Pianist/producer Emanuel Ruffler has joined forces with drummer/producer/rapper Kassa Overall to create the jazz duo Painting, and they’re set to release their debut EP Gravity later this summer. Additionally, they’ve teamed up with filmmaker Hideki Shiota to make a haunting, stylish new video for the composition “Inside a Cup / Unsure”, which we’re glad to premiere.
“What does [the title] mean?” Ruffler says. “A moment of transition, between two sips of water? A perfectly round reflection in a tiny sake cup? What does the listener imagine? Both Kassa and I create our own image and instructions. This piece is a perfect example of the associative process we use to create music and visuals.”
“The direction I gave to actress Yana Milanberg was quite abstract,” Shiota explains. “She is chased by something, fear, anxiety, someone… but she doesn’t know what it is. Then she sees something, which could be hope or the exit form the absurdities of the world. She finally decides to accept the thing, the world, the natural order of things, the place she is in — and herself. She steps forward. People can be intrigued to find something meaningful. There’s no statement or answers in the video. The audience just sees a row of vague questions.”
Gravity will be released 28 August via Bandcamp.