dotdailydose
Creator of Afro-Asian music Xander Pratt officially introduced his first batch of music videos from the “Fireflies: Follow the Magic” album at a listening party held at The Balcony in Poblacion, Makati City recently.
The “Fireflies: Follow the Magic” album consists of 17 tracks, including its premiere single “Way Up”, a no-nonsense self-love RnB anthem with its MV shot in Basilan, Philippines – repositioning the island as a creative hub and destination, and away from its warzone image in the past.
The music videos of all 17 songs have been all filmed across the Philippines, representing the 17 regions of the country. The Earthsavers UNESCO Artist for Peace organization co-sponsored Xander’s artist residency in the Philippines, paving the way to his focus on the Afro-Asian music genre.
Zimbabwe-born musician, painter and fashion designer Xander Pratt was previously based in Morocco and Australia. The rich, colorful and vibrant royalty culture of Morocco has very much influenced Pratt’s artistry be it in painting, music and fashion design, which he can very much relate to the royalty in Mindanao, highlighted in some of his music videos. The Kingdom of Morocco has close relations to the Sultanate of Sulu, both having strong influences of Afro-Asian royalty.
Named “Artist of the Year” recently by the International Youth Center under the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Malaysia, Xander is set to start his music tour dubbed as “Fireflies: The Asia Tour” with its first stop in the Philippines, then Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Hong Kong, among others, later in the year.
Xander “XP” Pratt delighted the media members at the event at The Balcony with the launch of his music videos for “In the Blue”, “The Way You Move” and “Vogue”, which were shot in Luzon. Visayas is featured in the video for “Ninja”, while “Way Up”, “Oxyfire” and “Don’t Hold Back” were filmed in Mindanao.
“Vogue” by XP
One of the show-stopping hits from the album is titled “Vogue”.
“Vogue” aims at turning the beauty culture upside down by visually representing the unrepresented and the outcast, showcasing diverse gender expressions in the music video by featuring the kids from the Philippine Ballroom Community and the Vougers from the Iconic House of Mizrahi Philippines, headed by exceptional voguer dancer and house motherer Xyza Ragunjan.
The video was also created through a punk rock lens, which stands as a representation of today’s youth and non-conformist culture. The world is changing, so is sound and the ideologies attached to it. The song “Vogue ” blurs the barriers between social constructs and identity. Allowing the freedom of expression to take its true form of individuality.
During the listening party, the Iconic House of Mizrahi Philippines gave a live dance performance of “Vogue” .
“In the Blue ” by XP
The music video for “In the Blue ” showcases the story of a love affair that takes place in the 90s era. It is between Xander Pratt and a girl called “Blue “. The music video was about vibrant colors at a burger diner, skatepark and highway as the backdrop. The sound and visuals, although romantic, aim to represent
the boundless freedom of the youth, and was actually shot as a dream.
“Way You Move” by XP
“Way You Move” is a love dance story of a romantic couple, who travels across the oceans of the world, together and apart.
Throughout their encounters with the elements, from sunlight to moonlight, the ripples of their true love are like the waves always journeying from within, before integrating as one. The dance is a reflection of both dancers’ experiences in self-love, and commitment. Truly, calming one’s storms is the first key to maintaining one’s Spirit Partner.
The “Fireflies: Follow the Magic” music videos have been produced by AsiaTV headed by Regine Guevara. You may watch the music videos at the Xander Pratt YouTube channel.
