by #LizPublika
Sometimes you come across a music video that can easily be mistaken for a fashion editorial, an art film, or even a highly stylized dreamscape. The newly released “Summer,” from the Swedish Hip-Hop and R&B musician Lil T-Shirt, seamlessly fits into any one of these categories. Visually stunning, thematically curious, and intellectually provoking, the video actually has a dark twist that’s quite surprising. It was directed by the Stockholm-based filmmaker Ottilia Wahl; according to her official director’s comment:
“A young woman drives her lover out to the countryside to have him killed by her friends. We don't know why, if he knows what's about to happen, if he goes willingly or not, or what has happened between them...My inspiration for the film is the Scandinavian melancholy that the very short summers provide before we return back to darkness...Summer is not your average upbeat summer story, which is why we chose to release it in late November as the darkness and cold of the season goes hand in hand with the darkness of the story.”
Indeed, the tone and ambiance in the video reminds us of the fact that time is fleeting. Perhaps it’s the golden tint of an impending sunset – the glow of dusk reaching through the green landscapes. And yet, ironically, a feeling of timelessness is simultaneously conveyed, albeit by means that are a lot more subtle. The unsettling event feels like a pagan sacrifice; a normal part of traditions belonging to a time long ago, when seasons and harvests dictated social norms and realities. The implied feast strongly reinforces this notion.
Drawing from her previous work in the Swedish film industry, where Wahl worked on feature films, commercials, and television dramas, she was able to create something that fuses intriguing visual storytelling with a massively popular musical genre in a way that’s unexpected, beautiful, and stirring – after all, the song is literally about murder. “I also wanted to work with a subtext of sisterhood where women unite and help each other out no matter the situation.” The resulting video is a masterfully executed work of art.
Note* Album provided for objective review by our partners.