Premiere: Alternate realities bubble forth in the new music video to Claude Glass’ ‘Isekai’
The Singaporean artist unveils a psychedelic animation by Sadiq Mansor for his EP’s title track
‘Isekai’ is the second music video to emerge from Claude Glass’ project of the same name. Released through Singaporean label Syndicate in December 2020, the five-track EP is inspired by and takes its name from the anime subgenre Isekai (異世界) wherein characters find themselves transported to alternate realities – often by accident.
Claude Glass is the alias of Singapore native Isa Ong, who borrows his artist name from an 18th Century oddity used by artists that distorts the visual image in order to facilitate landscape painting. The singer-songwriter (and producer-instrumentalist) likewise transforms his soundscapes with daring and otherworldly textures punctuated by lyrics as evocative as they are obscured by metaphor.
The music video for ‘Isekai’, premiering exclusively on Mixmag Asia, is directed and animated by photographer and videographer Sadiq Mansor, who during lockdown added 'illustrator' to his resume. The result of his collaboration with Claude Glass and Marc Loh (art director for the Isekai EP at large), ‘Isekai’ is a psychedelic visual tour de force that recalls the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’, and more recently, 'The Midnight Gospel'.
Described by Glass as an “absurd journey through the subconscious”, the animation takes the viewer through a “date-gone-wrong” that bears new fruit with each viewing. As the lyrics ask, “Is this where the colour bled to?”. We’re inclined to agree.
Watch the video below:
