VIDEO PREMIERE | Doohickey Cubicle, "Milano Sport"
Doohickey Cubicle’s Alli & Francis; photographed by Jordyn Taylor-Robins.
As the cracks in the world's civic, social and utility fabrics of infrastructure have proved themselves to be obsolete, outdated and overall just antiquated institutions; artists have had to rely on their talents, one another and the DIY spirit of making something big out of very little. With venues closed, businesses in restrictive states of minimized operations, travel largely prohibited and collaborations arranged at a healthy distance — the obstacles and challenges in creating comprehensive works requires clever innovation and vast expanses of nearly unlimited scopes of vision and volition. Arguably these limitations have provided a greater opportunity for inspiration to take cues from the indefatigable restlessness of the overactive imagination of humankind that provides unlimited avenues for the inception and materialization of infinite, and unlimited, aesthetic developments.
Preparing their debut album Don’t Fix Anything, Vancouver duo Alli Deleo and Francis Hooper follow up the releases Mascarpone, What What and the Who Now?, singles and a host of world tours (all prior, of course, to the abrupt closure of the world). Previously known under the equally cheeky moniker Booty EP; Alli & Francis ready their most extravagant and lavish sound to date. Enlisting contributions from Blue Hawaii, Haley Blais, Sam Wilkes and more; Doohickey Cubicle orchestrates an exhibition of their most opulent echelon of sophisti-pop yet, that sits comfortably at home next to the ingenuity of their Arbutus contemporaries and alumni.
Presenting the world premiere of their homemade aquatic visual for “Milano Sport”; Doohickey Cubicle create a miniaturized public pool for their animated singing avatars to enjoy. Loosely inspired [and rife with creative liberties] by a Milan spa visitation that the two went to in pursuit of a shower during an Italian tour; Alli & Francis invite the audience to immerse themselves into the delirious depths of liquid leisure and indulgences of the suave, hedonistically sensual and strange. Doohickey Cubicle incorporate a variety of DIY special effects that involve super-impositions of sung expressions on the faces of altered figurines indulging in a swim, or a dive; or one of the various cute and curious critter-creations content with just kicking it poolside. The duo's visuals provide a level of pop art inflected humor set to their song that is styled like a jet-lagged lounge variation of pristine, near-perfect Montreal pop met with Euro art house hijinks. The visual reveals Alli's interactions with the figures in the toy lap pool where fragments of real life events are recounted in a head swirling chlorine stew of warm, body and mind enveloping bubble jet dreams.
Francis & Alli of Doohickey Cubicle; photographed by Jordyn Taylor-Robins.
The Doohickey Cubicle duo provided some introductory thoughts on the inspirations and fancies behind "Milano Sport" with some insights on the development of the album Don't Fix Anything:
We were in Milan starting a short tour and our accommodation was a storage unit in an old building (Airbnb trickery!). In a strange and heavy headspace, we set out to find a shower and after being turned down at several gyms, we stumbled upon MilanoSport. Very unprepared, we ended up swimming laps in packed lanes and drying off with our tee shirts. I left with an altered, say lighter, disposition and began jotting down words in my phone notes which became this song. For the video accompaniment, we built a miniature public pool with Sculpey clay, from the buoys to the flutter boards and a handful of fictional characters — shot during the early days of quarantine last March.
Exclusive reflection by Francis Deleo & Alli Hooper; photographed by Jordyn Taylor-Robins.
Similarly to this song, the rest of the Don't Fix Anything ;) collection came out of lived moments reaching as far back as 2018. Some were recorded and developed in our home studio in Vancouver and others took shape in our friends Montreal home studio while cat sitting for them. Most of the songs are the processing of various mental states and a questioning of our conditioning. Both contemplative and cheeky at times, light and heavy, depending how you feel like taking it in. It's all for you to just get lost and find enjoyment in the dreamy yet groovy sounds coming out of the Doohickey Cubicle.
Doohickey Cubicle’s new album Don’t Fix Anything ;) will be available March 12 everywhere.
Album art for Don’t Fix Anything.