Ross Mintzer & Adessi Debut Strange-tastic Music Video for “Breathe”

What happens when the stereotypes of EDM music videos are thrown aside? Well, Adessi and Ross Mintzer happen. Since 2007, the cash flow that has been fed into artists featured on a label, as well as the events themselves have doubled up to the current year of 2016. Statistics are not necessary to display how the community has grown into something bigger, but even my own writing position at Relentless Beats is an example of the supply-and-demand concept as readers/listeners alike want more content. Who and what are we to fill with that creative vacuum of power that has opened the doors to smaller artists and veterans of the genre alike? Well, with bad-ass music videos of course.

The history of the music video predates the current incarnation of the house genre, but artists like Ross Mintzer and Adessi are leading the charge in not only quality music, but are dipping their creative paws in creating a music video that psychedelically challenges the mind as well as our ears. Fear not, that is not to say the output of EDM music videos have been slacking, for we have had various examples of artists who have formed their reputation on also having sick visuals; what separates these New England guys from their teammates and counterparts? Well, check out the video for yourself:

Ross Mintzer – Breathe (ft. Adessi)

Director Aiman Hassani calibrates the music and his use of Dutch actors, Max van der Toolen, Antoinette Hoogendijk, and (the dog) Cameron Burgemeestre van Panhuys to create a visual journey that is just as unsettling as it is exciting. Using visuals that prey on our weakest senses of sensuality as well as the “gross-out” factor, Hassani accesses visuals like overflowing liquids, pained facial expressions, and a slew of disconnected clips and movements that come together to speak on human instinct. The seemingly random clips thrown in give a vibe that Hassani wanted to speak below the pretense and highlight the lack of vocals, and provide a visual semblance, that upon closer inspection, everything you thought to be true, made sense; even the scene of Max van der Toolen sniffing a sneaker with his snide expression seem to push the limits of our inner comfort as he also licks the sole.

Musically, Ross Mintzer and Adessi do not disappoint; unlike the Scott Isbell/Adessi collab, Adessi shares the production reins with Ross to create a blend of Kenny-G brass mixed with the culmination of a sick drop that fades in and out of your subwoofer. Although the piece is indeed short clocking in at 3:04, the “soundalike” syndrome we find in some brands of house does not suffer the same fate in “Breathe.” There almost seems to be no colliding artistic factors on the track, for the blending of Adessi’s more progressive melodic style is expounded upon with Ross Mintzer’s use of odd instrumentation choices with some Middle Eastern and brassy sounds scattered about the track.

Check out the visual spectacle that is Ross Mintzer and Adessi’s “Breathe,” and if you happen to get a little queasy, you reminded Aiman Hassani that he did his job.

Connect With Adessi: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
Connect With Ross Mintzer: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud