Los Angeles - Young Fathers, the Edinburgh-based trio of Alloysious Massaquoi, ‘G’ Hastings and Kayus Bankole, have just begun celebrating the release of their newest album, White Men Are Black Men Too, released a few days ago via Big Dada. The eclectic 12-track album follows the band’s last album, DEAD, that made enough of an impression to claim the U.K.’s 2014 Mercury Prize. White Men Are Black Men Too was written and recorded over the course of 2014 while Young Fathers were performing around the globe and was finished back at the group’s studio in Edinburgh, Scotland. The record has already become the receiver of high praise and to further promote this new release, the band has decided to premiere the first official video for the single “Shame.”
Check the music video out below!
The video for “Shame,” directed by Jeremy Cole, emphasizes the duality of the song’s blending of joy with intensity and euphoria. Cole elaborates on the subject, explaining:
“At first listen, I considered ‘Shame’ as a strong, dance-along pop track. With every repeated listen, the track started to sound more sinister and haunting but you still wanted to dance along to it… My intent with the video was to create a piece that reflected the poignancy of the lyrics and the intensity of the music – while at the same time bringing conversation and question about perception.”
Building upon what Cole has to say, Massaquoi, Bankole and Hastings also reveal their perspective on the video, as well as the topic of Post Pop:
“What. Now?
Can’t we just leave it to moulder away in the corner? Do we have to keep prodding it with a stick? Frankensteining it? Remember the melodious sweet times, the soundtracks to the moments, the whistling and skipping along, the arm in arm, girls together against the world, the boys trash it up, smash it up, school leaving day, first day at the desk-face, did we just make a baby groovy times?
It died, didn’t it? Just passed slowly away. In its sleep.
We’re feeling mischievous, though. Wanna mess it up. One more time for daddy. One more dance around the maypole. Do the zombie twist. For the memories.
No shame. Squeezing the last few drops before it’s over-analysed into the very computer screen, a shadow burn of an ecstatic smile. Just another product. This, is just another product and that’s the way you should take it. There’s no shame in that.”
The countdown to the start of Young Fathers’s North American tour is over, with the first show in Boston, MA already under their belts! Ticket and show info for the rest of the tour can be found HERE.
White Men Are Black Men Too is available now, through iTunes, Google Play and Big Dada.
Keep up with Young Fathers through their official website and these social media outlets:
Facebook
Twitter (@youngfathers)
Tumblr
YouTube
SoundCloud
