Video Premiere: June West's Intricately Layered "Forever"

June West is driving down a lonesome highway as the sun sets behind a ridge. She travels with her a white jaguar guitar, a beat machine and a collection of songs evocative of self transformation. You'll hear tinges of 90's R&B, 60's rock & roll, motown soul, backroads country & worldwide pop influences as she takes you along for the ride.

For her video for “Forever”, June teamed up with film production duo Sacred Pact along with an all female crew. Inspired by the Southwest, hard work, and the small intricacies of life, June guides us through a behind the scenes look. Watch “Forever” below along with the creative mantras June found in the creation of the video.

“Forever” is a word used casually, though its meaning is expansive. It implies time beyond our lives, our civilization, the species and planet. Yet somehow, I am committed to this word as a daily mantra to keep me moving forward in the face of my own insignificance.

Time does not cease for anyone, so consider this one life right now. It is humbling that we as individuals can offer our precious time and energy to whatever we believe in, despite the fact that “Forever” both contains and erases us.

The song happened while traversing the desert highways of Arizona and New Mexico. Rain had just blessed the skies, exploding the road sides with wildflower superblooms. My manager sent me some beats by Ad Foll that I sang along to while driving around for a production job.

The experimental beat, the ethereal Southwestern landscapes, plus my soul eager to work in the spare minutes between paid jobs, all laid the foundation for the story and sound.

Though conceived in the desert, we shot all the footage for “Forever” in Brooklyn, home to Sacred Pact Productions. This place truly embodies that sentiment of “work hard everyday till you die.”

It’s the invisible force that gets us up every morning so we can try to achieve something greater than ourselves, even if it seems insane.

The best part of making this video was working with the talented all-woman production team. It is amazing to be surrounded by feminine visionaries, there is something so special (perhaps sacred) about that kind of creative energy.

Jacqueline Davis and Sunny Facer who make up Sacred Pact are such a stellar production duo, and they brought in stylist Delcey Fleming, makeup artist Stefanie Lamm-Siu and filmmaker Julissa Yasmeen Ramirez, who is pictured here.

A fun fact is that we actually shot the video before the song was finished. Sacred Pact liked the vibe of this track and I wanted their visual sensibilities to inform the feel of the sound. Sunny (pictured here) and Jacque shot both digitally and on Super 8, and in a way that we could adapt the visuals to the final track.

After we shot the footage, I recorded Abby Swidler on violin in my home studio in Montana. Their delicately layered parts help us feel the eeriness of noticing time passing. Remembering that certain death is a creepy undertone of conscious awareness makes my hairs raise. It also motivates me to live better.

I gave the song some spirit with a bit of bass and moody guitar. Samurai Guru added some move to the groove and Professor H mixed and mastered the record.

Visually, we made video portraits of some fierce fashion looks. Fashion can be a means to externalize and communicate inner strength. (And nothing says “inner glow” like a well-shined thigh — Thanks Stefanie!)

Delcey curated some incredible pieces from Beacon’s Closet and a few Parsons fashion design students. These blue gloves designed by Mi Gyn K made me feel like I was the opera singer in the “Fifth Element.”

Jewelry featured throughout the video is by NYC-based designers Anna Kikue and Ciudad de Espejos.

With these looks, we visualized day-to-day work in small “timeless” moments. Creative work doesn’t always look like a typical grind, but is still highly valuable work.

What emotional, psychological or spiritual work improves daily life? What do those tasks actually look and feel like?

If I could invent a genre for “Forever,” I might call it “urban desolation.” NYC is a trove of these mysteriously quiet pockets. Finding one is like being melted by a dystopic peace, while modern anxiety hums in the background like a loud refrigerator now grown accustomed to. It’s stumbling upon the rare, peculiar and sometimes late-night occurence when suddenly there isn’t another soul in sight, but I’m somehow there still vibrating just the same. Maybe you can relate.

The last look took the crew to the far Rockaways. Out there we were like surfers, waiting to catch our wave and ride the light into the night. The reflective garments were out of this world. The mirrored jacket is designed by Talia Kohai and the beaded headpiece in the next photo by Carlos Valenzuela.

So, dear Earthlings, when you think “Forever,” I hope you will think about this:

Knowing you have but one life to live, how will you live yours? What will you commit yourself to so that you may satisfy your soul?

Keep up with June.

Pond MagazineNovember 15, 2019June West, Forever, Sacred Pact, Sunny Facer, Jacqueline Davis, Delcey Fleming, Stefanie Lamm-Siu, Julissa Yasmeen RamirezComment