Wxrd Yoshi - De Nada, directed by XIPHI, has been nominated for the Raindace Film Festical 2017 as best music video of the year.
New directing duo XIPHI - that's Melody Maker and Lauren Van Veen – have created an atmospheric showcase for Wzrd Yoshi's De Nada, set in a flat in a London tower block of a dystopian near-future that's been turned into a drugs factory.
From a backstory which envisages a post-Brexit UK that has come under Chinese control and effectively like a colonial Hong Kong in reverse - and the populace in thrall of a synthetic opioid called X-1 - the action takes place in a flat taken over by a drug-making sweatshop, where the little girl of the family who lived there originally sits in the corner waiting for justice to be served.
Presented in a richly colourful aesthetic, the production looks substantial in a way that belies the budget. In fact, XIPHI worked for six weeks on building the set, to make a few hundred pounds look like several thousands. A labour of love that delivers a real punch.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
XIPHI:
"With all our videos we like to touch on topics that affect us, our city and the world we know. Our concept for De Nada is set in the near future London. The value of the pound has plummeted, the Tory rule has left devastating effects on the UK and London's housing crisis has spiralled out of control. Real estate is highly prized and every inch of space is being used. Tower blocks are packed in next to each other, creating London’s own version of the Kowloon walled city.
"As electronic currency and the dark web have taken over e-commerce, China’s influence in the uk has become very strong. Their early bitcoin mining efforts has put them at the forefront of the new wave of world trading. The dark web as grown in popularity and people can buy with anonymity, purchase of illegal drugs has risen, and in particular a new synthetic opioid drug called X-1. To accommodate this rise in demand, small sweatshops have sprung up all of the city."
