Today’s Video of the Day comes from C. Zukey‘s debut album Stone Fruut. On May 18th, he shared the emotional music video for ‘Keep Love’, to mark the 5 years since Lydia’s injury, and Bastian’s birth.

Directed by Strahan Cole the video is a family affair and features close up shots on the eyes of C. Zukey, his wife Lydia, and son Bastian. It also focuses in and out on shots of the gypsophila flower; “It’s a very common wedding flower which we used for our wedding. At the start of the video you can see fresh and vibrant flowers with shots of white fabric that you’d see at a wedding. Towards the end of the video the gypsophila have dried, which represents loss, but while the flowers may have lost their colour, they’re still beautiful to behold.” – C. Zukey

Speaking to the intense zoomed in shots Strahan Cole says “I have a fascination with tiny physical elements that make us up and how that crosses over with their sensations and more abstract things like love or grief. Eyes are magical but they’re also disgusting. Or beautiful! They’re windows to the soul and from the other direction they allow us to see the people we love.”

The pleading lyrics “Find my love” repeat over shots of a tired Lydia and the video ends on the teary eyes of C. Zukey. This minimalistic video mirrors the restrained instrumentation of the song and the symbolism throughout the video captures the deeply personal experience of Keep Love.

“I tried to write something that just sounded and felt nice and light, but has depth with context. It’s about trying to hold onto love after tragedy, and due to the severity of Lydia’s brain injury, wondering if she still holds memories of our love.” – C. Zukey

‘Keep Love’ is the fourth track from Stone Fruut released earlier this month, it is available internationally on all major streaming platforms and bandcamp. C. Zukey has been working away on these songs in secret for over two years across studios on Krd, in Diamond Harbour and Mt Edens the Lab. The album was produced by Mark Perkins (Merk/Marlon Williams) and mixed by Shannon Fowler (Tom Lark). Featuring instrumentation from Alex Freer (Tiny Ruins/AC Freazy) and Finn Scholes (Carnivorous Plant Society), Stone Fruut is the perfect introduction to C.Zukey.

Check out the stunning video below and tune in āpōpō (and every day of New Zealand Music Month) for a new Video of the Day!

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Photo credit: Shamima Lone

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