Dawuna’s “The Lighthouse” requires a bit of patience. To follow the Brooklyn-based singer’s woozy perspective, you have to lean in and get lost in the staticky fog just as he does. A standout from his debut album Glass Lit Dream, "The Lighthouse" is unafraid of asking uncomfortable questions. “This track is the spiritual spine of the album,” Dawuna told The FADER in an email.
Over four-and-a-half minutes, “The Lighthouse” slowly unfolds as Dawuna questions if his quest for satisfaction in life is fraught. “I’m always grabbing, I’m always thirsting, I’m always grippin’ for that” he croons over a bed of creaking percussion and wispy background vocals. “Thing that’ll give me a full feeling / It’s ok, I’ll find it, Lord.” The video, shot by Noella Mugerwa Byenkya, features Dawuna caught in a sea storm with waves crashing into him as he struggles to light a cigarette, capturing the lost and hopeless feeling of his tense songwriting.
“This video felt genuinely perilous to film, sea storm and all,” he says. “The track and video illustrate the motion between the extremes: the ‘to’ and the ‘fro’ of things. It can be uncomfortable to swing back and forth, so steady adherence to a middle path is ideal.”
Thumbnail photo by Noella Mugerwa Byenka & KO___OL.