Serpentine Nightmare: EU1OGY's Venomous New "SNAKES" Video

EU1OGY’s “SNAKES” is a vicious, gut-wrenching indictment of the traitors and backstabbers that surround us. Featuring heavy guitars, trap beats, and EU1OGY’s signature menacing growl, the song now also has the perfect visual complement—a music video directed by his longtime collaborator, Monique Baron. Cell Vision correspondent Oswald Greene spoke to EU1OGY and Baron about the making of the video, the meaning behind it, and the roots of their creative success.

words and interview by Oswald Greene

2020.10.13 12:50PM

all behind-the-scenes photos by Monique Baron

Baltimore artist EU1OGY’s visceral, venomous sound combines hardcore, trap, experimental noise, and more into a powerful Molotov cocktail that will blast through your senses, leaving you writhing on the ground in fits of brutal ecstasy. Over the summer, EU1OGY released “SNAKES”, the second single from his forthcoming debut album, DAGGERS. The song now has a brilliant music video to accompany it, directed by New Hampshire-based videographer Monique Baron. EU1OGY and Baron have formed a deep creative partnership since the beginning—this is the third video the two have collaborated on—and Baron’s trippy visuals complement the music exquisitely. I’m in love and wanted to know more, so I reached out to them with a few questions.

EU1OGY's "SNAKES" music video, directed by Monique Baron

CELL VISION: What was the idea behind the video for “SNAKES”?

MONIQUE BARON: I wanted “SNAKES” to play with emotions. When we engage with the public eye we are subject to criticism, manipulation, and backstabbing. The video plays with two characters in opposition—viewers question what is reality and what is a dream/nightmare. It is a metaphoric representation of questioning yourself, feeling gaslit by emotions and by those around you. It is not supposed to feel comfortable.

"I wanted 'SNAKES' to play with emotions. When we engage with the public eye we are subject to criticism, manipulation, and backstabbing... It is a metaphoric representation of questioning yourself, feeling gaslit by emotions and by those around you. It is not supposed to feel comfortable." -SNAKES director Monique Baron

CELL VISION: What was the creative process like? Where did you film it?

EU1OGY: We filmed the beginning scene on Wall Street in New York City—the rest of the video was filmed in front of a green screen at a studio in Brooklyn. We had a few hiccups with finding where to shoot the green screen scenes, but we figured out last minute.

MONIQUE BARON: When we filmed, we did not have any of the digital landscapes created yet by Renato. As I was directing, I was describing to Radell certain actions to perform based on what I imagined, his reactions were an interpretation of what I described. I’ve never done anything like this before, but I think it is a testament to our creativity and teamwork.

"I’ve never done anything like this before, but I think it is a testament to our creativity and teamwork." -Monique Baron

CELL VISION: This is your third time working together, how do you think that familiarity has informed your creative process?

EU1OGY: Monique and I have worked together on my videos for TOP DOWN, WAGON V.2, SNAKES and a few more that aren’t released yet. When I originally started the project, I had told her my vision, and how I wanted to work with her for all of my future videos. Over the years we have become good friends, so working together never seems like “work.” We bounce ideas back and forth with a team of people and then make a drawing board for ideas we may have for the project. After that, we normally have video calls to try and go over the best way to bring the videos to life and how we’ll execute them. I’m very comfortable around her and the crew, so that makes it easy for me to get into the zone.

MONIQUE BARON: I feel that our vision has been aligned since our first shoot together. We move off of energy, so each project has a snowball effect, accumulating this energy and passing it forward. We are grateful that as our team expands project to project, people see this energy and want to be part of it.