Video Premiere: Alamay & Omar Cassius - 'surface interlude'

The mesmeric audio-visual ‘Surface interlude’ blends jazz instrumentals and bird sounds, as Alamay trades her velvety singing vocals for poignant poetry written and performed by friend and collaborator, Eliza Reid. Lush and leafy, the video features Alamay dancing and reflecting in nature, a perfect final offering of the project’s coinciding visuals – rich, deep imagery of last light by the sea. ‘Surface interlude’ is taken from the upcoming EP How to Swim, coming out July 13th, 2022.

Director Lucy Werrett describes the video: “When I first heard the track, I felt such a strong sense of tranquillity and this peacefulness became the essence of the video. “I held a drop of water and saw it as my life. Then returned it to the sea to feel at home inside“. The water acts as a connected portal into a different enclosed world in which Alamay finds peace. Somewhere she can be free and formless just like water. I wanted to create a cinematic and ethereal video where every moment feels equally as beautiful and painting-esque when you pause it.”

Surface interlude is a song I started making randomly in the middle of the night over lockdown. I was messing around with some keys and vocal stacks and sent it to Omar without thinking much of it but I’m really glad we decided to develop it further. Omar added so much ambience and texture that made it into the calming transition track that it is now on How to Swim. The poem in the song was written and read by one of my closest friends Eliza Reid, having her be able to be a part of the track and the project overall was a big moment and something that was really special to both of us.
– Alamay

With a style drawing from her early immersion in Soul and Jazz music, as well as her Ethiopian heritage, Alamay is bringing a refreshing take on modern R&B/Soul. She first entered the scene in 2019 with her collaborative project with Omar Cassius, Aurora, followed by a track entitled ‘Miirror’ featuring KNWGD in 2020, and a live Boiler Room set alongside Giant Swan and Jabu. Alamay has laid the foundations for many more impressive projects to come.

Bristol-born Artist Omar Cassius entered the scene in 2019 with his collaborative debut EP alongside Alamay titled ‘Aurora’. As co-founder of the 1999 platform (a creative collective in Bristol) he also has his fingerprints on multiple projects, working behind the scenes with other budding Bristol natives. To date, most of his creative output and contributions have been production however expansion into solo releases is to be expected in the near future.