One’ remix album alongside videos and tracks from the Pet Shop Boys & Sam Taylor-Wood, Depeche Mode, Bad Lieutenant (New Order), Anne Clark and Rammstein. 

The video, directed & edited by Tilman Kunzel, shows Fidelity performing in derelict Berlin locations in eight different costume designs by ‘Bar25’ door queen and stylist Steffa Superheilig, reflecting the songs theme of individuality, non conformity and freedom.

“What inspired the song was the fact that I was feeling mostly frustrated by the attempts of all kinds of people trying to categorise me, label me ‘this’ or ‘that’ and trying to force fit me into their boxes, where they felt I belonged,” Fidelity explained.

“They were making assumptions of what kind of person I am or worse: what I should be according to them. So I created the '21st Century Girl'. She's my inner heroine that I try to follow. She has more balls than any man you'll ever know and with full power over her own destiny, she breaks free of all expectations of how a girl should behave (virginal? modest? demure? always friendly?), what she must become (wife? mother? housekeeper?), be or not be, do or not do, feel or not feel.” saidFidelity.

The track first emerged in 2008 picking up glowing endorsements from the likes of influential British music magazine Mixmag.

"There’s no doubt that red-hot Berlin producer / DJ Fidelity Kastrow has released one of the best tracks this year,” said Mixmag,

"The lyrics are about girls refusing to conform to stereotypical ideas as to how a girl should be. Crunchy electro techniness and goodness all throughout the track will get the chicks saluting in no time. Can’t wait to hear more from this artist soon,” said Mixmag writer Janette Slack.

Berlin underground stylist Steffa Superheilig designed and styled the costumes for the video applying her appropriately deconstructed approach to costumes and imagery ((Click here to see: http://bit.ly/nCmF9K ).

“Fidelity Kastrow and the director Tilmann Künzel had some ideas and showed me some pictures and explained the concept of the video being about mutation, so Fidelity would mutate into this other being. Tilmann also had a new technique he wanted to use to cut the video which involved every picture changing constantly but with a flow,” said Steffa,

“So Fidelity started with a darker more regular image that would mutate into something flowing, light and beautiful. Everything I do always happens in my imagination, I go to sleep, thinking about projects, I wake up with ideas and I create these pictures in my head. I don’t put anything down on paper,” Steffa Superheilig continued.

“We planned this video in 8 steps with eight different characters. I also created a lot of things with the hair, building her up. I never can say how it will end up in advance it’s a creative process. We go to the location and see how it develops. I always take huge amounts of material, we did a fitting before, based on Fidelity’s body, how she moves, talks and how her personality is and from that it comes together. It’s never possible to do exactly the same, I don’t work like this. It’s a creative, intuitive process. I just do what I do, it happens.” (Steffa Superheilig: Click here to see: http://bit.ly/nCmF9K )

Her approach gelled seamlessly with both director Tilman Kunzel’s new cut-up constantly changing editing technique andFidelity’s own vision of both the song and its underlying message.

“The song is about being yourself and living your life according to you. Specifically, it's about girls (or anyone who identifies themselves with the gender) refusing to conform to whatever preset concept as to how a girl should be.It's about saying out loud: this is MY LIFE and I'll do with it whatever I LIKE. Thank you very much for your thoughts, I’ve got my own ideas of how I want to live.” explained Fidelity,

“It's hard to hear your inner voice with all the white noise of what others assume about you, expect you to be, try to force you to become. Yet through the exertion of breaking through one shell after another, shedding skin after skin, you strengthen your inner core self more and more so we've used the mutation make-up, enhanced by the layering cutting technique to show there's more to me than you can see.” added Fidelity

“Yes, generalisation keeps life simple and convenient but making assumptions about a person do not sum up that person. We're all a lot more complex than some of us can imagine. Which sometimes makes it hard to even know yourself who you are. Because we're not static. We're ever changing and transforming, which we've tried to express in the video with all the costume changes. Being yourself is process, a kind of constant cocooning and a struggle.” (Fidelity Kastrow)

Skrufff: Your song addresses social issues: how do you answer those who suggest music should be just about entertainment?

Fidelity Kastrow: “Firstly, there are no 'shoulds' in a 21st Century Girl's life, so I won't live by the rules of those who suggest 'shoulds' of any kind. Though by all means, let them live their life as they please and entertain themselves to their liking. As for me, music has always been a form of expression to me, especially of the things that are so hard to say face-to-face, for the moments when you're lost for words.

Personally, I prefer the struggling, questioning, frustrated, ever overcoming poetic and pain-struck, a bit lost, mental and melancholic musicians or artists in general. I just find them much more interesting and touching. And as for entertainment: I prefer mine with a bit of a deep'n'dark twist.”

Skrufff: Anything else to add?

Fidelity Kastrow: “I'll be at ADE all week and I'm shy. So come say 'hi' if you see me and point me to the twisted fun, complex and interesting stuff.”

http://www.youtube.com/fidelitykastrowtv