Watch the visual below!
Image: Pariss Bostick.
Sydney-based act jnr. has unveiled his new single, 2CLOSE. To celebrate the release, the musician is taking us behind-the-scenes of the songs music video.
Images: Hugo Bittar.
My partner Zoë and I have been working together for our entire relationship. It's always been the most natural process and we've slotted into each other's workflows without even meaning to. I always show her my music whenever I've made something; and I'll know I've got something special when she already visualising the video. Thing's move very fast from there - we're just throwing ideas at the wall and going as big as possible, knowing that with my budget we'll probably have to scale it down. But with this video, Zoë got her go-to creatives: producer Luca Blades, cinematographer Mia Schirmer, Production Designer Zoë Fraser, Assistant Director Jo Barwick and Costume Designer Sophia Walcott. We briefed them on the concept, presented a visual treatment and got a massive crew together who all believed in the project and wanted to make the vision as big as possible.
Images: Hugo Bittar.
We wanted to make this story weird and abstract - walking that line between gross and beautiful. Zoë (Fraser) did an amazing job making the silver goo that I progressively got more coated in (it tasted awful by the way), and Tiara Vella was brought on to choreograph a dance that almost felt like a moving organism or hive mind around me. I was in the dance ensemble in the 5th grade, but that is the extent to my movement knowledge... so I was really hesitant to dance in this video. But I was encouraged by Tiara and the entire crew to do it and loved every second of it. I'm in awe of every single dancer on that set.
Images: Hugo Bittar.
The story is sort of a sci-fi romance, centred around the metaphor of wanting to be so close to someone that you want to be under their skin; you want to know every facet of them and vice versa. The concept surpasses romance and gets a bit gross which is what we really wanted to lean into. I'm in this cocoon (made from chicken wire, twine and silicone) that the cast members are all a bit freaked out by. Georgia Oom plays the porcelain-faced lead who is a bit more curious and wants to find out more about this weird cocoon. I am inside it, curled up in a ball; but my perspective is more expansive than the claustrophobic cocoon - I'm in a large body of water looking out, also very curious about this porcelain-faced figure looking in. This was shot in my parent's pool with an underwater housing for the camera (which cine, Mia was very excited about). It was freezing that night, and Zoë (Dubuc), Mia and I had to spend quite a lot of time holding our breath trying to get the right shot. (Fun fact: I broke the speakers on my iPhone trying to test the waterproof capabilities in a camera test, thanks Apple.)
Images: Hugo Bittar.
This is the biggest project I have had the privilege of being a part of. Every single person on set played a huge role in bringing this massive vision to life. I've been watching it back during the editing process in awe of how talented my friends are and that I just get to do this. Some adults stop playing when they're kids but I don't think we'll ever stop.
2CLOSE is out now!
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