Music / Premieres
Video Premiere:
Jay Gonsalves - Mindless
Words by James Lynch
Wednesday 19th August, 2020
Following the release of ‘Mindless’ last month, Jay Gonsalves is back with a striking new video for the single - picking up the track’s sinister undertones, the clip is as unnerving as it is captivating.
Given the success of his last two singles - both 'Evenings' and 'October' were featured on Spotify's Deadly Beats or Blak Australia playlists - it's a bold choice to change stylistic direction. However, ‘Mindless’ finds Jay Gonsalves taking a step away from his R&B origins, in favour of something more sinister and turbulent, and he pulls it off effortlessly. While the track still has the power to light up a dance-floor, it would do so in a far more subversive way - by getting under the crowd’s skin and prompting them to convulse from the inside out.

Masterfully deceptive, the track opens with a pulsating R&B undercurrent, but the atmosphere quickly morphs into something else entirely when Jay’s murky vocals enter the fold. Rich with a dark and uncanny swagger, there’s no sense that Jay could be out of his comfort zone by any means - instead, he’s commanding and completely self-assured. There is a potent tension within the song - something that could be attributed to the influence of alternative rock and heavy EDM, rather than Jay’s usual hip-hop sensibilities, on the track - and the strength of this stylistic shift is especially felt as the soundscape expands with slabs of visceral synths and a stomping backbeat. It’s fitting that Jay describes ‘Mindless’ as “guttural, invasive and heavy”, because as the track dissipates suddenly at the two minute mark, there’s a real sense that the song could be following you around for the rest of the day.

Out today is a brand new clip for ‘Mindless’, created by Leilani Bale and Jacob Hiraku Machin. Reimagining the dark and moody tone of the track, the clip adds an extra layer of grit with its shadowy visuals and nervy attitude. Speaking about the clip, Jay explains “I wanted to make something that would make fourteen year old Jay think ‘damn that’s cool, I wanna be like that’. Obviously we couldn’t go wild because of the pandemic and all but it’s still something I’m stoked with. I honestly couldn’t have done it without Leilani Bale and Jacob Hiraku Machin, those guys are a blessing. As for shots, I took a lot of inspiration from my favourite bands like Slipknot’s ‘Before I Forget’ video. I also wanted to have shots that were kind of invasive like the overall tone of the song."

Check out the new clip for 'Mindless' above, and keep up to date with Jay by following him below.