Behind the Scenes

In less than 24 hours, MuchMusic will premiere the Candy Coated Killahz music video to their lead single titled Neon Black. I am ecstatic to have been included in this futuristic video and it's always a pleasure being surrounded by such talented and creative people.

The dynamic duo showcasing urban electro-pop has been hailed by the Globe and Mail as one of the bands responsible for Toronto's emergence as an "electronic music capital". Having already jammed with The Roots, The Gza (of Wu Tang Clan), Pitbull and The Cool Kids, CCK also had their 2009 debut single Playboy appear in a movie and several TV series in North America.

As one of the industry's few female producers, classically trained pianist and multi instrumentalist Tasha Schumann is the frontgirl of the group. Her candy coated partner in crime, Michael Ayodeji Akinlabi (also known as Icon the Anamoli), offers a great deal of artistic edge with his vocals, eclectic dance moves and a background in animation and game design.

The music video that everyone will be talking about is directed by Alon Isocianu. By incorporating a plethora of metallic costumes, wild hair and daring makeup the characters of this video easily fit into a world of flashy buildings and flying cars. Hairstylist Grant Butterworth had no boundaries when it came to my hairdo. He insisted on platinum blond extensions with a heavy set of bangs covering my eyes. The look was topped off with fetish tape wrapped around my head. I could barely see a thing during the whole shoot and was extra cautious when stepping over all the wires on set.

Despite my impaired vision, I was one of the dancers in the club scene. Some may even notice that Tasha gives me a little nudge as she and Icon are walking through the crowd. To let readers in on a little secret - the club scene with hundreds of ravers was actually only filmed with eight dancers in front of a green backdrop. After multiplying all of the dancers a few times over and digitally adding the background, it created the craziest party spot possible. The dancers were specifically asked to use lots of arm movements, which had me busting moves I wouldn't dare unveil even after a few extra cocktails. I bet the cast had a good laugh, not that I could tell for sure due to my lack of vision with the extremely long bangs and all.

Listen and love Candy Coated Killahz and I'm certain your heart will go Neon Black just as mine has. Below are some behind-the-scenes shots courtesy of photographer Michelle Belsky.