Last week Sylvan Esso, the duo from Durham, North Carolina that pairs erstwhile folk singer Amelia Meath with electronic producer Nick Sanborn, announced four select live dates across Europe, including what is an already sold-out show at London’s Village Underground on Thursday 4th May.
To coincide with this news, Meath and Sanborn also unveiled a video for their new single ‘Kick Jump Twist’. Directed by the Californian-based director Mimi Cave – whose previous work has included music video collaborations with Danny Brown, tUnE-yArDs and Jim James – the video for ‘Kick Jump Twist’ features dancer Gary Reagan.
Speaking about the shooting of the video, Cave explains “we shot the video two days after the elections and we were all very much having our own processes with what had happened. Everything was so fresh that the crew’s moods were generally a mix of deer-in-headlights, sadness and anger. At the same time, we couldn’t help but feel a visceral excitement and connection to seeing Gary dance his heart out all day. It was like he was channelling all our chaotic energy into every take.”
Destined for their as yet unannounced second album, ‘Kick Jump Twist’ has been a feature of Sylvan Esso’s live set for some time now. Like some lithe liquid acrobat, Reagan twines, turns, and kicks over the dust and traces of the song’s electronic pulse as both sound and vision majestically coalesce in one glorious sensory union.
Photo: Shervin Lainez
