Petite Noir - “The Fall” (Official Video)

Yannick Iluga, the Capetown producer known as Petite Noir, just released his debut EP The King Of Anxiety, a collection of his slim, joyous, South African bedroom pop. Dubbed “noirwave,” his songs manage to contain a roiling darkness that’s always buoyed up by light touches and a frenetic sense of groove. In the newly released video for “The Fall” you can see these elements in his visual aesthetic too, as the stark black and white setting constantly shifts between shadow and light. Ilunga co-directed the video with Rochelle Nembhard and cited Marina Abramovic as an inspiration:

The video is inspired by the work of Serbian artist Marina Abramovic, and in particular her ‘The Artist is Present’ performance art piece (MoMa 2010), where she was reunited with her ex-lover, the German artist Ulay, after 22 years apart. It’s intended as a raw and transparent look into what we do to each other in relationships, setting aside the fakeness and pretense that we shroud ourselves in.

Iluga is currently working on his first full-length album, which should be out later this year. For now, watch his new video.