IDHAZ moves through a deserted San Francisco in ‘if i am afraid’

The rising Bay Area artist combines hip hop, footwork, latin and contemporary dance in the surreal visual accompaniment to the opening track from his debut album, psychic behaviours.

Rising Bay Area artist IDHAZ teams up with director Brandon Tauszik for a surreal nighttime odyssey through a deserted San Francisco. Set against the tripped out sounds of ‘if i am afraid’, the opening track from the artist’s debut album, psychic behaviours, the video features original choreography from IDHAZ, who dons jester face paint alongside dancers Yaya and Justice. “In this music video, I wanted each dancer’s unique style to really shine,” explains IDHAZ. “I wanted there to be moments of unison, but more moments of raw movement.” Basing the idea of the video on the experience of a daydreaming, director Tauszik captures the dancers moving through a suitably dreamlike environment, passing through a series of liminal spaces before finally arriving at their destination in the waking world.

“I grew up dancing to salsa, merengue and cumbia with my family,” explains IDHAZ. “My mother was the first person to show me how to move my hips at a quinceañera, I was so embarrassed! The other dancers in this video, Yaya and Justice, come from completely different backgrounds of dance. Yaya’s style is so smooth, he’s like an ever changing, unpredictable cloud. I first met him at the BART station, and the first time I saw him dance was only moments after on the train. He continues to blow me away with his innovativeness and passion. I got to know Justice through seeing him dance in the heart of San Francisco. He’s a B-boy through and through, and he comes at it in his own way—I love that about him. His style is ruthless and jaw dropping, watching him dance is like watching a flower bloom.”

“My style of dancing is a combination of latin dance, hip hop, footwork, and contemporary dance,” he continues. “I love intensity in dance. For me, to dance means I am alive, and to be alive is to be participating in the harmony of the cosmos. My body is the instrument. Beyond, and within—the harmony. To be a dancer, or a poet, or a singer is not earned, we simply are that by moving, or writing, or singing. As we connect to our bodies, we also connect to a planetary consciousness. When I dance, I connect to the loom of the cosmos, surpassing the forward motion of time.”

‘if i am afraid’ is taken from psychic behaviours, out now on Left Hand Path. For more information about Brandon Tauszik and his work, you can visit his website. You can find IDHAZ on Instagram.