Many of our favorites have made some sort of return this year, and we're here to welcome them with open arms. One such artist is UK singer/songwriter/producer MNEK, who wowed us last month with his unexpected single "Paradise." The song took on a slightly darker edge than his previous work, with the lyrics focusing on escaping from the ills of the world — including the spectre of police brutality. He continues and expands upon those themes in the song's accompanying video.
The clip, in which the artist doesn't appear, opens on a bright blue world as a man walks alone down a seemingly unending path. As he walks and the song progresses, we're treated to scenes of clouds, people and landmarks. Everything seems nice at first, but the colors soon fade to purple before going pitch black and then becoming a bright, angry red. This red, which is soundtracked by an intense moment in the track, is accompanied by scenes of police dressed in riot gear and attacking faceless citizens. Our nameless protagonist soldiers on through each change, his earbuds securely in his ears, ignoring all the ills as he makes his way back to the serene blue that the video opened with.
“The concept of the video is a very beautiful man by the name of Dennis walking this alternate universe a.k.a. Paradise, and it, in its own way, just shows how beautiful things can be, how dark things can be — but how we get to a happy place in the end," MNEK told The FADER in a statement. I think police brutality is something that shouldn't be a thing. Police are supposed to protect us, and in the majority of cases they do, but unfortunately sometimes they abuse their power. It's a shame it's the world we live in, and it was important to show that in the video.”
Check out the fascinating and political video below.
