Darvid Thor, Image: Bridgette Winten
Darvid Thor is back in solo mode with the singles “To Remember Yourself” and “Changing Shape.” Darvid, who first caught our attention as a member of the Cactus Channel in the early 2010s, has dedicated the last handful of years to playing guitar in Melbourne soul combo Karate Boogaloo, creating the sample library Frollen, and launching the homespun label Beloved Recordings.
Released in February, “To Remember Yourself” explores a playful side of Darvid’s musicality. This playfulness is accentuated by the music video, which features Darvid and his friend Elena Foreman throwing themselves into a loosely choreographed dance. The clip is an apt counterpart to the lyrical focus on centring yourself when the mind gets caught up in stress and confusion.
Darvid speaks to Check Check about making the “To Remember Yourself” video with Elena and co-director Bridgette Winten, and why he’s returned to his solo project after a five year absence.
Darvid Thor – “To Remember Yourself”
Check Check: What sparked the idea to perform a choreographed dance in the video for “To Remember Yourself”?
Darvid Thor: I’ve been going to a few contemporary dance shows recently and every time I leave the show, I have this strong urge to dance. Expression through bodies and the baffling ways they move with such intention really excites me. So, I thought, why not just jump in and dance for the video?
How does the video represent or complement the themes of the song?
I’ve been thinking more and more about therapy through movement and uncovering all the different embodied emotions we hold all the time. The song is about connecting with yourself but also all the ways in which we’re pulled away from that state, so I wanted to try and embody some of these feelings and just dance.
Image by Bridgette Winten
You co-directed with Bridgette Winten – what was that collaboration like?
I wholly trust Brid’s vision and aesthetic choices, so it was truly easy and flowed seamlessly. I live with Brid and also play in her band, Winten, so I’ve spent lots of time with her creating and collaborating. It just felt like an extension of that.
Were you self-conscious about dancing and being captured on camera like this?
Yeah for sure. I’ve never done anything like that and haven’t spent much time dancing with someone in that context. So, it was pretty freaky, but also exhilarating to lean into something new and just give it a go.
It’s funny because for the past year or so, I’ve been on the other side of the music industry. I started Beloved Recordings and put out Lewis Coleman’s Offline record late last year and am in the process of releasing new music from Rowena Wise. I’ve been in “industry” mode and it feels weird to suddenly also be back in “artist” mode.
It’s definitely bringing up some self-conscious feelings that I haven’t dealt with for a while, but at the same time, making music and trying to create something that I find new and interesting is why I’m here doing it.
Why did you select this song as your first release in five years?
This track felt like it captured a playfulness that some of my older music didn’t quite get. The sentiment about connecting with yourself and then losing it, then finding it again, losing it, etc., felt pertinent to my life at the time and is still so relevant.
It’s so easy to do that dance in the current world we live in. This just felt like a little reminder to be kind to yourself and take that journey slowly.
Darvid Thor’s “To Remember Yourself” is out now via Beloved Recordings. Follow Darvid here.
