Mika has taken a new direction with his upcoming album, Origin of Love. The British singer-songwriter has teamed up with Chilean director Cristian Jimenez.
Mika has taken an unusual new direction in promoting his upcoming album, Origin of Love. The British singer-songwriter has teamed up with rising Chilean director Cristian Jimenez to provide a visual accompaniment to the title track. The short film (also titled ‘Origin of Love’ is a surreal, haunting ride through the streets of Santiago, which contrasts dramatically with the jaunty, upbeat sound of Mika’s song. (It’s also NSFW, both because of nudity and a sequence of disturbing A Clockwork Orange-referencing imagery.)
“I wanted to take the kaleidoscopic dreaminess of the song and pair it up with Cristian’s more realistic, surreal and moving imagery,” Mika explained in a press release. For his part, Jimenez revealed that he was inspired by the song: “The song is fantastic, it almost feels like you can touch it. I tried to do something that adds more layers to that texture. It’s an urban, very contemporary piece, with a bit of humour and touches of a fairy tale feel. ”
About the film, Mika said:
“This latest short film is a collaboration with the Chilean director Cristian Jimenez. After seeing his film Bonsai, this seemed like an exciting match. I wanted to take the kaleidoscopic dreaminess of the song and pair it up with Cristian’s more realistic, surreal and moving imagery. When making these films, I give complete freedom to the director we are collaborating with, in a way that is never possible with a music video. This short film was made in Santiago with Cristian’s close team and friends, and with a lot of love. I hope that watching someone else’s visual reaction to the song is as surprising and moving for you as it was for me. ”
Here is what Cristian had to say on the project;
“I was very excited when Mika got in touch about this. The song is fantastic, it almost feels like you can touch it. I tried to do something that adds more layers to that texture. It’s an urban, very contemporary piece, with a bit of humour and touches of a fairy tale feel. I hope Mika’s fans will connect and imagine a broader world beyond. ”
After publicly coming out as gay and teaming up with hitmakers Benny Benassi and Empire of the Sun’s Nick Littlemore on his new album, we may have a whole new Mika on our hands – and that’s a good thing.