Te Puke's Esraa Muse is about to release the video for her song Angels in Disguise Demons on Display.
From Auckland to Te Puke - via Hamilton.
It's not a route usually associated with up and coming artists - but in Esraa Muse's case there has been logic to it and reason behind it.
The Te Puke-based singer and actor is about to release the video for her latest song Angels in Disguise Demons on Display.
Shot at Tauranga's 16th Avenue Theatre, Esraa used some of the Bay of Plenty's most talented actors and savvy tech experts to put the song's visuals together.
The video is her second - the first was for her single Blades - and there have also been short promos shot for other songs.
''This one is probably the one where everything just took so much more,'' she says.
''I was now engaging with talents and directors and lighting and producers in the theatre, so it's a massive step out for me as someone who can be a little bit introverted at times, to get out there and connect with people and really step up my game, but that's what I wanted to do.''
Esraa wrote the song and produced, recorded and mixed it at No 1 Studio in Te Puke.
The song was initially one of a selection she wrote for a band.
''They liked some of my sound and what I could offer, so they asked me to write some songs for them. I did that, then I wrote this song and I thought 'I don't know if I want to I want to give that away, I might keep that for my own collection'. So I did and kind of worked on it over a period of months.
''I like some of the melody line and I like to sing it live. It's quite a pretty melody line, especially in the first verse, so I kept that one for myself.''
Esraa started dabbling in her own music in 2017.
Originally from Auckland, she spent a little time in Hamilton before settling in Te Puke 18 months ago.
''I'm putting down roots here and connecting with people here and it's been a really good experience. When I came here I didn't know anybody and I've slowly been building something up.
''I've got this humility that also doesn't mind just starting out small and building slow.''
She says being in Auckland wouldn't have suited her personality.
''I feel like for me, I've just been taking time away in quieter places and building myself up and building confidence and saying if I can do something good here and create something of meaning here, then I can hopefully take that and take what I've learned to anywhere I go.''
She says financially it also made sense to leave Auckland, a move that has allowed her to buy a house.
As for what comes next, she has a few ideas and plans.
''I've been positioning myself over the last few months to go down the route of a little bit of some screamo heavy metal vocals and I've been doing that a little bit to add a different dimension artistically.''
She has also been doing some acting and was in the cast of The Woman She Weeps, a film shot in the Bay of Plenty earlier this year.
''So I'm an actor as well as a musician. I know that doesn't often cross over very well, but I'm just doing it and seeing what happens because it's driven from my heart rather than what I should and shouldn't do.''
Lockdown has been both a blessing and a curse - a curse because it has restricted her contact with the local creative community, but a blessing in that it has given her time to write.
When circumstances permit she hopes to once again start performing.
''I have performed at music festivals in the past. I established my music stuff in front of a live audience and that was where it began and where the love grew from, so live performing is something I've missed.
''I would like to get out there with an acoustic set with a pretty haunting vocal. If can do that in the next few months I will.''
Esraa cites her influences as being as diverse as American singer-songwriter Lana del Rey and UK metal band Bring Me the Horizon.
''Lana del Rey, her beautiful writing, beautiful melodies, has been hugely influential in how she puts it all together and creates these art pieces.
''She's an amazing artist. She feels like one of those genuine artists who writes her own material and comes up with her own melodies which is what I do as well. That to me is really important.
''Bring me the Horizon are very cool and they've got a lot of beautiful melodies and beautiful guitar work. So I come between those people influences.''
Angels in Disguise Demons on Display will be available on all streaming platforms and YouTube on September17.
Esraa came up with the idea for the video to awkwardly show the struggle a new artist goes through when they first start out.
She wanted the video to show a disinterested audience, an imaginary struggle and an eventual resolve.
The 16th Ave Theatre was selected due to its proximity, size and facilities.
Esraa did not want to call the others appearing in the video extras, but actors as she wanted to respect their contributions and raise the expectation of their involvement.
She also only wanted to use talent based around the Bay Of Plenty. Her recent feature film work gave her insight into what the local community could offer.
Director Josiah Clumont worked through the applicant list and wrote backstories for each and gave them wardrobe requirements. They turned up in theme and in character.