This post has been a long time coming! I first met the team from Rolls-Royce and really experienced the DNA of the brand three years ago at The Saatchi Gallery when they hosted an incredibly eye-opening interactive exhibition. Since then, we’ve caught up a few times, once for the premiere of the Spirit of Ecstasy film narrated by Kate Winslet and once in Dubai due to the rather epic vehicle partnership with the Jumeirah Group specifically the Burj Al Arab.
Fast forward to recent times, the team offered me the opportunity to work with objectively their moodiest vehicle – the Wraith Black Badge and specifically create something aesthetically contemporaneous in association with the car – as you’re about to experience – the dystopian film noir, cinematic elements between my universe and the Wraith Black Badge are truly an enchanting sonic and visual match. Also for historic reference, Hedi Slimane created this editorial back in 2010 (via Dazed) with a darker edition of the iconic vehicle.
With all of that contextualised, here’s the Sonic Film tracked by my NEO 10Y song Janis and featuring a part CGI, part live action, part performance-based adventure and a piece of creative content bringing to life the Spirit of Ecstasy, and the theme of deconstructing to reconstruct that I am really proud to share with you.
My song Janis which soundtracks this film was recently described on the radio (listen here) as “the future” which fits really seamlessly with the Wraith Black Badge, considering that during my experience driving it for four days, I can honestly say that I have never felt so integrated into technology as when I was in the driving seat of the Wraith. Next stop, transhumanism.
For additional cosmic reference, the lyrics of the song include the (rap) verse in French: “Prends le moi, subversive, protège-moi de la haine et le fait et la reine et la peur et le roi,”, which translates in this reality to “take us the subversive ones, protect us from hatred, ‘facts’, royalty and fear.” I’m happy to be showcasing the plight of the underdog and unrepresented sections of society with my artistic work and this film that takes a subversive attitude and brings it to life heroically and cohesively alongside the car. Additional lyrics from the track can be found at Genius.com.
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Janis is taken from the Disidentification: Episode 0, available to download and stream now https://NEO10Y.SPACE – on Apple, Spotify, TiDAL, Deezer and more…
This video was created in association with Rolls-Royce Cars, Wraith Black Badge.
Concept and performance by NEO 10Y / Nik Thakkar
Cinematography by Alex Lord-Walker, Calum Ducat, Phellipe Souza, Oz Thakkar
Edit and VFX by Diangular
Sonic production by hii.de
Styling and fashion Lloyd James Husband and Ada + Nik