My Big Fat Greek Rap Posse

In January of 2021 I was approached by a Georgios from Newcastle-upon-Tyne who wanted to book a night in the Kitchen Wing AirBnB at Balintore Castle but he insisted he needed a lot of snow.

I did my best to explain that conjuring up snow on demand was not within my capabilities :-), but that the castle was in a part of Scotland where there would be a number of heavy dumps throughout the winter but you could not predict when these would be. Even the UK Met Office admit that predicting snow is known to be a particularly hard problem, and you can only give a relatively accurate prediction of snow a day ahead.

I was down in England at this time so I would have to communicate with my builder Gregor on the weather, and then relay the information to Georgios. This was almost on a daily basis, and I wondered why I was going to all this trouble; if only I had a webcam at the castle and could have pointed Georgios at the URL.

This was during the third lockdown and so the calendar was totally empty of AirBnB bookings. Georgios mentioned his party were doing a work photoshoot and this legitimised the use of the accommodation. Then a "rap video" was mentioned, but the whole thing sounded rather dubious. I suspected the group just wanted a mini lockdown break, but the AirBnB guidelines stated the onus of legitimacy is on the guests not on the host, so I was not worried.

Finally, around the 7th of February there was a massive dump of snow, and Georgios booked in for the 10th. I was crossing my fingers that the snow would linger around the castle. My neighbour contacted me on the 10th, in a state of some alarm, to say there were some young people cavorting in the field in front of the castle. I was able to reply "I believe that is my Greek rap posse.". It's not often that the Fates conspire to give one the intense joy of delivering such good lines. :-)

Much later, Georgios sent me a link to the resulting rap video on YouTube. His stage name is Arva, and so the guests had been legit after all, and what's more the video and song "Lady" are excellent: there is real art in the cinematography and real musicality and an excellent "flow" in the track.

The video does feature the objectification of women as is standard in the rap genre. One is accustomed to this, but when one sees mild lady bondage in one's own salon :-) this objectification does rather make one ponder. However, there is post-modern humour and irony in the presentation, so I don't think the imagery is problematic.

objectified lady, doubly exposed, on sofa in salon

Later on, an acoustic remix appeared on the same YouTube channel - this time shot indoors in the big Victorian kitchen.

I am highly impressed by the group's professionalism, efficiency and economy. They produced two quality videos out of a single day's shooting at the castle. There was clearly no messing around. I did not get any filming fees, and they just paid for a single night's accommodation.

The important thing is that Balintore Castle looks great and particularly so in the snowy landscape. Three days after the dump, when filming took place, there had been a considerable amount of snow melt, but the blanket of white was good enough to give an atmospheric winter vibe. The drone shots and one particular bit of VFX where the castle is mirrored in the sky are outstanding.

rap video opening credits

drone shot of snowy landscape

rap posse on castle terrace

Overall, I was delighted to have been a minor accessory in this work of art. The other videos on the ArvaOfficial channel do not quite have the same magic. Ironically, I subsequently went to work for the UK Met Office, so perhaps my regular weather bulletins for the Greek rap posse reveal a pre-woven tapestry by the Fates of Ancient Greek mythology.

magical castle with stars shot