JEMS courtesy of Thomas Reitan
With a taste for gorgeously harmonized alt-folk melodies and a touch of lyrical grace, LA-based trio JEMS emerge delicately spirited in the video for their single “Clay.” Filmed in the childhood home of singer Emily Colombier and the hills surrounding it, the music video captures an ever-soaring warmth in its shots of the three singers harmonizing alongside one-another, caught in the glow of the midday sun. Jessica Rotter and Sarah Margaret Huff, the two final pieces to JEMS’ three-part harmonies, join Colombier in the video dancing in the uplifting weightlessness their piercing vocals conjure up. Adding to this quality are the colored sheets of fabric that surround and are carried by the band, as each is scene is framed and subsequently wiped away in their soft hues. Directed by Gille Klabin the video also breathes life into the song’s crescendoing moods, one that goes from a light folk meandering before emptying itself in a swell of layered croons crashing down like a tidal wave from the sky; visualizing it as darkness brought to light.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#FF78FF” class=”fistclass” size=”15″]“[Klabin] came to us with the idea for an upward, ascending progression for the video–taking us on a journey from complete darkness to a shaded, safe ravine, to literally soaring on a mountaintop,” the band said of the video’s conception. “It begins in a dark and hopeless place, each of us alone, folded into ourselves, but eventually leads to forging and embracing your own rebirth. The fabric that accompanies us throughout the video is a kind of abstract, cocoon-like symbol of change and empowerment that initially we are covered by, then grab hold of, only to shed by the end of the video.”[/perfectpullquote]
As the first song the band has written together, “Clay” represents something of an affirmation for JEMS’ commitment to being organic, authentic, and empowered, especially in the level of vulnerability and intimacy they espouse with their music. A song about surviving abuse and “finding new life out of what seemed too damaged to grow,” the video is an acutely emotional accompaniment to the song’s already deeply personal growths.
Watch the video for JEMS’ new single “Clay” below!
JEMS don’t have any headlining tours planned just yet, but if you’ve yet to nail down plans for your Friday night they are opening up for Raya Yarbrough at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles tonight, a near perfect venue to catch their harmonies in. Be sure to visit their website and Facebook to stay updated on new releases and future tour plans.
