Alternative electro-pop duo The Familiar–comprised of Norway-based Mads Martinsen and New York’s Ruth Mirsky–is back with the music video for their song “Patience”. The song is off their upcoming EP Seconds, their follow up to 2014’s Rooms. What makes this duo so incredibly unique–besides their enormous amount of talent–is that their records are produced without the two ever being in the same room at the same time. While Seconds is out tomorrow, we’ve got the exclusive streaming premiere right here!
“For Seconds, we’ve continued working remotely from one another and recording and releasing our tracks in a completely DIY fashion,” the band explains. “The songs emerged a bit darker and lonelier than Rooms, which is strange since we have gotten closer over the past few years of corresponding back and forth between Norway and New York.”
The track itself is beautiful. Layers of synth and reverb from Mads Martinsen mix delicately with the vocals of Mirsky. Her voice is like a lullaby, singing softly and gracefully of the importance of patience.
“The music video for ‘Patience’ was the brainchild of Norwegian director Åsmund Hasli–who was actually another stranger that happened to appear out of the blue a few years ago–he wrote to us on Facebook asking to work on a ‘World Ends‘ video and we couldn’t be more excited to release his latest cinematic tour de force in tandem with the EP release.”
The video seems to be conveying the fact that you are in control of your own destiny. The constellations are a constant in the video, and the protagonist is seeking balance in her work-heavy, scientific-minded life. She seems wound tight, like her entire life is structured, and there are moments where she seeks romance–and aspect in her life which she is clearly missing. What people may read into it–even if it wasn’t meant to be this way–is that the notion that a woman can have success in her career or a successful love life, but not both at the same time, is bogus. There doesn’t need to be a double standard in that regard. You shouldn’t have to solely dedicate yourself to your work in order to be taken seriously in your career path. You are in control of that fate and the way that you approach your life.
Additionally, this video implores its viewers that everything will come to you in time. Patience–as it is clearly defined in the track itself–is an act. You have to be willing to hold on to hope with that patience, and not give up just because you are unhappy. Happiness is not a destination, it is a process. This music video and its accompanying track are stark reminders of this.
Seconds will be released June 24.
