Video Premiere: The Tambo Rays throw a backyard party in "Take That"

“This video was shot in my backyard in Oakland at my 25th birthday party,” recalls Sara “Sonic” DaMert of The Tambo Rays about the band’s video for “Take That”, a track we premiered back in August when it had the slightly more streetwise title “Take Dat”. “I asked renaissance woman and dear friend Katie Wheeler-Dubin to film the festivities, just like our parents did when we were kids. I wanted to have a clearer record to look back on than champagne-infused memories.”

It wasn’t until after the party that DaMert realized the footage’s potential for use as a video. “The idea to develop this footage into a music video was done so non-linearly,” she says. “When I watched the footage back I was so delighted – the candidness of everyone simply enjoying themselves was so blissful and lucid.”

That’s when the band decided to inject an intoxicating feel back into the video. “I then turned to magic-man Chaz Smedley to edit the footage, I found out about him by watching underground bay area hip hop music videos,” DaMert says. “He eloquently wove the footage from the party in with psychedelic visuals Brian

[DaMert, her brother and the band’s frontman] and I found in a box of VHS tapes at our parents’ house. Chaz perfectly captured the day in all its warmth and weirdness, as well as the song’s summery spirit.”

We couldn’t agree more with Ms. Sonic’s assessment. The video exudes the completely chill feel of a summertime backyard barbecue in the warmth of the East Bay, which is bolstered by her simultaneously disinterested and brash vocal delivery. Watch it below, grab a free download of “Take That” on The Tambo Rays’ SoundCloud, and then get full details on the band’s Wednesday show at The Milk Bar.