PERFUME GENIUS
Announces winners of ‘Without You’ music video competition
Shares first fan-created video today
Performs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
New album Set My Heart On Fire Immediately out now
Photo Credit: Camille Vivie
Around the release of his critically acclaimed new album Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas), announced the ‘Without You’ video competition. Hadreas asked his fans to submit music video ideas for the single, currently on the BBC 6 Music playlist, and while the competition was fierce, 3 winners have now been chosen. Each director received $1,000 to make their vision come to life as well as $1,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice.
The winners are Liz Lian, whose video premiered today (watch below) Samantha Mitchell whose clip will release August 4, and Kristin Massa whose video will come out August 11.
Watch Mike’s conversation with the winners
Liz Lian’s says on her video: “This song, and Mike’s artist’s statement about it, reassures me that moments of comfort and clarity are just as certain to appear as confusing, lonely moments are. It reminds me to be patient and to turn toward conflict within myself and view it as a beautiful, imperfect metamorphosis, rather than hide from it. This music video is about the exploration and discovery of self through the natural world. I aim to depict the unfamiliar, abstract, and jumbled parts of ourselves through elements of surrealism and magical realism. Narratives of self-discovery in media often center around coming-of-age stories of young white people as they enter adulthood. But self-discovery and reinvention occur throughout our lifetimes. Seeds of change sown within us can blossom into exciting, life-altering experiences when we least expect it. Annie Tezuka, who stars in this video, did a beautiful job embodying this experience. I wanted to shine a particular light on the experience of women who, as they age, are increasingly seen as they are in relation to others – mothers, wives, grandmothers – and for this video to be a tribute to the complexities and constant change within all of us, especially those women.”
Lian has chosen to designate The ACLU of Southern California as her charity of choice. SoCal’s long history of advocacy, litigation, and education defends civil rights and liberties regarding racial and economic justice, freedom of speech, government transparency, LGBTQ rights, privacy, gender equity, reproductive justice, immigrants’ rights, criminal justice and drug policy reform, and police practices. You can donate here, to the national chapter, or your local chapter.
Samantha Mitchell will donate to the Baltimore chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project. Sex work is work. The Sex Workers Outreach Project is committed to ending violence and stigma against sex workers. Their national social justice network that advocates for the fundamental human rights of sex workers, including harm reduction, positive representation, and decriminalization.
Kristin Massa will donate to RAICES. RAICES is a non-profit organization in Texas that provides legal services and advocacy for immigrant children, families, and refugees. Every immigrant deserves the right to human dignity, and RAICES defends this right by providing legal services for thousands of children in tent cities, bond assistance, and by training pro-bono lawyers to aid detained clients forced to navigate the ICE detention system. By donating to this organization, you will directly contribute to the quality of life for immigrants caught up in the deliberately oppressive immigration policies in the United States.
Perfume Genius recently performed the album’s single ‘On The Floor’, on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. In addition to the televised performance, Hadreas also shared an online-only performance of his ballad ‘Jason’.
Watch ‘On The Floor’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iagt8tKZ2LA
Watch ‘Jason’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UohF2k-SwsI
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately was produced by GRAMMY-winning producer Blake Mills and features contributions from musicians Jim Keltner, Pino Palladino, Matt Chamberlin and Rob Moose. It was recorded in Los Angeles, where Perfume Genius settled in 2017 with longtime partner and musical collaborator Alan Wyffels. The album explores and subverts concepts of masculinity and traditional roles, and introduces decidedly American musical influences. “I wanted to feel more open, more free and spiritually wild,” says Hadreas, “and I’m in a place now where those feelings are very close– but it can border on being unhinged. I wrote these songs as a way to be more patient, more considered — to pull at all these chaotic threads hovering around me and weave them in to something warm, thoughtful and comforting”
PRAISE FOR SET MY HEART ON FIRE IMMEDIATELY
“Mike Hadreas’ fifth album glides between sublime melodies and grimy, guttural dissonance, embracing the joys and burdens of the human body and its innumerable, intangible yearnings.” – Pitchfork 9.0, Best New Music
“Rich, fascinating and moving” – The Guardian, Album Of The Week (5 stars)
“… finely wrought works of art” – The Independent (5 stars)
“… a thing of beauty and wonder” – Daily Telegraph (5 stars)
“It’s an absolute tour de force'” – DIY (5 stars)
“Stunning” – NME (4 stars)
“one of most compelling transformations in modern music” – Crack, 9/10
“burns with passion” Loud & Quiet, 9/10
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