Following the release of his debut LP Bleached Wavves this summer, Daniel Monkman’s shoegaze project ZOON has returned with a trippy video for his psychedelic new track “Was & Always Will Be.”
“In our Ojibway tradition and something my mom also taught me is that when the Creator has been good to you or has blessed your life you should always honour that,” Monkman explains of the track. “Ways to do that are helping others in need or being mindful in your everyday life or in living the ‘good life.’ One way is to sing to the Creator and express your gratitude. For ‘Was & Always Will Be’ I wanted to show that gratitude so I chant ‘Yahweh’ throughout the song, which is an indigenous word for ‘creator.'”
The new track comes packed with layers and layers of dreamy instrumentals, making for a stunning textural soundscape, as Monkman’s faint chants add new depth in the background. The colourful accompanying John Smith-directed clip is inspired by Monkman’s dreams of flying and astral projection. “I hadn’t really expressed that to John but I think he knew subconsciously from the song,” Monkman continues.
Watch the video for “Was & Always Will Be” below.
“I was experimenting with different visuals to represent this song, then Daniel came to the table with this great drone footage that his friend had shot — I really just ran with that,” Smith explains. “I was able to dig a bit more into the traditional ‘psychedelic’ style of editing and colour palettes that I think you can only get away with when you pair it with a wonderfully hypnotic song such as this one. If you ever wondered what it might feel like to have a helicopter-esque outer body experience in 1978, this is probably the music video for you.”
