Melbourne-based indietronica, hip hop musician, Kwasi's latest release 'Ready To Go' was written to inspire actions to vanquish life's trials and tribulations.
"Battling the mundane and striving for a meaningful existence is no easy feat. We've all had adversaries and we've all had those dull days," shares Kwasi discussing 'Ready To Go', an optimistically bullish track that brings to mind Gorillaz meets YUNGBLUD-Slowthai vibes.An artist who has a strong focus on the visual elements of their music, Kwasi is intent on offering his fans multidimensional pieces of art.
The music video for 'Ready To Go' was directed by visual creatives Shot Good and introduces two misfit protagonists who find themselves trapped by their current life circumstances.
"I hope this visual piece feels relatable. I hope it triggers the inspiration to find your own silver lining in the form of a life-changing moment where you take the leap into being READY TO GO!"
Here, Kwasi digs deep into his own creative influences citing the five movies/ directors who pique his own imaginative ideas. "Music and film have a symbiotic relationship," begins Kwasi.
"I love exploring both these realms and allowing them to influence one another when working on a Kwasi project.
"In an era of short attention spans and an overload of low-quality content, I still put the time and effort into expressing my art through visual mediums.
"This gives my fans a greater understanding of my vision and a deeper experience when consuming my music. Below I've outlined some films that influence my work."
'The Nightmare Before Christmas' - Tim Burton
Introduced to stop animation at a young age, I would see this film regularly with my family growing up. Burton's use of dark and moody themes always stood out to me and made his work unique and rememberable.After getting fired from Disney in the early stages of his career, he took the criticism and developed a signature style that has stood the test of time. I take influence from his commitment to a unique vision and his ability to build a signature style that goes against the grain.
'Trainspotting' - Danny Boyle
Drawing similarities between the desaturated urban landscapes of the UK and Melbourne, this film inspires the choice of locations when taking photos and shooting visuals for the Kwasi project. I have a tendency to opt for grainy and desaturated filter and colour-grading effects.'RocknRolla' - Guy Ritchie
The storytelling of this film is incredible. Ritchie's ability to zoom in on the mundane lives of drug addicts and use it to inspire a poetic masterpiece is mind-blowing. It shines light on some heavy subject matter, while still being humorous and relatable.I take a similar approach when building narratives for my music when tackling heavy subjects. Asking myself the question, 'How can I talk about emotional and vulnerable subjects while still making it relatable and entertaining for the listener?'.
'The Hateful Eight' - Quentin Tarantino
Unlike many directors that rely on fancy effects to excite the audience, Tarantino wonderfully creates tension through dialogue.His films seem to move at a different pace to the average Hollywood blockbuster, emphasising character development and the psychological aspects of interaction between the characters. Like Burton, Tarantino developed a signature style by breaking the rules of traditional storytelling in film.
'Joker' - Todd Phillips
Growing up in a place where there weren't many people that looked like me, I always resonated with stories of misfits. The journey of the anti-hero and finding your place in the world speaks to me on multiple levels.This film depicts the darker side of that journey and highlights what can happen to an individual when the world won't accept them. Phillips' ability to influence the audience to empathise with such a sinister character is genius.
From an aesthetic standpoint, I love his use of grain and the fusion of old-school and new-school cinema techniques.
