Dressed all in black with a bucket hat, Myanmar vocalist Way rocks the party with some of his closest friends in his new music video.
And by closest friends, we’re talking his animal pals in a very psychedelic version of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. With the game’s virtual community landing just as the world went on lockdown, the Yangon artist created the video for his track Blissful Confusion almost entirely inside the game. In one week it has been watched nearly 25,000 times online.
“I never had a single lesson with music so everything I learned came from learning FL studio,” said Way, aka W-A.I.
In addition to captivating millions of players, Animal Crossing appeals to their imaginations is it allows them to collaborate creatively to build parks, museums and more. Further attracting creators are things like cash bounties for creating custom islands.
But it may not have been intended for surreal, downtempo mumble rap referencing many forms of recreational drug use.
Way’s Animal Crossing two-plus-minute MV trip is definitely rated M for Mature.
“Had a threesome with the Lucy and the Molly (Goddamn) / Now the whole room be drippin’ like it’s Dali (Trip Trip),” he raps over a scene recreating the virtual menagerie-a-trois, which itself is a metaphor for pro drug mixing.
It works up to a furious climax where the walls of unreality threaten to come crashing down on Eugene the smug koala and Merengue the patronizing rhino.
His inspiration for Blissful Confusion came from playing the game without having a choice to go outside since the world was under lockdown. Before the virus, he was filming for his upcoming EP and until the pandemic meant he could no longer meet his colleagues.
But he didn’t want to stop. He wanted badly to film something so he turned to the only place he could think, Animal Crossing, which has an in-game camera. Since it is highly customizable, he was able to set up green screens, props, and virtual performers in the game which he then edited later. When it came out, it surged to the top of many Facebook newsfeeds.
Way, or Wai Yan Kyaw Ni, is a 24-year-old Myanmar artist who says he’s passionate about getting his thoughts onto paper and describe himself as an extroverted introvert. Way has been making animations and short clips on since middle school and later picked up electronic music production.
As for music, the International School Myanmar and the University of San Francisco graduate said he doesn’t want to be influenced by music genres.
“I just make whatever I’m feeling at the moment. These days I’ve been really influenced by Hip Hop, R&B, Indie & Techno,” he said.
Way plans to finish his forthcoming EP “The Colors of Death” which includes four songs that revolve around the theme of death. It will be accompanied by a 20-minute short film he directed alongside with his pals Steph Koko and Thet San Andersen.
The tracks have a dark spirit with weird visuals or 18+ lyrics.
“That’s just who I am,” Way said. “Every piece that I do is uniquely me and you can see that reflected in my art.”
Check out more of Way’s music on Soundcloud, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
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