Beast Nest’s exquisite Sicko is certainly one of my favorite records of 2022 so far, but another thread is pulled taut and revealed in the incredible new video for “Kim, People Are Dying.” The energy and tension in the song are heightened by the colors and movements in the video. A multifaceted narrative unfolds, flipping between alternate realities as though the viewer is bounced around inside an affecting prism. Beast Nest’s Sharmi Basu described it as “horror and also friendship,” distilling the feeling director Sepand Mashiahof and cinematographer Ricky Marler capture succinctly.
Shot on location in Oakland, Mashiahof and Marler used a single-shot approach to bring the energy and feeling of “Kim, People Are Dying” into the visual realm. Beast Nest’s music is expansive and never takes a breath, something Mashiahof wanted to echo in the video. ” In honor of Beast Nest’s musical style,” she says, “I wanted to capture how Sharmi’s compositions feel like these journeys without pause, where every sound is threaded together seamlessly.” Marler builds on that, saying “It really reinforces what the video is about. No matter what distracts, pain and struggle are inevitable to healing processes.”
The connection between everyone involved shines through as scenes in “Kim, People Are Dying” unfold. Trust in the decisions and choices made are apparent in the vulnerability of everyone’s performance and how impactful it is when conveying the emotion of the song. “I think having a team that was 90% trans people and 100% queer people felt so loving, fun, gentle, important,” Basu explains. “This video is about mental health and disability and how much friendship can save us in our strangest hardest darkest moments. Ricky and Sep have individually done that for me.” The care for each other comes through, turning an already moving, memorable song into a timeless piece of visual storytelling.
Beast Nest’s Sicko is out now via Ratskin Records. Stream and purchase a copy below.
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