Best Videos

Finland. Directed by Ina Mikkola.

Upcoming rapper Adikia and her all-female team hit a home run with “Koskematon” (“Untouchable”). The exhilarating video, directed by journalist Ina Mikkola is a powerful yet fun and colourful take on the track’s feminist themes. Fitting the DIY ethos, in it the matriarchy steps up to make corrections in Helsinki’s cityscape, replacing monuments of famous men with those of women, including Moomin creator Tove Jansson, author Sofi Oksanen, snowboard champion Enni Rukajärvi and actress Kati Outinen. (Erkko Lehtinen)

Adikia on Facebook, Instagram.

Turkey. Directed by Bora Bekiroğlu.

“Whenever I cry, you are in my eyes. When I wake up, your voice is next to me. Tell me, my dear, tell me, how will I forget you?”

“From your place in my heart, you wink to me sometimes. Your soul touched mine, it is hard to take back”

“Tell me, my dear, tell me. How will I forget you?”

(Translated by Emir Aksoy)

Ahmet Ali Arslan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube.

Ghana. Directed by Fotombo.

In November, we finally heard the long-awaited 6-track debut EP of Ama Serwah Genfi a.k.a. Amaarae, which was aptly titled “Passionfruit Summers”. This young Ghanaian (partly US-raised) songwriter and vocalist with airy, sensual voice, and likes to pair it up with atmospheric R&B that’s as much about adding as subtraction sound-wise. 

Yet the thing that will strike you most in the beginning, is Amaarae’s creation in the official video for “Fluid”, directed by Fotombo and shot in Accra’s most colourful bathtub.

Amaarae on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.

Poland. Directed by Zuzanna Plisz.

Drekoty, a female trio founded by Ola Rzepka, released their sophomore album, “lub maszyna dzika trawa,” five years after their debut. With new members, Natalia Pikuła and Olga Czech, they continue to flaunt a deliberately sparse sound, employing keys, percussion and vocals to create quirky, imaginative songs.

The video for “Troskliwy” (Solicitous), the first single off the album, won several awards in Poland. In just under 5 minutes, it manages to depict a moving story that fully draws the viewer in. Invoking magical realism and featuring exquisite cinematography, it completes the music perfectly, resulting in a mesmerizing work. (Artur Szarecki)

Drekoty on Facebook, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, www.

Tunisia. Directed by Marion Petegnief and Sami Battikh.

“Kaddesh” means “How many”. How many – houses destroyed, children massacred, how many broken hearts and ideas lost. How many people who died, and how many who lied. Each verse is an accusation, and each one is a mourning. And the video for “Kaddesh”, as Emel Mathlouthi herself explained, was produced to “illustrate graphically an allegory of the fate of refugees, through the symbols of ashes, keys and the hint”, once again each one repeating the eponymous question.

Emel Mathlouthi on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud.

Puerto Rico. Directed by Kristian Figueroa.

After the smashing success of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s breakthrough album “Small Town Heroes” in 2014, lead singer and songwriter Alynda Segarra traveled down to Puerto Rico looking to reconnect with her roots. The trip ended up heavily influencing her next masterpiece, The Navigator (2017, ATO Records), and “Pa’lante” is the song that perhaps best encapsulates that truth. Titled after a popular phrase used by Puerto Ricans meaning “onwards”, Segarra and director Kristian Figueroa built the video around a narrative that illustrates the challenges presented by life on the island immediately following the devastation dealt by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Ultimately, the story told is universal, one of people dealing with adversity and searching for human connection to move forward. (Alfredo Richner)

Hurray for the Riff Raff on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, www.

Russia. Directed by Ic3peak / Kolya and Nastya.

Ic3peak’s new album “Skazka” (“Fairytale”) was one of the laudest protest albums in Russia/against Russian government in the recent years, from an electronic duo addicted to witch house. The video “Smerti Bol’she Net” (“Смерти Больше Нет”), which means “Death No More”, is a triumph of political actionism. Kerosine douche at the goverment bulding, sawing the coffin at the Red Square, blood and raw meat for breakfast at the Moscow river. The video and the song that changed everything in the Russian indepent music. (Artem Shenfeld)

Ic3peak on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud.

Brazil. Directed by Julio Secchin and Kenny Hsu.

Julio Secchin’s “Bote” is an extremely relaxing track and its music video manages to match that vibe perfectly. The short video is simple and to the point – and it even displays some impressive engineering feats. (Matheus Anderle)

Julio Secchin on Instagram, Facebook.

Venezuela. Directed by Miguel Salguero.

Crafted in México by an all-Venezuelan team, La Pequeña Revancha’s video for La Pequeña Revancha is a psychedelic journey in which a nun takes LSD before going to church and then, when it finally kicks in, she sees how Jesus and the other religious figures start singing the song, turning the story in a really bad trip with a lot of creepyness and a little horror to the story. The budget was tight, but the storytelling is effective and it looks stunning. One of the most original videos in Venezuela in 2018. (Alejandro Fernándes)

La Pequeña Revancha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

Saudi Arabia. Directed by Majed Alesa.

