MOTHER EARTH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO | FT'RING STEVE VAI & MINDI ABAIR | LES STROUD

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Mother Earth
Words and music; Les Stroud/Bryan Potvin
Produced by Mike Clink
Mother Earth imagery by gediminaspr@gmail.com

A note from the film maker for everyone who might freak out when they see what they think is Ai. Ok well, it is - but it was not the case of doing a prompt and out spits a video. The artist Michael Cotten goes into much creative process using Ai only as a tool. But allow him to tell you in his own words:

As a filmaker, I know there is some controversy about the new AI filmaking tools. I have used some of these in the production of Les Strouds ‘Mother Earth’ video. I have been an early adopter of tech innovation in every format, from the switch to experimental video after early music films made with 8mm film (in the 60s), to pioneering work on the first music synthesizers (Arp, Buchla, Moog, etc) in the 70s, to the change from paper plans to CAD (computer aided design) for architectural and scenic designs in the 80s, to all the CGI developments in film and gaming (starting in the 90s), to this current era of AI image synthesis. Skeptics are right to question what artistic qualities are lost when a new medium appears, However those who thought photography and visual effects were ruined by tools like Photoshop were wrong. Visual art and photography have flourished., A tool does not replace the human hand and heart in the artistic process, This tool is another color in the spectrum, another brush in the paintbox.No matter how the art is created, the only relevant question should be, Is it beautiful, does it work. On a purely esthetic level Ai assisted animation has a unique style that includes all the distortion, mistakes, and 'hallucinations’ that are the signature of a new medium. It’s all too much fun to ignore.
AI art is certainly not for every creator in every field, but it has been a huge boost in my creative world.

Michael Cotten




I believe most of how I was feeling for the lyrics I wrote for Mother Earth was derived from my incredibly profound experience consuming plant medicine; San Pedro and Ayahuasca in Peru and doing ancient ceremonies.

In this song – there is no ambivalence for me. I knew and know, my relationship to Mother Earth. I am questioning nothing. I knew she was and is there. I just longed for her communication. “Speak to my soul….teach me my role….help me to know what I’m here for”. I’m so obviously seeking direction from the Source. And I gave the masculine its place too. “Oh Father Sun…..fill me with life”. There is no feminine without masculine and no masculine without feminine.

The song, as epic sounding and unapologetically bombastic as it is, is a gentle notion of seeking communion, wisdom, guidance and relationship with Mother Earth. So, I knew I didn’t need to get wordy with my lyrics. Just say it and carry on and get carried away with the music of the earth.

Which is why we had such a wonderful time crafting the music. For a song this big, you can be sure it went through many demos and changes. It’s a percussive droning on my acoustic guitar with the capo on the 4th fret and the E sting tuned waaaaay down. Which is why I can still perform it solo.

Going back into my hard drives of music gathered around the world I wanted very much to let indigenous drumming set the stage and to this purpose we went north of Winnipeg to Turtle Island to record the Red Shadow Singers. Working with them was a complete joy. While cutting even more tracks for this song, Doug Adams added some amazing ‘talk box’ guitar to drone through the song and I knew I would want to have a big musical mid-section where we could cut loose. Bryan Potvin contributed the move of going to the key of “A” for the bridge/solo section for my harmonica. I would eventually put in my harmonica once I knew where the rest of the music was going to go and I knew it would not be blues harp. It would have to be a heavily effected harmonica sound unrecognizable as the instrument itself. But before all this could happen Mike Clink graciously brought in none other than Stev Vai himself, to play the guitar solo. Steve caught the vibe of the lyrical content and the message of the music; the celebration of Mother Earth. And what he played has to be heard to be believed.

Not to be outdone, the immensely talented Mindi Abair was given a chance to help us bring the whole piece home in the final reprise on saxophone. I asked Mike to instruct her to just let loose and so she did. Then to round it all out I felt it important to let the indigenous culture of the west coast have the final word with the Spirit Bear Dancers.