An Enigmatic Music Video (Someday by Weval, 2019)
Someday is an enigmatic music video exposing the viewer to an hypnotic sequence of rapidly flashing imagery matching the music's enthralling rhythms. It delivers the experience of being "force-fed the world" while trapped in a vortex of texture.
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Someday is informationally dense. The opening sequence consists of an aerial view approaching the woods (some people see dead trees, others appreciate structures of fractal growth). The middle section explores a rich variety of man-made media, with an apparent focus on the built environment in contemporary Western Europe. The closing section features natural forms that eventually come back to match the opening.
The imagery is diverse and seems to explore places where people live, work, and worship. The sequence encompasses urban views, means of transport, materials, structures (residential/cultural/commercial), and infrastructures. Domes and cupolas are prominently featured and explored. Satellite imagery is stitched together to provide the illusion of movement across vast swaths of land. Together, the images extend the viewer's perception to include views of the world that are rare or impossible, delivering a heightened sense of place in the modern world.
Other motifs that can be appreciated:
- The coexistence of old and new.
- The contrast between the micro and the macro.
- The contrast between the anthropogenic and the non-anthropogenic.
- The connection between the urban and the non-urban.
Someday integrates visuals by Páraic McGloughlin, a visual artist living in Ireland, and music by Weval, a Dutch duo consisting of Harm Coolen and Merjin Scholte Albers. Some words from McGloughlin on the work:
"We aimed at creating an abstract journey with a sense of ambiguity holding underlying core concepts: Where are we going, are we going in the right direction? Our situation on earth is fragile, as individuals, as a people and the planet itself is delicate. Nothing is certain; life can change dramatically for better or for worse in an instant. We may fear losing what we have but we try to hold on."
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