Breaking My Rule: Powder’s “New Tribe”

One of those stubborn personal opinions I cling to is that music should be able to stand on its own, free from visuals and choreography and whatever else people would rather gravitate to. This is one of the most old-man things about me — even though I appreciate all the other stuff (I mean, the whole reason I do this is because of Perfume, whose dancing is vital to the act as a whole) I still want good songs to be embraced as just that.

But also! The main reason I’m writing about Powder’s “New Tribe” is because the video is bonkers. Powder is one of the more prominent electronic artists and DJs going in Japan right now, but she has also been the type of artist who works best in live settings and via mixes, which isn’t exactly fitting for this blog. “New Tribe” as a song is pretty solid, a bleary eyed rave-out that appears on a new mix.

But in this case…the video takes it to another level. Done by AC-bu, responsible for plenty of gems, it’s half Akira spoof, half zonked out meditation on quitting your job. And it matches up just right with the music. Solid song, but even better with the clip. Listen above.