They say we’re facing something of a binge drinking epidemic. It’s not just the collective Helen Lovejoy’s of Australia, there are scientists and the like involved too (not Batman, unfortunately). Aussie drinking culture, a dire situation as it is, it’s nothing compared to the dramatic situation New Zealand faces. Not actual binge drinking mind you, we’re talking about the song from Lake South, Binge Drinking and D.H Lawrence, an epidemic we warmly welcome to sweep across the Tasman.
Nuanced and intimate, Lake South gives us a suburban dance recital with his video for Binge Drinking and D.H Lawrence.
After playing with the band Urbantramper, Lake South has been making music in solo mode since 2012. Following the release of his single Good Keen Man the Wellington-based multi-instrumentalist has received plenty of critical praise, even nabbing a spot as a finalist for the 2014 Critic’s Choice Prize and was a top 20 finalist in the very swanky APRA AMCOS Silver Scroll Awards. Did I mention his name is also Lake? Very cool.
Lake South has described his music as “Stumbling with balance“, that humility and adventurous feeling that meanders forth from his music gushes forth from Binge Drinking and D.H Lawrence. Like the first frost of Winter that creeps across your window, South’s voice is soft and delicate. It‘s soothing, ably supported by a cascade of synths and swelling percussion. If you’re feeling the effects of heatstroke these sunny months then forget the ice bath, just slap on a pair of good headphones and press play on this chiller.
There is a level of care taken with the video. Not just in the carefully choreographed movements, but in the way each shot feels considered with purpose by director Linsell Richards. It’s not surprising, given Richards and Lake South go way back “Lin and I went to high school together” the singer reveals. “We started doing performances pieces, then we did a play, then we made a web series. More recently we’ve made a couple of music videos“.
The intimacy between South and Nadia Reid’s vocals is reproduced effortlessly by the two dancers on screen. Veronica Butturini and Natalie Wilson emulate those feelings of trying to find beauty in the mundane, whether it be the local convenience store or fish and chips shop. The dramatic shifts of lighting transforms the landscape from arbitrary suburbia to the desolate, empty stage for our dancers to perform in, and they do Brigid Costello’s choreography justice.
If you love this be happy to know that Lake South will be releasing his new EP in early 2016, which isn’t too far away now.
