Sara Serpa’s new album Intimate Strangers (Biophilia Records) is due out on 3 December, 2021.
It features vocalists Aubrey Johnson and Sofia Rei and Serpa herself, with pianist Matt Mitchell and synth player Qasim Naqvi creating vivid soundscapes for stories from Nigerian writer Emmanuel Iduma’s book A Stranger’s Pose.
For You I Must Become a Tree is a track from the new album. The video, shot in Ilha de Luanda in Angola is an UKJN exclusive :
“It was an absolute pleasure to do this video.” says Fradique, the film director. “The pace of the song and the lyrics are truly inspiring for me as a filmmaker. As if a tree is slowly bursting out of the earth, the song carries a peculiar floating weight that defies gravity. Visually I wanted to bring the setting of an old forest fable into the video and combine that with an everyday working-class tale – the carwashers. It was shot in the old forest of Luanda’s Island, a space abandoned by the city, where people still come looking for answers among carwashers, religious cults and the old trees.”
Video credits:
Voice: Sara Serpa, Sofía Rei, Aubrey Johnson
Piano: Matt Mitchell
Modular Synth: Qasim Naqvi
Mixing: Pete Rende
Mastering: Andrya Ambro
Production Company: Geração 80
Executive Producer: Tchiloia Lara
Director: Fradique
Director of Photography: Ery Claver
Steadicam Operator: Eduardo Kropotkine
1º Assistant Camera: Agostinho Alfredo “Tino”
1º Assistant Camera: Paulo Idalécio
Art and Wardrobe: Nark Gaspar, Prudênciana Hach
Art Assistant: Jéssica Júlio “Telly”
Location Producer: Alberto Vaz
Production Assistant: Bruno Gonga
The Driver: Cleusa Costa
The Passenger: Edmar Moon
The Car Washers: Gegé M’bakudi
Resem Verkron
Justino Kalei “Ito”
Derson Teixeira