Indie electronica musician Komorebi’s new single tells a story that is both ‘out of this world’ and replete with semi-autobiographical symbolism
Komorebi, Glorious Luna and director Rahul Dutta behind the scenes of the Watch Out music video
Since 2017, musician Tarana Marwah has been expressing her lifelong adoration of Japanese culture under the moniker Komorebi, which translates to “sunlight leaking through the trees”. It’s only fitting, therefore, that her latest musical endeavour is all about finally letting her inner light shine through, unabashedly.
The music video for her single Watch Out will be released on August 18, and features drag performer Glorious Luna. Watch Out is the latest single to be released
from Komorebi’s new album, The Fall, in which she sings in dulcet tones about an alien named Kiane trying to belong after escaping her home planet and crash-landing on Earth.
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Luna, who plays the villain of the story, tells mid-day, “The song and music video is from the perspective of an outsider. There is this sense of ‘otherness’ to Komorebi’s music and style that I find comforting as a queer person. It’s about accepting the things that make you different. You can try to run away from being different, but it won’t work, so you may as well make something out of it. That’s exactly what we did.” Komorebi hums in agreement and adds, “I have always felt like a misfit. I think [feeling like an outsider], is something we can all understand and connect with on a subconscious level.”
The video was directed by Rahul Dutta, and opens with comic book script introducing the song as “Chapter 2” in Kiane’s story. It was filmed in the picturesque valleys of Leh, which provide a stark contrast to the futuristic outfits donned by the two stars. The presence of Komorebi and Luna in their costumes feels almost anachronistic in this setting, especially alongside the gentle guitar instrumentals. The result is something equal parts unsettling and fascinating.
Both Komorebi and Luna wear outfits rented from The Source, an apparel store based in Pali Hill, but are vastly different from one another in terms of colour and form. “For [Komorebi], we went with this metallic outfit that looks like it belongs in outer space. My outfit, which I designed myself, is meant to appear shapeless, somewhat like a dark fog, and my face is covered with black netted fabric,” says Luna, who styled themself and the indie-electronica performer for this video. Discussing the rationale behind the stylistic choices, they add, “Sometimes you let your inner saboteur take over. I was playing this ‘inner demon,’ character, and just like internal demons, my outfit has no particular shape or structure. It’s just darkness and fog.”
Luna’s character, cheekily named “Luna-tick”, presents themself as a friend to Kiane, but has dark intentions below the surface. The video, which displays the second chapter in Kiane’s story, features a dance battle between the two characters, which the singer-songwriter describes as representative of, “the overarching theme in so many stories in comics: good versus evil”.
On a more profound level, this album also represents events in the musician’s personal life that she feels most comfortable expressing through an artistic medium. “This entire album,” she tells us, “is about prevailing after an intense internal struggle. [Kiane’s story] is based on my real experiences with men, my family and my friends, which is why I prefer to use this escapist, fantastical approach. As an artist, I like my art to express my truth, but as a human, I sometimes want to detach from it.”
She will also be releasing a comic book in September, designed by artist Neelav Ghosh, and inspired by manga, anime, and classic 1990s cartoons, which Komorebi was raised on. This has been a lifelong dream for the singer, but she admits that integrating these artistic, maximalist themes into her work does bring its own concerns. “I sometimes worry about it being a distraction,” she says, “but this project lets me express all the parts of me that have been kept hidden. It’s an expression of my reality, and it may not be palatable for everyone, but it will be memorable.”
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