DEATĦ B¥ LØVE: Cockroaches, ketchup and shadow exorcism

The video clip for “Sellenno” is particularly strong. We spoke to Peter Guellard and Inga Habeba:

Orkus: How did you experience the shoot? And what’s with the cockroaches?
Peter Guellard: Let me start with the cockroaches. In various cultures, they are seen as symbols of change, resilience and even resurrection. Biologically, cockroaches belong to the beetle family, and beetles generally stand for metamorphosis. Their appearance often indicates that a transformation is imminent.
Given the global situation we currently find ourselves in, on the cusp of profound change, this symbolism seemed fitting. Visually, the contrast between Inga’s impressive stage presence and the perceived ugliness of a cockroach provides an additional visual shock effect, which we deliberately used.
The video was shot in a historic Heinz factory building in North Pittsburgh. This is the very place where Heinz ketchup was born, made famous by Andy Warhol’s work. Coincidentally, Warhol was also born in Pittsburgh, which added another subtle layer of local cultural resonance for us.

O: And how did the song come about?
Inga Habeba: The creation of “Sellenno” was not just an act of composing. It was an exorcism of the shadows that unfolded in the heart of autumn. As the world outside began to wither and cloak itself in rust and cold, I felt the urgent need to give form to the formless pain within me. I wrote this text as the leaves fell like memories that can no longer be held on to. At the time, I was undergoing intense therapy that forced me with brutal honesty to confront truths I had been avoiding for years.
I realized that my childhood joy had not disappeared. I had buried it myself and hidden it in the cold cellar of my soul. It was a survival mechanism. I hid this light so that it would not disturb the eyes that had long since become accustomed to the darkness of trauma. This song became a confession of repression, an attempt to purge what burns, even at the cost of emotional emptiness.
Sellenno is a portrait of complex PTSD. When trauma freezes the heart and forges an armor of numbness, one begins to seek pain as the ultimate proof that one is alive. In the lyrics, I cut the metaphorical roses from the paradise gardens of my childhood, the gardens that may have existed but never did. I left only the thorns, because in the landscape of trauma, guilt often becomes the only compass and pain the only authentic sensation.
This song is both a litany of absence and an anthem of survival. By mapping this inner chaos, I finally allowed myself to descend into that darkest basement and stop being afraid of what lived there.

You can also find out more in our March/April issue, in which we talk extensively about the album “444”.

But first watch the clip for “Sellenno”: