Music video for ‘I Grew Up’ – an immersive virtual production created by global digital agency Media.Monks – is the latest example of the intersection of video games technology and music, and a personal highlight for Komorebi
Watch it: https://youtu.be/Dx1LFAGOluM
Six years after releasing Soliloquy – her debut album – Indian electronica producer and singer Komorebi has released the first single ‘I Grew Up’ from her new, conceptual album, The Fall.
Regarded as one of the most exciting musicians in India, Komorebi’s productions are often whimsical and dreamy downtempo electronica, but with The Fall, Komorebi has built an entirely new world within, and with, her music.
The Fall is the coming-of-age story of Kiane – who fans first met in Soliloquy in 2017 – and also highlights Komorebi aka Tarana Marwah’s evolution from an exciting young talent to a consummate storyteller with fantastical renditions of her music.
The multimedia project brings two sides of Komorebi to the fore, Tarana the gamer and Tarana the musician, and The Fall is where the two worlds collide.
The story of Kiane is captured via the music, a 30-page comic book and brought to life in a music video created with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, making ‘I Grew Up’ to be among the first few music videos in India made using the video games tech.
Her music is emotionally charged, vulnerable yet powerful, storytelling is vivid and inventive. Collaborating with masters like Rajesh Pratap Singh to design her futuristic outfits to partnering with Media.Monks to create a live-action animated music video, The Fall is unlike any project in the Indian music space.
‘I Grew Up’ – Music Video
Created and developed by Media.Monks after a chance meeting between Tarana and Rajasekar Venkatraman, film director at Media.Monks India – at a Komorebi gig in Delhi – led to the digital-first agency using Epic Games’ video game development tool Unreal Engine to create a visually immersive music video for ‘I Grew Up’.
An avid gamer and anime lover, Komorebi’s music derives much from her inspirations and shares characteristics such as fantastical worlds, whimsical themes, emotionally charged characters and world building. ‘I Grew Up’ successfully harnesses her deeply personal musical style, intertwined with her love for gaming and anime.
“On a surface level it’s about combining two worlds – music and animation – marrying them to create a work of art,” says Tarana, before adding, “On a deeper level, I wanted to write a story about my life, and distance myself from it. The fantastical element of ‘fiction’ allows me that poetic license with this release, as is reflected in the other-worldly music video. And yet this song is extremely personal, very powerful, very me.”
The music video’s storyline is faithful to the album’s spirit and mirrors the journey of Kiane and her owl friend, Owlie, from the album’s accompanying comic book. The project wasn’t just a technological endeavour – it blended art and music with the intricacies of a robust film production pipeline and post-production/VFX and VP pipelines.
Robert Godinho, Managing Director of Media.Monks India, says: “India’s potential in grand-scale VFX is immense and we firmly believe in the future of virtual production,” adding, “As pioneers in the field, we’ve always been committed to raising awareness through creative collaborations. After all, to truly make a difference, one must not just envision it, but bring it to reality.”
‘I Grew Up’ is a deeply personal retelling of Komorebi’s personal and artistic journey, vulnerable and powerful at the same time. The trip-hop-inspired production is the perfect foil for the fanciful rendition, including avant-garde ensembles designed by couturier Rajesh Pratap Singh especially for the project.
‘I Grew Up’ is available on all streaming platforms.
