Press release for Kamandi’s Burn Them Down (Official Video)

For Immediate Release

•        The Burn Them Down video is the product of a collaboration between musician Kamandi, Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School’s Design Department and Director Charley Draper (a graduate of Toi Design).

•        A frontrunner of New Zealand contemporary electronic music, Kamandi has a slew of international collaborations with major artists and producers under his belt (Kevin McCall, Waka Flocka, Riff Raff, Myles William, Southside) as well as millions of accumulated online streams.

“The richness and level of production value in Kamandi’s music is mind-blowing. I’ve loved Kamandi’s music for a long time – it was a real privilege to be able to collaborate with him on this project” – Charley Draper

•        Charley was inspired by Kamandi’s description of the ‘Burn Them Down’ Soundcloud post: ‘This is what my blues sound like.’

“I really connected with that line. To me ‘Burn Them Down’ feels like when you are in a state of crisis. It felt like desperately grappling for something solid that can stabilise you, but everything you reach out for crumbles in your hands.” – Charley Draper

•        The music video is the product of Toi Whakaari Design’s ‘Music Video Project’; a project where first year students learn various essential filmmaking skills with mentorship from film industry professionals. Students build and paint each prop, light each environment and operate every camera move for the video.

Toi Whakaari Head of Design, Emma Ransley: “We are very excited to have Kamandi on board for this year’s music video project. His involvement reflects an exciting new development to involve musicians from Aotearoa. In working with local and international musicians, our dream is to support them by producing work that challenges the boundaries of visual direction and positions design driven projects at the forefront of our industry.”

•        The video was released on 21 March on Kamandi’s YouTube channel and on the Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo5csXE65UA

http://toiwhakaari.ac.nz/portfolio/kamandi-burn-them-down/

• Toi Whakaari was New Zealand’s first drama school and is the leading educator of screen, stage and event professionals in the country. The kura aspires to be one of the great performing arts schools of the world while developing a teaching practice that is uniquely New Zealand.

Kamandi: https://www.facebook.com/kamandimusic/

Charley Draper Website: http://www.charleydraper.net/

Toi Whakaari Website: http://toiwhakaari.ac.nz/