No, “Waking Up The Neighbors” is not the latest horror movie from Blumhouse, but it’s pretty damn close. In the new video from Bahari, the duo – singer/keyboardist Ruby Carr and singer/bassist Natalia Panzarella – make the mistake of breaking into a neighbor’s pool. When they decide to investigate the seemingly empty house, they find out that it’s not so abandoned after all. Director SVN QNS perfectly captures the haunted house vibe, creating a visual that might just very well spawn a new horror franchise. Scored with a track that sounds like it was written during the Witching Hour, and it’s a video that’ll put anyone in a Halloween state of mind.
“ ‘Waking Up The Neighbors’ is an ode to the feeling of paranoia, the feeling of chaos in your mind when you realize that things are not as they seem,” Bahari tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “This song stems from anxiety, and we wanted to showcase the feelings we go through when having those emotions, by bringing in sonic elements that have drastic differences, like the silence, the dramatic drops, the screaming and then the soft harmonies.”
Ruby and Natalia weren’t “neighbors” growing up – quite the opposite. Ruby hails from the island of Lamu, off the coast of Kenya. Meanwhile, Natalia is from Nashville, Tennessee. Their fates became intertwined when — after a 16-year-old Ruby relocated to Los Angeles to pursue music — they met at a songwriting session at Rock Mafia Studio. They instantly clicked and began working on music together. Taking the name Bahari (“Ocean” in Swahili), the two made a splash with their song, “Wild Ones.”
“Natalia lived in Manhattan Beach, and I lived on an island,” said Ruby, in a statement. “The ocean is something we had in common and made us gravitate towards each other. There’s something so powerful about the ocean. It’s very musical and describes our vision.” The two began to make waves for themselves with their 2016 EP, Dancing On The Sun, and with singles “Get Together” and “F-cked Up.” They’ve collaborated with stars like Zedd and ILLENIUM, and their track, “Crashing,” can be heard on the Netflix series, To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.
Previously, Bahari teamed up with rapper BIA for a remix of “Savage,” their viral hit (which has amassed over 100 million streams.) With more music on the way, fans have a reason to be excited. Just – don’t blast Bahari’s music when it drops. The last thing you’d want to do is…well….you know.