Review: DJ Clazzi (feat. 2AM’s Seulong and Whale)–“How We Feel”

I feel like I just went on an acid trip with Seulong.


Did you like the song?
Composer/producer/mixer known for remixing sounds into new and interesting genres, DJ Clazzi is the producer behind all of the group Clazziquai Project’s songs and is now going solo.

Clazziquai Project’s DJ Clazzi with vocalists Horan and Alex.
For “How We Feel,” he collaborated with 2AM’s Seulong and Whale from W&Whale (a four-member electro-pop group—three mysterious guys and one lady named Whale—check out their MV “Break It Down” if you’re interested).

DJ Clazzi, Seulong, and Whale (hey, I didn’t name her).
What emerged from this collaboration is a smooth blend of digital effects with strong vocals. Many people have joked that the “featured” should be the other way around, considering how much Seulong is emphasized in the song and video, but I don’t get why people are surprised. This is what DJ Clazzi does: he seems to prefer to stay in the background and play around with mixing things to create electronica. But his songs are still accessible to those outside the genre, too.

What was your favorite part of the song?
I like the buildup to the chorus (“I will say it, don’t say you understand.”) It sounds very wistful, probably one of the most emotional parts of the song.

Does the English make you want to rip your eardrums out?
There was that line above, then “Baby, can’t be no more,” then the main riff, “Tell me this is how we feel.” Although it’s pronounced well and the grammar is good, I don’t understand what Seulong’s trying to say here; the meaning is eluding me.

Did you like the video?
This is like watching an Andy Warhol painting in motion—that or an acid trip. In many ways, I feel like the music video is meant to defy interpretation and just set a mood of mildly unsettling futuristic digital stuff, with thanks to the Terminator series. I definitely feel like it does a good job at matching the musical style, for sure.

I’m generally uncomfortable when it comes to having women’s bodies so on display in music videos when it crosses a line from being sexy and meaningful to pointlessly exploitative, but as I’ll try to explain below, I think all the barely-clad mannequins and the emphasis on the female form in this music video was actually for a purpose.

Believe it or not, I’ll argue this is deep artistic expression.
Was there a storyline? If so, did it make sense?
Although the video is probably not meant to have an interpretation, I did think of a possible storyline while watching it, and I’ll share it with you. You may have experienced the video in a completely different way, though—please share if you did! :)

It’s clear from the video that DJ Clazzi is some kind of inventor or something, and Seulong is one of his mechanized creations.

Inventor!DJ Clazzi plugging robot!Seulong in.
Robot!Seulong is really bored, solving Rubik’s Cubes in seconds, and also really lonely. He has the same problem that God’s Adam in the Bible and Frankenstein’s Creature in Frankenstein discovered—when you’re one of a kind in the world, who will be your equal in love? Both those characters expended lots of energy trying to get their creators to make someone just like them but female—an Eve, a Bride—because the world is a harsh place when you’re all alone.

Except Creator!DJ Clazzi doesn’t quite get it. He keeps presenting robot!Seulong with other things: a plant, gorgeous creations of the idealized female form—thinking that basically what robot!Seulong wants is just something to do: a plant to take care of, a Rubik’s Cube to solve, a sex toy, etc.

Poor robot!Seulong.
When one mannequin doesn’t make Seulong happy, Clazzi gives him a dozen. When he’s still not happy, Clazzi codes them without bras because clearly what his electronic creation wants is just more titillation (note the focusing on parts of the mannequins’ bodies instead of their faces). Clazzi doesn’t get that what Seulong really wants is a friend, a companion, as evidenced by showing us a more realistic robot (like him), her hair blowing in the wind, and focusing only on her face and eyes.

What Seulong actually wants.
Then towards the end there are some signs that maybe Seulong has transcended his environment, noticing his creator, and maybe even duplicated himself? So hopefully he will be able to “escape” his electronic confines.

Was the dance cool and distinctive?
Other than the hopping mannequins, no dance. :(

Do the members look good?
Due to all the glaring lights, you can hardly see them, unfortunately. Here’s a clearer pic:

Seulong and DJ Clazzi
Which member stood out the most?
Um…X marks the spot of creative censorship? Too dirty? Fine, Seulong, then.

Niiice.
Do you like it enough to buy the song?
It’s creative and cool and all, but just not my thing.

Any ending thoughts?
This is the first time I’ve heard of DJ Clazzi, so please do correct me if I’ve gotten anything wrong. Also, you should check out this interview with him if you are interested in more.

Boyfriend’s one-liner:
“Damn pasties.”

Thanks for reading! Please share your comments below! :)