HOTT MT
HOTT MT live at Deserted at the Palms in the Mojave desert; photographed by Brandon Winters.
Our old school pals HOTT MT returned with the David Lekach video for “At Night In Chinatown” taken from their forthcoming album AU (Alternate Universe) available May 4 through their own label Mutation Records. From performing acts of music industry radicalism that have seen a renegade Wayne Coyne collaboration, an unreleased Kesha collaboration & beyond; the duo of Spooky Tavi & Ashi Dali remain one of Los Angeles’s more obscured & best kept secrets (outside of cool cats in the know). With vintage late night camp movie flair with a b/w lens; HOTT MT (full moniker; Hour Of The Time Majesty Twelve) hangs out with a mummy from their clandestine recording studio/rec room, Chinatown street scenes orange lit sunsets to compliment the band’s ethereal & fuzzy pop that only grows stronger & grander with time.
The David Lekach visuals for “At Night In Chinatown” showcases the spaces & places that have contributed to the latest developments & dimensions of HOTT MT’s new musical breakthroughs. Warehouse happenings, dwellings & recordings are mixed with a sense of the supernatural that is felt in both the sound and the images that illustrate the pivotal moments behind the creation of their musical crafts. The process is observed in a matter of fact way where the inspirations & praxis naturally come together like the sunrise that sends out light to illuminate the landscape of a bright new day.
HOTT MT’s Spooky Tavi & Ashi Dali penned the following manifesto about the making of their hotly anticipated album AU, “At Night in Chinatown” video, along with further exclusive insights:
AU was pieced together over several years amidst an array of experiences, relationships, and spaces. The album, originally structured after Michael Ende’s novel The Never Ending Story, became a biographical fantasy as it matured. We used fiction and fantasy to understand our own circumstances and to help us through difficult times. With it, we moved from a place of insecurity and chaos, into self-discovery and empathy.
“At Night In Chinatown” was the first song we wrote on AU, and it’s an homage to our original Chinatown warehouse. That space had a spirit to it, and we didn’t realize till much later that it would follow us to Non Plus Ultra. The mummy in the video represents that idea. Something that was dead, or left behind, is resurrected and returns to join us once again.
We believe in the truth of absurdity and humor in all things. That’s why we often express ourselves through camp. Even though we are now losing NPU, we know that this mummy will follow us wherever we go next, and we accept this change with levity.
