DonChristian and Eartheater teach a lesson on emotional intimacy in the video for “Unfolding”
From DonChristian’s new album Where There’s Smoke, out now.
DonChristian would like you to "imagine getting in an Uber pool and being the most unadulterated version of yourself." It's a daunting task for most communication-averse New Yorkers, but Don and Eartheater provide a revealing, if somewhat exaggerated, example of what might happen if you were to do so in the video for "Unfolding," debuting today on The FADER.
What begins as a normal ride, with Don and Eartheater sitting quietly next to each other in the backseat of a car, quickly turns into a complex and raw and sudden display of intimacy; their bodies entangle around each others' like they're in the middle of a particularly challenging game of Twister. Eventually, they unfold and tumble onto a beach, laying as the waves wash over their bodies.
“Throughout the video we explored the idea of “unfolding” and the lengths we go to avoid intimacy with strangers," says director of the video Naya Samuel. "We paired that with the catharsis of unraveling completely, dropping everything off and letting go without fear of (or giving a fuck about) judgement.”
The visual, matched to Don's and Eartheater's haunting and tender vocals, was also a way for them to be "vulnerable with ourselves and one another," Don wrote. "To flex into emotional formations reaching for ourselves outside of the dotted lines," wrote Eartheater. "Remembering the innocence of our energetic threads intersecting towards fearlessness and purity."
The video, made by NYC creative agency CENO, was shot by Asha Efia and Elijah Maura, and is from Don's latest album Where There's Smoke, out now. Watch it above.