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Jamie xx at Capitol Hill Block Party
Jamie xx at Capitol Hill Block Party | Photo Credit: Victoria Holt

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Drunken email sparks outpouring of love and support for Jamie xx

Working in a creative profession such as music production requires mental fortitude. Connecting with fans at live shows helps artists see the impact of their work. During quarantine, fans have gone the extra mile to show their support for Jamie xx. All thanks to one drunken email from a choreographer named Oona Doherty…

Jamie xx last released an album back in 2015. That same year, Jamie xx played the main stage at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party. That was the last time the Pacific Northwest, or anyone, really, heard of Jamie xx for nearly five years.

Since the release of In Color, Jamie struggled with frustration and perfectionism. He continued pushing his creativity, but found himself unable to finish new music.

After four years of radio silence…

After over four years of radio silence, Jamie xx dropped a new single last month. Idontknow delighted fans on the dance floor even before its official release, as Jamie xx snuck the song into his DJ sets.

I made Idontknow as an outlet for my frustration over not being able to finish any music for a while. I tried to be less precious with my ideas and just let go. I then watched this translate onto the dance floor when I started playing it out last year. Now, we can’t go out to dance and we need an outlet more than ever, I hope you dance to it at home and let go for a moment.

– Jamie Smith

Jamie reached out to Oona Doherty to make a music video

To produce a music video for the track, Jamie reached out to Northern Ireland dancer/choreographer Oona Doherty. Originally planning to work with director Jonas Lindstroem, Oona began preparing for an extravagant production with helicopters, drones and lots of dancer.

At the same time, Jamie watched a short film by Oona and director Luca Truffarelli, Welcome to a Bright White Limbo. The more intimate, lo-fi style of the short film connected with the feeling Smith was looking for. He asked Oona to make something with Luca instead.

Oona sent dance clips to Jamie… along with an honest letter

In an interview with Dazed, Doherty explains what happened next. Oona reached out to several friends to experiment and feel out the music. Frustrated by the back and forth of coordinating the production, Oona got drunk and emailed the clips directly to Jamie – along with an honest message.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DIVElhRyG/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Touched by what Oona had written, Jamie shared the clips and the message with fans on Instagram and YouTube.

Filming took place in East Belfast on the night before quarantine

Filming finally began the night before quarantine in East Belfast. Working against the clock, Luca experimented with a single shot style. Instead of rapidly cutting from one scene to another, the music video would be recorded in just one long take.

We got kicked out of different locations. It started lashing down with rain and we were eating pizza at my friend’s house at nine o’clock and we thought, “Fuck it, we’ll try one more time around the corner.” And that’s where we filmed it, last minute. It was not planned.”

– Oona Doherty with Dazed

The final music video captures the intensity of that moment in time, the uncertainty and frustration, the approaching global lockdown.

Fans responded with heartwarming home dance videos

Fans immediately connected with the video and the interactions between Jamie and Oona. Since the release of the video, fans have sent home recordings of themselves dancing to Idontknow to Jamie, who has been sharing the clips on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Ul15rhz2e/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Oona has continued sharing home videos of herself and her friends dancing to the track, as well.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_5dhUvHYpw/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Jamie xx certainly isn’t alone in his frustrations. The pressure to produce, produce, produce haunts many creatives. Oona’s honest message inspired fans to show their support for Jamie xx. Such support makes all the difference!

Let us know who has inspired you lately in our comments section on Facebook, and Twitter!

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Written By

Seattle based work in progress

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. fnaf

    May 27, 2020 at 1:14 am

    There are many people looking for posts like this. I have received quite a lot of news from this article.

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