Fusilier // "Make Me"
Fusilier // "Make Me"
Every now and then we have a production crew/artist, sometimes large, sometimes small that will come into our studio rental space without giving us much of a run-down of what they're working on. Upon arrival, we offer our warm greetings, open the door for them, make sure to answer any questions they may have about the space, equipment, etc. and then leave them on their own to fill the room with their vision. Sometimes, depending on what's going on that day, we will filter in and out in the midst of their shoot to check in, maybe snap a few behind the scenes photos if we have the chance along with our our clients permission. Every now and then though, theres the rare occasion of having absolutely no idea what kind of project is taking place, usually due to us being overloaded with booking, maintenance or helping with multiple shoots throughout our other studios, or sometimes for the simple reason that whoever is in the studio would prefer we give them their space. Months later, we receive a link from the mysterious client with a finished piece that blows us away.
This was exactly the case when it comes to Atlanta native, now Brooklyn based alternative artist, Fusilier and his time spent at our Bushwick studio. We checked our inbox the other morning to discover a friendly hello and kind words about his experience while shooting in our facilities a month or two prior, followed by a link to his official music video for his song, 'Make You' which focuses on the commentary of colorism in America. Before moving to NYC, Fusilier was playing bass in Boston based space rock/grime band RIBS. As the band hit a stride of peak success a bandmate asked him that question of what it was like to be not only black, but gay as well. Realizing how tiring it had become to try and dodge the world's biased perceptions, Fusilier "began making a body of music that would make that question irrelevant and drain it of its power".
Once we clicked on the link we were immediately sucked into the stylized world he created, a world based on his knowledge of opposition, anger and even fear while at the same time using a swatch of subversive humor to really drive his point home. It's beautiful, it's provocative, it's unsettling and more than anything it's unapologetically him being exactly who he is. To dive a bit deeper, take a look at the recent premiere with Afropunk.
https://youtu.be/L2ar8xKFIUw