You know it: new Friday, new music! Well, in this case, it’s not that new since Fjaak released Hustle it back in May as part of their new album, Fjaak the System. But today, the Berlin-based duo publishes the song’s cryptic and highly dynamic music video, directed by Maximilian Mouson. With an incredibly cinematic feel and approach, Hustle answers the question, how does it feel to search for yourself when you can’t see?
In the words of the director, this new piece is “an effort to construct an introspective playground,” where performers Renato de Leon and Shannon Walsh search for themselves amidst the chaos of life. Speaking of their acts, Maximilian shares: “Renato unexpectedly joined the production after another dancer bailed on us. I shot a test video with him, and he intuitively understood what the project was about, bringing new inspiration to all of us through his dance. Shannon also performed on point; her energy during the performance and transformation was on another level.”
In the black-and-white music video, we see Renato dancing compulsively, twisting his body and entering into a sort of ecstasy. On the other hand, Shannon covers her face in clay, almost as building a mask around it. Following the idea of introspection and searching for oneself, a handful of masked characters appear totemic, magical, spiritual. They’re a mix between Dune’s Bene Gesserit and Brancusi’s polished, enigmatic sculpture work. Speaking of them, the director says that “The masked followers that appear ‘blind’ represent the forced introspection necessary for a close examination of all the possible answers to this question: do you explosively fight to alchemise the feeling of despair into finding yourself, or do you choose to ‘cover’ yourself and conform to be part of something and belong?”
As mentioned earlier, Hustle is part of the duo’s new album, which they released in May to the surprise of many, six years after the last one. During this time, they’ve focused on DJing around the world to consolidate their live act as well as remixing other artists’ tracks and publishing a few singles and EP. Well, and of course, working on Fjaak the System (very tongue-in-cheek and very Berlin), a 23-track record that features collabs with Modeselektor, Skee Mask, Red Eye, and more. As unstoppable as they are, they're touring the world this summer, and you can catch them next at clubs and festivals in London, Ibiza, Chicago, Denver, and more.
