Around the time Mike Hadreas released his new Perfume Genius album Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, he announced a video competition for the song “Without You.” He asked fans to submit ideas for a visual for the song, and three winning directors were given $1,000 to make the video, along with $1,000 to be donated to a charity of their choosing.
Today, Perfume Genius has shared the first winning video, which was directed by Liz Lian. The video begins with a forager who finds a cassette tape of the song in the brush, which mysteriously starts playing as she holds it up. She goes on to find more unexpected objects and dance along to the song in the visually captivating clip.
Lian, whose chosen charity is The ACLU of Southern California, said in a statement about the 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.”
The two other winners were Samantha Mitchell, whose video will debut on August 4, and Kristin Massa, whose clip will come out on August 11.
Watch the first “Without You” video above.
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately is out now via Matador Records. Get it here.