A relationship of any kind is not a relationship without some emotional investment, but the division of emotional labour is not always fair. On their soul-warming new music video, Heart Work, Brisbane neo-soulsters Nomika shed fresh light on the everyday routines of relationships, giving us all metaphorical food for thought during self-quarantine.
A 10-piece collective who’ve been making music for over a decade, Nomika know a thing or two about building lasting relationships where everyone works together. Launching their new single via a live stream earlier this month, Heart Work is both a love letter and a guide to romantic teamwork.
“This tune, before it had words, was originally titled The Danger Song, and most of the instrumental parts were written by one of our saxophonists, Andy, as a sort of love letter to our trumpet player Evyn. The ‘danger’ is still there in that sense of moody foreboding, for sure,” said guitarist, Lachlan Bell.
“When Megan put the words and melody to it, she wanted to express our feelings about the division of emotional labour. It’s a labour of love, but labour all the same, to be the person organising schedules and writing lists and remembering birthdays. That burden needs to be shared so that it doesn’t get too heavy. It’s not enough to just do as you’re told, the responsibility needs to be shared and appreciated.”
Referencing a 1980s/90s vibe that employs the juxtaposition of monochrome versus full colour, the accompanying Heart Work music video is a patchwork of everyday life interspersed with footage from the band’s live stream single launch, that bring the song’s lyrics to visual life.
“The verses are all in black and white to represent the isolation and hardship of being solely responsible for the emotional labour in a relationship. Then the choruses explode in colour with shots from our live stream,” said lead vocalist Megan Crocombe.
“The storm and all of our faces in the middle is the build-up and boilover of tension in a household. It’s our favourite part and took a lot of work with everyone filming themselves singing the parts to the song, and some serious experimentation with colours in our video editing program.”
The lead single from their forthcoming EP which is due out later this year, Heart Work is a scrumptious taste of what Nomika have in the works.
Take a break from Netflix and start the weekend off right by watching Nomika’s latest music video Heart Work, exclusively below.
HEART WORK – NOMIKA
