A Chat With VANES Following the Release of ‘i lost my mind’ [New Music Video]

LONDON, UK – (For Immediate Release) – Wolverhampton-born, rising indie rapper VANES (he/him/sensitiveboi) has released his new single, ‘i lost my mind’. The track serves as part 3/4 from VANES’ debut EP: pixie dust, a guitar-heavy hip-hop vibe that explores narratives of so-called ‘codependency’ following later this year.

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What was the creative direction of the video?

It began with me sending Robin Clewley (Director) some thoughts about playing with identity and disembodiment. He then developed this yellow-boxed loner-ish person idea. As the concept progressed, I wanted to add a more feminine element. After that, we developed the karaoke room to showcase these different identities’ performative aspects and juxtaposition. The boxhead character’s demeanour and facial expression convey numbness, while the feminine character embodies the aliveness they’re desperately searching for.

As well as yourself, who else was involved with the production?

The video was directed by Liverpool-based Robin Clewley and shot by Lee Isserow (Vessel Studios). Editing was done between Robin and Ukrainian-based video maker Stefan Tolmachov, while Jessica Dawn, a Liverpool-based make-up artist, contributed on shoot day. Robin and Lee have a great creative partnership and complement one another’s skillsets exceptionally well. Also, Robin’s been shooting photographs for nearly two decades, so the stills are always class!

How was this similar/different from your previous music videos? 

My debut single, ‘leave you well alone’, was self-shot. For the ‘i lost my mind’ video, I worked with the same team as ‘can’t feel your love’, so aesthetically there’s continuity. Performance-wise, this video felt different for me. Walking around the Liverpool underground with a cardboard box on my head was challenging (I could barely see). However, it certainly added to the sense of this character genuinely looking lost. Artistically exploring my yīn was new, and I’m curious about how it will appear in future works.

What was your highlight during the curation process?

Firstly, after getting my make-up and hair done, Jess asked me, “how do you feel?”, and I responded with, “just beautiful”. The other highlight was a deleted scene from the final cut. We set this scribbled-over newspaper on fire in slow motion, though while shooting, it was enjoyable, reflectively it could have been bye-bye to my pretty face. For continuity reasons, it didn’t make the final cut; however, it is viewable on my Insta page… #donttrythisathome. 

What would you nominate as the best music video and why? (not your own)

Arctic Monkeys’ music video for “Cornerstone” gets my vote. I’m really into self-shot stuff and particularly love it when artists challenge themselves this way.