Another impressive video from Majed Alesa (ماجد العيسى), one of the region’s most versatile and unpredictable artists – check out his 2015 hit video “Samry King“. Like some of his previous works, “Eidayn” (عيدين) takes on the issue of hypocrisy in the society, this time in the context of one of the biggest religious holidays. While it’s not a suprise that children are waiting for their gifts, how honest is your fasting?

Majed Alesa on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Soundcloud.

France. Directed by Alice Moitié.

How to tell about your last team building trip with your colleagues? How to make it sound cooler than it should have been? Quentin Lepoutre a.k.a. Myd, the latest signee of the French label Ed Banger (and member of the Club Cheval, who had been active on the regretted Bromance label), proposed his crazy vision of this obligatory step of the corporate life in the video “Muchas”, featuring Cola Boyy. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t seem to be a great fan and furthermore is not convinced that doing stupid activities with stupid colleagues help you feel more corporate. But the video itself is a real experience, and a true point of attention for Myd just as the earlier clip “All inclusive“, produced with the same videographer Alice Motié. (Fabien Hellier)

Myd on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

Switzerland. Directed by Leon Schwitter.

If this duo’s music wasn’t captivating enough, Nora Steiner and Madlaina Pollina also wanted to have your eyes with this video featuring a solo performance of actress Aiyana De Vree. Funnily enough, it comes from the band’s new album called “Cheers“, released by the invaluable Glitterhouse Records. Also, there was quite a follow-up to this video.

Steiner & Madlaina on Facebook, Instagram.

Vietnam. Directed by Alexa Karolinski.

Suboi explained that “N-Sao” is a call to challenge all that is going on, that amidst all the changes taking places in Saigon, Suboi is back and stronger than ever. Trap-influenced “N-Sao?” (“So What?”) is easily the most exciting song of its genre due to two reasons: one is how expertly Suboi utilized the phrase “n-sao” and two is in the finest performance of her career. With multiple tempo changes to show off different personas, the half-sung/half-rap mimicking the chanting from street vendors, to how comfortable she is to fully embrace that charming Southern accent. (Thuc Dang)

Suboi on Facebook, Instagram.

Portugal. Directed by James F. Cotton & Masato Riesser.

“Motorcycle Boy,” the video from The Legendary Tigerman, was recorded in Japan and premiered at the Lisbon Motorcycle Film Fest (with standing ovation). It tells the story of former members of the Japanese biker gang Bosozuku.

The song, whch appears on album “Misfit“, is fundamentally, about fighting for dreams. The politically incorrect story of the Bosozuku is unique and central to the history of Japanese underground and culture, a kind of shooting star that burned fast and with too much intensity but still feeds imagination and dreams of freedom.

“Misfit” is seen as a turning point in the career of Paulo Furtado, since its the first album in which he leaves the one-man band format. He is joined by Paulo Segadães on drums and João Cabrita on the saxophone, who accompanied him on the previous tour and finally became full-time companions in the art and the craft of The Legendary Tigerman. (Paulo Homem de Melo)

The Legendary Tigerman on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Italy. Directed by Michele Bernardi.

Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti (Three Happy Dead Boys – often shortened as TARM) are one of the most appreciated bands in Italian independent music scene. Their frontman Davide Toffolo is also an excellent comic drawer, and bass player Enrico Molteni is the owner of one of the biggest indie labels in Italy, La Tempesta. TARM just released their ninth album Sindacato Dei Sogni (Dream Syndicate, and yes, it’s an intentional tribute) and Bengala was released late November. The video is by Michele Bernardi, and portraits the Holy Family, after the Annunciation, travelling from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on a Vespa. It showcases actuality with the wall that divides Israel from Palestine, and some Bansky works as well, and the story is meant to end with a big surprise. (Stefano Bartolotta)

Tre allegri ragazzi morti on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Japan. Directed by Yasuyuki Yamaguchi.

Just like the music of Tricot tends to move between different genres constantly, the video for “Potage” blends reality with a work of graphic artist. The clip was directed by Yasuyuki Yamaguchi (山口保幸), an acclaimed videographer, who since the 1980s has worked with a number of great musicians like including David Sylvian, Ryūichi Sakamoto, Shintaro Sakamoto and many more.

As for Tricot, last year they released “Potage” as a double single, with “Boom ni notte” as the other song, and were busy touring. On “Potage”, they compare love to caramel with potage color, which might have a complicated taste. while they admit we often break promises and nothing can bind our hearts, but still – I want to give you all my life. (Toyokazu Mori)

tricot on Facebook, Twitter, www.