Earlier this summer, Turkish singer-songwriter emir taha released his debut EP, Hoppa Pt. 1, a stunning six-tracker that put forward his R&B vision. In the past he's commented that he hopes to do for Turkey with R&B what Roselia did for Spain with Flamenco. That may seem like hubris, but Hoppa Pt. 1 laid out an R&B sound built around impossibly graceful vocals and splashed with delicate touches of Turkish influence, gently introducing his global audience to the sounds that raised him.
Now, with 2020 drawing to a close, he has one last video from the EP before he embarks on plans for it's follow-up (due next year). The video for "Huyu Suyu" (the title of which means "ways and water" in Turkish) was shot in Hackney, East London by Olivia Rose, who describes the video as "the coming together of the masculine and feminine. Taking influence from Emir's lyrics as well as his Turkish heritage, we set the video in water — from a bath to the deep blue — where Emir meets a mirage in a red veil — loosely based on Turkish bridal attire. The video focuses on that electric moment when you think two people are coming together but they don't quite make it, the moment the mirage disappears and Emir realises he is alone in the bath once more."
"Huyu huyuma denk, suyu suyuma denk" means getting on well together, being of the same disposition," Taha adds. "The literal meaning is 'her ways match my ways, her water matches my water'. That chemistry is captured perfectly in the video. It's about two people who share the same energy, transitioning to each other through hallucinations. It's my first ever music video so its is a defining moment in an artist's visual world — I feel so lucky to have had the chance to work with the amazing Olivia Rose whose taste I admire a lot."
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