Video of the Week: Half Waif “Ceremonial”

Listening through Half Waif’s marvelous album Kotekan, you’d be forgiven for thinking Half Waif herself is some kind of 21st century sprite, luring you off for some kind of magical mischief or other. “Ceremonial” is the track that perhaps best signifies this image of Half Waif, and the new video for the song reflects that, with its forest setting and glittery face paint and mysterious dancers. The song is addicting enough on its own, but the sly smile Half Waif offers up throughout is further enticement, a look that efficiently sums up the playful gracefulness of the music and the performer’s persona. The video seems simple, just like that smile seems simple, just like the music seems simple– but there are layers and subtle moves and expressions that can’t be effectively mimicked by anyone else, turning it all into something unique and startling.

 

The video also encourages fantasies of Half Waif backed up by a dance company, her orchestral pop provided with avatars of physical grace to augment the vocal ballet on display. When it eventually shifts over to negative art and inexplicable fluid drips, the connection to the more technological end of Half Waif’s art is clearer. There’s also a pastel tone to this segment of the video that recalls the infamous Cottingley Fairies, a palpable sense of otherness– we know this is just a regular person, but with the right presentation and a bit of visual trickery it’s not too hard to buy into it as proof of magic.