Jordan Rossi directs an empassioned promo for South African singer-songwriter, actor and novelist Nakhane, featuring Perfume Genius, with a work that takes its cue from some pillars of Queer cinema and art. The video for Do You Well begins with Nakhane and their love interest glistening under sparkling lights in a studio space, and then battling to create a common ground, before finally connecting with each other. Gorgeous and thrilling, the video visualises a complex set of emotions in a stylish and thought-provoking manner, and the end result is wonderfully alluring. "Nakhane already had a concept for this video," Rossi reveals. "It was very much centred around a wrestling encounter between two people in a homoerotic fashion. They wanted to express the idea of a duel and the ridiculous nature of aggressive masculinity."Nakhane and I drew inspiration from lots of Queer art and cinema such as Pink Narcissus by James Bidgood, Querelle by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Moonlight by Barry Jenkins and Sebastien by Derek Jarman. We also looked at features like Fight Club and Shame - both dealing with masculinity, sex and relationships in a unique manner."Visually, I wanted a really deep and textured image with lots of energy. Tony Scott's turbulent yet cinematically rich style of compressed imagery was a huge source of inspiration here. "It's not every day you get to make projects such as this so a huge shout out goes to Faye who commissioned it, the record label for giving us complete creative freedom and Nakhane for being such a trusting collaborator."
Rob Ulitski - 7 months ago
