MEAWW's Basement Tapes: Harry Jay-Steele expands musical palette with anime-inspired 'Wish For One Night' video
Harry Jay-Steele is no stranger to blending styles and eclectic influences in his work. The musician and producer spent the better part of his earlier life in and out of musical acts, trying to find his own sound. And along the way, he picked up a bit of everything, from contemporary pop to African rhythms, even citing African artistes Lionel Loueke and Tinariwen as some of his greatest influences. But in his latest release, Jay-Steele steps away ever so slightly from his African-leaning rhythms to explore his love for Japanese anime and sci-fi a bit more.
The artiste's most recent project is the animated visual for his single 'Wish For One Night', which is the first cut taken from his forthcoming debut album, due for release this fall. Inspired by anime classics from the '80s as well as sci-fi films such as 'Blade Runner', the animated video is largely set in a futuristic Japanese city, loosely based on Tokyo. Written by Jay-Steele himself and animated by Venezuelan illustrator Jesús David Mora, the animation tells the story of a young man isolated in a dense urban world whose only source of hope is the nighttime messages exchanged with his virtual love interest.
Speaking about the making of the video Jay-Steele reveals, "It was written in a time of personal turmoil. I was reckoning with a deteriorating mental state and questioning whether I was losing my sense of self in the process." Loosely inspired by Haruki Murakami's novel and its adapted film, 'Norwegian Wood', Steele developed the video's storyline around Japan's high youth suicide. "I wanted to convey these same messages but highlight the universality of this experience across the world," he confided. But bringing such an intensely emotional story to life is no easy task. Jay-Steele had to find someone who could add their artistic touch and vision to the project. "I got in touch with Jesús after seeing a video he made for another London artist I know, Jaz Karis for her song 'Sugar Don't Be Sweet'. I wrote the script and we worked together on a storyboard for each scene. Clear color themes were set and we talked about trying to emulate some of the aesthetic of old '80s animes like 'Akira' and 'Neo Tokyo'."
Mora illustrated the bulk of the imagery by hand, using digital software in combination with programs like Adobe After Effect to enhance and provide further dynamic to the scenes. Sharing the animation process Mora explains, "I hand drew a lot of the details then worked with illustrator and After Effect to animate the drawings. I was keen to create a vintage 80's aesthetic for the video to emulate the feel of the anime coming out of Japan at that time but I was also inspired by modern animations for music videos such as SIAMÉS's 'Summer Nights' and Childish Gambino's 'Feels Like Summer'. I feel that the animation and storyline create a powerful parallel message to complement the song's narrative."
Since his 2017 debut single 'Reach You', Jay-Steele has been praised from the likes of Clash, was featured as Artist of The Day on the pages of Metro who stated it was "unusual to hear such diverse sounds on a debut record," and interviewed by Wonderland magazine for their New Noise feature. He also found support from The Huffington Post who listed him as one of their Top 5 acts playing Bestival and Indie Shuffle and even found an opportunity freestyling with Moses Boyd on his BC 1Xtra residency.
All up, it appears the multi-faceted artiste has had an impressive run in the few years he has been around. But where 'Reach You' saw the singer drawing inspiration from '70s production and African rhythms all layering perfectly beneath lyrics that spoke of the ups and downs of an emotional journey, 'Wish For One Night' sees Jay-Steele expand his musicality to a wider range of influences and thematic elements. As a result, the artiste breaks through the barriers of a specific genre and finds his own voice in a blend of all the things that have inspired him throughout his life.
Stream 'Wish For One Night' HERE. Follow Harry Jay-Steele on Instagram and Facebook for more.
'MEAWW's Basement Tapes' is a column that shines a spotlight on undiscovered/underrated musical gems.
