Photo by Bailey Kobelin
Today, LA-based nonbinary artist/producer/multi-instrumentalist Body/Negative (aka Andy Schiaffino) is premiering the music video for “The Big Sleep” off their debut album Fragments. The album, out now via Track Number Records, consists of 7 dreamy, ambient, lo-fi songs that are seemingly minimalist, yet flow with energy and depth.
“The Big Sleep,” one such dreamscape of a record, emits a kind of meditative and pensive force that transfixes listeners, and this accompanying music video extends that same feeling. With the looped nature of the track, the repetition of lyrics and instrumentation, we’re given ample opportunity to recognize the beauty of what’s being repeated and the inner contrast. Using stunning film techniques and cinematography, the audience is shown two worlds, one light and one dark, communicated through expressive lighting. In the same way, the track’s vocals and backing are beautifully ethereal and welcoming, sounding like something off of Beach House’s Depression Cherry or Slowdive’s Souvlaki, yet, according to a statement released with Fragments, “The Big Sleep” is a “reflection on the artist’s struggle with suicidal ideation following a severance of ties with a loved one.” The mixed expression, to me, seems like a meditation on loss and the repetitive and cyclical nature in which the stages of grief can make manifest. In life, there is good, and there is bad, and we’re left to grapple with seeing the beauty in both.
Do yourself a favor and check out this beautifully shot and hauntingly evocative video.
Keep up with Body/Negative on Instagram and Bandcamp
