Look, it’s just a fact that some songs are decidedly pedestrian and to make up for it the artist will overcompensate when it comes to the video. Like the sad, brylcreemed strands of hair that obediently cling to the leathery scalp of an ageing man, it’s not fooling anyone. Well this is absolutely not the case with the visual accompaniment to Attawalpa’s most recent track.
In essence ‘Done Hanging On’ documents the woes of modern courtship in such a way that faces the topic head on whilst casually swerving away from any self-pity. Rugged, pretty empowering and utterly relatable, don’t rule out deliberately getting into a massive argument with a significant other just so you can storm out of the gaff and walk dramatically down the street angrily humming ‘I’m done, done, done hanging on”.
For the visuals, Attawalpa paired up with the cream of the illustrative crop, Alex Gamsu Jenkins and Joe Taylor. Taking the direction of the lyrics and expertly coming up with an immersive and all-stimulating endeavour. Speaking to their creative process, Alex and Joe state, “I think we pretty much decided to follow the lyrics of the song but in a very surreal way. There isn’t so much an overall narrative, it’s more like a dream-like sequence of images moving in time with the song.” When asked about the reference points for the video Attawalpa added, “I wanted something in between Duncan Trussel’s fantastic Midnight Gospel and Simpsons episode El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (if you know you know).”
A wash of perky pigments and dissolving faces that all bundle and merge from one to another. A colourful tonic able to significantly alter the darkest of moods. Who knew dangling tonsils and encouraged sing-alongs could be so mesmeric?
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