It's funny how deja vu can either give you a sense of comfort—the warm tingle of nostalgia—or it can make you feel like you're in a hamster wheel that never stops spinning. The seventh circle of hell. Director Matt Halsall takes it to the darkest of extremes in this video for Lil Silva's "De Ja," which is funny because actually this tune is fairly upbeat. Sonically, the rising Bedford producer hits it out of the park with the rat-tat-tat hi-hats and perfectly orchestrated violins. Although he's been fucking around and making tunes for well over a decade, he first piqued our ears collaborating with BANKS three years ago (you may recall we helped BANKS make her video for the Lil Silva-produced "This Is What It Feels Like"). Since then he's continued to excel, dropping svelte, modern R&B tracks that on occasion dip their toe in grimier, dubbier waters, with choice vocal collaborators. Kent Jamz on this cut being another fine example. If you're down with SBTRKT, Lil Silva is your guy."Being a young and sometimes frustrated filmmaker / writer who spends a lot of time at home, I felt very quickly drawn to the concept of someone stuck in a cycle of deja vu and the nauseating claustrophobia that comes with it—waking up everyday with the same routine, unable to breakthrough and find a way out," explains Halsall. "Complacency settles in very quickly and you can adjust to your new circumstances without resistance, just regret. One has to dig deep to break out of such cycles of passive existence and monotony.
"I'm extremely grateful to the label and Lil Silva for allowing us to make a video with such dark undertones to a track that is so melodically upbeat - it makes for a compelling contrast and a piece that I'm incredibly proud of."Watch with caution below.
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