In most ancient cultures, incantations have been used to heal the sick, and help the dead pass on to another realm. These sounds are slowly disappearing as modernisation takes over their land, and the tribes either are forced to relocate, or disappear altogether. We would like to explore, document and record a piece that would combine and/or recreate these original incantations and mantras, coupled with the rhythm of breathing from birth (Labour), to sickness and dying, layered with local instruments of that part of the world, mixed with the sounds of that particular environment. The sounds of life in an altered state of being- either in pain, possessed (shamanistic practices), delusional with fever, and sounds around death (prayers and mourning). A juxtaposition of this would be their dying ecosystem (falling trees, dying coral, vanishing bees, decay) where the tribes in question can no longer heal and the incantations no longer reverberate the way they used to. Death of resonance.

Because the song itself had a story, I directed it so that people could empathize with that narrative as much as possible. There’s a part in the song that sings about memories of the four seasons, and I wanted to present that section with a flowing, picture-scroll-like image, so I paid very close attention to it. There’s also a timelapse shot that repeatedly shifts from morning to night, and I even measured the seconds to decide how much screen time to give to morning and night, adding some playful direction as well. I often get to work on story-driven music videos, but I feel this one turned out to be a piece that people of the same generation could really relate to. The members of Sayuni! are of the same generation, and the staff were all around the same age too, so it feels like the atmosphere on set came through in the footage 그대로. (I wish I’d filmed the making-of.) As a creator, I approached it as if I were making a short film from pre-production through post-production, giving meaning to the props and room decorations as well. I even turned the script into a screenplay first and then into storyboards, so I was able to pour every last bit of my attention into it. It’s a work I’m grateful for, both to the band and to the staff who followed through with us.

A glimpse of a Bon dance contest held night after night in a corner of the shrine by the gourds.