LONDON, UK — British artist GAIKA has unveiled his music video for “LADY,” directed by PRETTYBIRD’s Jade Ang Jackman. The song also features American rapper bbymutha.
The black and white visual inspired by the viral Instagram profile, MugShawtys, sees GAIKA trawl through criminal records, footage, and photos in the search for his ideal accomplice. From his hideout, he studies his potential new recruits and what they are capable of, watching them fight, steal and scam their way out of menacing situations.
Jade said, “Having known Gaika and his music for a while, I love how his politics is always infused with his beats. It goes without saying that it reminds me of groups like Wu-Tang Clan which feels like the most iconic union of Black and East Asian culture which relates to our respective cultural backgrounds.
Hearing LADY reminded me of Blade and Kill Bill so I wanted to create some larger-than-life characters and movement sequences that felt like a contemporary take on that fused with the trademark digital weirdness, CCTV, state surveillance edge that feels like a creative thread of GAIKA’s too. With bbymutha’s wicked lyrics about Harley Quinn, I really wanted to draw on that energy to craft some female villains.”
Jade is an award-winning director whose work can be identified by its energetic and vibrant qualities as well as her interest in sport and action. In these realms, she seeks to collaborate with people who’ve traditionally been sidelined from these spaces. She has worked with several Olympic athletes and brands spanning UEFA, Channel 4, Gucci, Canon, Audible, and more. Most recently, her short film, Speed of Sound, about Paralympic gold medallist Carina Edlinger, co-produced by Lammas Park, won best sports film in a prize supported by Arcteryx. In her debut narrative project, she worked with Lammas Park on a project supported by Canon to create an action-drama hybrid based on a self-defense group started by Suffragettes. Currently, she is finishing a film for UEFA and Football. Co for the Europa League.
Newly signed to Big Dada Recordings, home to Roots Manuva, Yaya Bey, Kae Tempest, Brian Nasty, and more, GAIKA jumps back into music with new invigoration after delving into work as a composer to unveil his forthcoming album, “Drift,” his most expansive work to date. The visionary invites listeners on a high-speed journey where love, pain, brutality, and beauty collide to produce a vivid and provocative cinematic masterpiece. The sonic universe of “Drift” is the most stylistically accurate representation of GAIKA’s personal tastes to date, stitching musical influences past and present such as Prince, Wu Tang Clan, Massive Attack, John Coltrane, Pink Siifu and A$AP Rocky to land on a gritty, distorted sound pulsating with an unwavering, formidable energy that’s disruptive yet timeless.
“Drift” is 14 tracks of nostalgic escapism, a shape-shifting body of work with hip-hop and club music cultures at its core, as those simply run through the veins of GAIKA. Analog and retro in feeling, Drift’s psychedelic feel is formed by incorporating 90s grunge, dark wave, post-punk, and alt-rock into its tapestry. It’s a representation of his heritage and environment, featuring calypso steel pans to gospel vocals, reverberating dub to frenetic rap, and elements of sound design taken from recordings of the real world. GAIKA’s music transcends borders and his nomadic nature means he simultaneously belongs and doesn’t, his music cannot be confined to just one genre and this unique new record further cements him as one of the most progressive artists of our time, telling the tale of modern day renaissance man driving away from the economic hierarchy he doesn’t believe in.
GAIKA endeavored to create a waking dream by constant participation in communal art-making, removing the separation between art and life, his imagination and community, and breaking the boundary between real life and any spectacular representation of it. He set up a number of situational arts facilities in the heart of London including shows at ICA, 180 the Strand, and Now Gallery, and as the world reopened, created pop-up galleries, studios, exhibitions, and raves with the intention to enhance the experience of real life by dreaming. To achieve this coherently and authentically the process became akin to a form of psychological examination of memories made before music “mattered” to GAIKA – before becoming commodified, individualized and his name capitalized.
Drift became the term used to describe the creative happenings in these spaces and the name for the collective of people who made this record. GAIKA is the central writer and composer working closely with KIDÄ on production and a group of classically trained musicians with contributions from Azekel, Charlie Stacey, Brbko, and The Narrator over an extended period of time where they recorded music late into the night, night after night.
GAIKA’s sound spans grime, dancehall, R&B, electronic, and beyond, often weaving in vital commentary through his lyricism. He has a diverse portfolio of music releases and art installations under his belt, first gaining attention in 2015 with his debut mixtape, “Machine,” and since released a string of acclaimed projects including “BASIC VOLUME” and “Seguridad” and has collaborated with some of the most renowned names in the electronic underground scene like 3D (Massive Attack), Bipolar Sunshine, Dean Blunt, Empress Of, Kelela, Mike Skinner, Mykki Blanco, and SOPHIE.
His music has taken him all over the world to perform at major festivals such as Afropunk, Field Day, Primavera Sound and this summer will see him touch down in Spain for Sonar and Italy for Pic Nic Affair.
CREDITS:
Gaika “Lady”
Directed by Jade Ang Jackman
Starring Ayesha Hussain, Becky Tunpe, Emma Breschi, Jordan Asher Matheson, Nihal ElAesar, Mia Powell & Clodagh Farrely
Production Company: PRETTYBIRD UK
Exec producer: Juliette Larthe
Head of Production: Fiona Bamford-Phillips
Head of Music Videos & Special Projects / Producer: Chris Murdoch
1st AD: Eleri Shone Runner: Sara Batista Runner: Bailey
DOP: Thomas English 1st AC: Andy Hill
2nd AC: Aaron Champion Gaffer: Alex Cullen
Spark: Lloyd Rubio
Production Designer: Ellie Koslowsky Art Department Assistant: Jessica Au
Fight choreography: Ayesha Hussain
Stylist: Emika Ohta Seger Makeup Artist: Shireen Kadhim
Edit: Rob McGuire at The Assembly Rooms Edit Producer: Troy Smith
Colorist: Connor Coolbear at ETC
Color Producer: Oscar Wendt
VFX: Jordan Chappell Title Design: Gaika
Special thank you to John at MMA Dojo, East Finchley
