Mynabirds Head for the Woods in ‘Body of Work’ – Premiere

For their new video for “Body of Work,” the Mynabirds get their feet dirty in the mud as they ramble through the busy, clattering track. Leader Laura Burhenn drapes her gospel-like vocal melodies over frantic percussion and subtle, playful thumps as she dances and sings in the forest. Friends join in, bringing nature and art together as they fool with cameras and mirrors, building surreal images, and engaging in interpretive dance. That friendly, open vibe instilled a special spirit in Burhenn and the video.

“The director took me and a cast and crew of about 30 people up to upstate New York to film in April. We created a little camp commune that weekend, wonderful moms cooking meals for us, friendships forming,” Burhenn tells Rolling Stone. Because of the band’s hectic schedule, editing the footage down for a three-minute song took six months. “[Director] Allie [Avital Tsypin] and I wanted to create this enchanted world that was basically a collection of moving surrealist paintings inhabited by these pure, joyous people. And the cinematographers, set designers and cast made it happen in a serious way.”

Burhenn estimates there were at least 100 hours of footage to sort through, a process that she likens to taking control of one’s own destiny.

“We’ve gotta keep editing our lives and ourselves to make them exactly what we want them to be,”Burhenn says. “It’s hard, constant work, but absolutely worth the payoff of real and true happiness in the end.” “Body of Work” will be released as a seven-inch single today and is on the Mynabird’s album Generals, out now.