Artist: SIJI
Title: "YEARNING FOR HOME"
Label: IVY Records
Director: Siji
Cinematographer: Scott Beardslee
Film Editor: Julie Carr
sijimusic.com

Shot on the RED One Digital camera in 4k Resolution.

A close friend of mine whom upon listening to my new album, showered me with compliments and then jokingly commented that it appeared as though I’d just built the Empire State building, but had yet to install an elevator in it.

When probed further he stated that in this advanced age of digital technology, when I had overcome great odds to complete such a body of work, it was indeed a crime that I had yet to shoot a music video to accompany one of the songs.

I saw sense with his reasoning and hustled to put together what would eventually become my debut video for the song, “Yearning For Home”. I was able to cajole a handful of my trusted associates and kinsmen to submit to the rigors of a day’s filming in Brooklyn, NY. This being my directorial debut, having to concentrate on the task at hand proved somewhat trying, given a room full of Nigerians was bound to generate a substantial amount of excitement and chaos in equal measure. Suffice to say, we all had a blast and the results were stunning.

The concept of the video was to shed light on my constant longing for my ancestral homeland Nigeria where I grew up. It was crucial for me to convey the sense of nostalgia we immigrants come to feel when far away from that which we affectionately call “Home”. For even though we have come to make our new homes away from home, there forever remains a deep sense of longing for that which we left behind.

In doing so I chose to depict a number of scenes drawn from my own experiences, which shed light on a few of the things I come across or do which remind me of my homeland.

“Yearning For Home”, is taken from my new album “ADESIJI” available now on Itunes and other digital platforms.