VIDEO PICKS OF THE WEEK: Luis Ake x Dima Midborn, Maria Naffah, Ólafur Arnalds (ft. Josin), Wyldest
Luis Ake x Dima Midborn – Hey Du/Эй, Ты
Having exchanged Moscow, Russia with Berlin, Germany singer/songwriter and bass player Dima Midborn teamed up with Berlin-based singer/musician Luis Ake and the result is the irresistible “Hey Du/Эй, Ты”. While I don’t speak Russian, I do speak German and the lyrics remind me of the joyous carefreeness of 80s Neue Deutsche Welle (German new wave). Turns out, the lyrics are inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke poem, which makes it all the way cooler. Add a video born out of pandemic limitations, it yet manages to transport the everything-is-possible-vibe. I feel rejuvenated just watching this, more of it, please!
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Maria Naffah – California
California is a beautiful place and it is no wonder that Londoner Marie Naffah enjoys hanging out at its coast line. And you can join her: put this video on a big screen and you can almost feel the warm breeze coming from the ocean. Marie tells us about the video
Quite simply, ‘California’ is a love letter to a place. It’s meant to capture the infatuation of being somewhere that is not your home. Where the mundane becomes marvellous and every detail is a souvenir.
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Ólafur Arnalds – The Bottom Line (feat. Josin)
Collaborations are a wonderful thing not only for the combined creative forces that are at work but because it intrudes listeners to new artists. You may know already the genius of Ólafur Arnalds, but the artist featured in this song is also more than worth the attention. We have seen Josin for the first time in Reykjavik for Iceland Airwaves 2016, which was love at the first spot. And while we are very much anticipating Icelandic keyboardist and composer Ólafur Arnalds‘ Livestream tomorrow (more on this here), we are utterly in love with “The Bottom Line” and the floral music clip. Arnalds says:
“The Bottom Line is first and foremost about growth. Josin spent a week with me in my studio in Iceland during a transformational period in both our lives. She is someone I have admired for years and I am thrilled that we were able to connect and share our experiences through this piece of music.”
Josin adds:
“This piece is about finding salvation by breaking it down to nothing but your existence, only being able to reach,” says Josin. “Sinking to your deepest inner self and accepting all the emotions that you have successfully held down. Working with Olafur was so much fun. It was intuitive and very inspiring for me in terms of writing process and production. Born out of many talks and personal experiences. And based on friendship.”
The video for “The Bottom Line” presents flowers dancing in sync with the song alongside timelapse footage by Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto.
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Wyldest – Seastroke
We already loved the calming effect of “Seastroke” when it came out this summer, but watching it performed solo live by Wyldest frontwoman Zoe Mead is pure zen. You just feel how much she enjoys the performance:
I love writing and performing in this way. There’s a bit of prep work involved but once it’s all done you’re ready to enjoy the benefits of being completely free from looking at a screen and you can really immerse yourself in the actual performance.
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