Rejoicer Premieres Hallucinatory "Lemons" Music Video from 'Spiritual Sleaze' Album

Tel Aviv-based producer Yuvi Havkin (frequently known as Rejoicer) has returned with a new album inspired by his spiritual practices in Spiritual Sleaze released via Stones Throw Records. Rejoicer has been a pillar in the cultivation of Israel’s modern beat movement through founding the ever-eclectic Raw Tapes Records. Here, his influences scatter from Sun Ra and Aphex Twin to The Alchemist and Wu Tang Clan; the LP wanders through layered soundscapes ranging from jazz, hip-hop, funk with the perfect mixture of ambient touches. Today he premieres the new music video for “Lemons,” featuring singer Jenny Penkin. The ambitious visual follows the female protagonist on a journey filled with oversized mushrooms, treks through beaten forest paths lined with surreal fauna, and dances around a hallucinatory bonfires. Rejoicer detailed the inspiration behind the project with some suggestions on how one should watch the video:

“Sandra Sabtini (Yoga teacher and long time friend of my family) showed me this beautiful ancient Indian Yoga Mudra called Makara (Crocodile) - [You] place one hand inside the other. Extend the thumb of your lower hand through the little finger and ring finger of the other and place in the middle of the palm of your upper hand. This hand’s thumb and the tip of your ring finger touch each other. [You] maybe try it while watching this short psychedelic journey Jengo, Ben and me made for my track with Jenny Penkin.”

The visual collaboration paired Yuvi with director Ben Kirschenbaumand editor Jengo, who also handled additional art direction duties in both post production and 3D animation. Jengo spoke to HYPEBEAST about the process of creating “Lemons.”

“For this video, Yuvi had the initial idea of a story of a person searching for something, and while searching they meet a spiritual guide who supports them through the journey. From the beginning the jungle theme was a big part of the visual language. We went through different drafts of the story, dumbing it down as we went, getting away from cinematic storytelling to more of a graphic one. Since the production was going to be technically challenging; filming the actors on a green screen in Tel Aviv and inserting them into the digital world I built in Los Angeles, we tried to keep the moves simple and treat it as a sequence of breathing images, rather than go full action. I wanted to let the landscapes breath slowly with the music, celebrating the essence of a maximalist natural environment juxtaposed with the stillness of the characters. I feel like what came out was a feeling of a strange and surreal, yet familiar world, like the feeling you get in a dream.”

Watch the full “Lemons” visual above and be on the lookout for Rejoicer’s upcoming tour dates as the producer travels the globe from Tokyo to Berlin throughout the next few months. In more music news, listen to King Krule’s new album MAN ALIVE!.

Rejoicer Upcoming Concert Dates
02/22 – Los Angeles, USA – Tierra de la Culebra (Leaving Records)
02/29 – Tokyo, Japan – Circus Tokyo
03/01 – Osaka, Japan – Conpass
03/26 – Tel Aviv, Israel – 138 (with Teebs)
04/09 – Halle, Germany – Pierre Grasse
04/11 – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
04/13 – London, UK – Camden Assembly
04/15 – Berlin, Germany – Gretchen