Goldkimono - Electric Swing

Listen to Electric Swing here: ------------ Directed by Wide Eyed x Renaldho Pelle Character Design by Renaldho Pelle Character Animation - Renaldho Pelle & Patrick Selby Visuals & Typography - Wide Eyed Typography Animation / Motion Graphics / Compositing - Caspar Wain & Sam Gardner Motion Graphics / Video Edit / Production - Wide Eyed Studio Executive Production by Goldkimono & Dan Gafry – Camp Kimono Records ------------ To the reader: Electric Swing inspires us to transcend the ordinary. It is a song about the potential of music and it’s unique ability to transform the everyday into the extraordinary. Music is a healing power for many people. It is a language that everyone around the world understands and can feel and experience. In Electric Swing, an infectious rhythm lays at the foundation of a positive message. A message that invites us to clear our heads and become enchanted by our imaginations. The uplifting and upbeat feel of the song encourages movement / dancing, which offers an opportunity to temporarily free ourselves from our limitations and concerns. “It makes you dance, it makes you sing, transcends the ordinary things…” The cover art for Electric Swing is inspired by the Camp Lo 1997 album art for ‘Uptown Saturday Night’. A record from my early youth that I loved, and still love to this day. I was always drawn to the cover because of its playful party vibe and cool club scene expression. To express Electric Swing’s inherent meaning and messaging I aimed for an approach that would fit the Electric Swing theme as well as pay attribute to the cultural source of inspiration it came from. To bring this concept to life I worked together with London based illustrator/animator Renaldho Pelle as well as the London based graphic and motion design studio WIDE EYED. In my first conversation with Renaldho, I learned that the Camp Lo artwork was actually inspired by Marvin Gaye’s 1976 studio album “I Want You’ , and that this album in its turn, depicted the original painting of the late Ernie Barnes titled “The Sugar Shack”. This beautiful work (I invite you to look it up if you have never seen it) transports viewers to a jubilant black club. It transmits rhythm so the experience is re-created in the person viewing it. In the picture the partygoers and musicians have their eyes closed, which after some research I learned is a signature in nearly all of Barnes’ paintings, referring to his oft-stated belief that “we are blind to each other’s humanity.” In our version of the Electric Swing cover we pay tribute to this message, as well as stating the desire for the human race to see each other, and celebrate each other’s differences. Which is symbolised in the open eyes of the female character (woman with the backwards hat) on the front right side of the artwork. For the video (which was made by the same team as the single art) we decided to bring the exuberant group on the Electric Swing cover to life by using animated 2D motion. It consists of the 6 main characters who dance their way through lively visual surroundings. We use looped dance movements mixed with colourful dynamic backdrops to create a vibrant and uplifting experience, while the hand crafted lyrics offer the viewer a chance to have a closer connection to the lyrical content and messaging. The Electric Swing video supports the song’s central meaning, which is that of music’s ability to transform the everyday into the extraordinary. A message that invites us to clear our heads and become enchanted by our imaginations. In doing so the video celebrates cultural diversity, and acknowledges different races and cultures coming together as something beautiful. We hope you enjoy this video and join in it’s celebration. Lots of love, X GK