There’s something decidedly old-school about the circumstances around Yael Naim’s new video for “Coward,” a track that is over a year old already. When the French-Israeli Naim – who was named France’s Artist of the Year at this year’s Victoires de la Musique (their equivalent of the Grammy’s) – learned that Stromae burst into tears upon hearing the cabaret-style tune, she invited him to work on the video with her. A year later, their collaboration is in the world.
It makes sense that the song – whose lyrics are about realizing that despite what you have accomplished, despite the perhaps unconscious courage with which you have moved through your life, somehow you’ve become frightened and gun-shy of the world as you face new challenges – would resonate with Stromae, whose own introspective lyrics are very much a throwback to classic troubadours and balladeers. That he and Naim connected via the power of their work – and not just as content providers merging their brands – is refreshing, and obvious in the video.
Yael Naim. Photo by Julie Harnois.
Stromae (who directed the clip under his real name, Paul Van Haver) pulled Wes Anderson collaborator Martin Scali (Grand Budapest Hotel; Fantastic Mr. Fox) on board to help him realize his vision. (Stromae is on record as being something of a fanatic for Anderson’s films.) He rounded out his creative team with Mosaert artistic director Luc Junior Tom and stylist Coralie Barbier (his longtime personal stylist and co-designer of his fashion line – oh, and his wife.)
The video’s storyline is actually in opposition to the song lyrics as the clip follows an aged superheroine slowly coming to terms with the aging process and her declining powers. She’s far from a coward, but her struggle to make peace with who she has become pulls a thread from Naim’s lyric concept. Fans of Anderson’s films will immediately note his influence on the way the video is filmed, lit, edited, and paced.
And below is Naim giving a live performance of the song.
Top image courtesy Getty Images.
