Merging anthemic hooks, percolating percussion, and blown-out synths, “High Life” shows Klypi working their effervescent dance-pop into a candy-coated lather. The track, taken from the artist’s recently-released Consensual Hits LP, is playful and irreverent, setting them against the tedium of the 9 to 5 grind and pretty much anything else that would constitute a “well-integrated” existence. The message is abundantly clear: Klypi is going to live their best life, even if that means living their days as a so-called lowlife.
Filmed at Stove Works in Chattanooga, TN during Klypi’s artist residency, the video is the ideal accompaniment for the song’s kitschy day-glo aesthetic. Featuring an array of outlandish outfits, surreal sets, and DIY pop art props, the visuals amount to a tantalizing feast for the eyes. Throw in an adorable horse costume and a guest appearance from Clippy, Microsoft’s much-maligned virtual office assistant, and you have something approaching an absurd, slyly political fever dream.
Although Klypi’s music could be considered the driving force behind the production, they’re insistent that collaboration was paramount to its creation. The video was directed and edited by Nicholette Milhoan, an award-winning multimedia artist and freelance creative from Atlanta. Creative direction was provided by Klypi, Milhoan, and CC Calloway, an artist, poet, and educator from Augusta who recently received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently co-editor of Number: Inc. Assistance and on-set direction was provided by Lindy Erkes, a graduate of the University of Georgia with an MFA in sculpture. Along with choreographer Savannah Powell, horse costume designer Mike Calway-Fagen, and behind-the-scenes director Mary Margaret Rodgers, the team came together to create a vision that is bright, wildly fun, and remarkably singular.
Watch/listen above.
More Info
Web: klypi.com
Bandcamp: klypi.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @klypi
Instagram: @klypi__
Soundcloud: @klypi
Twitter: @klypi__