The Artist Explains: SK Shlomo - 'The Future'

SK Shlomo talks to us about the deeply personal meaning behind his single and music video for ‘The Future’, which explores the theme of losing an unborn child.
’The Future’ is an emotive and fluid downtempo indie electronic single taken from SK Shlomo’s new album, ‘Surrender’. ‘Surrender’ is out now and is a collection of songs focussing on the themes of loss and hope.

Where was the video for ‘The Future’ filmed?
We filmed the indoor shots at the TV studio in Stratford, East London where the filmmakers are based - they’re called FLETCHERWILSON and the project was directed, edited and graded by a formidable all female team. The outdoor shots were filmed in the village I live in, the kids family friends.

Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
We had some brilliant slow motion footage of the youngest star Louis throwing his iPad in response to being teased by his older sister which didn’t make the cut. I also loved the 'rock shrine’ set design that the directors created to be my dressing room in the film.

Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
The video is about an imagined life, connecting to the song which is a letter to my own son about the little brother he never got to meet. Death before birth is a strange type of grief and it took me a long time to get this song right - I started writing it on our would-be due date, back in May 2016, and it took until recently to find the right words I wanted to say. The resulting video is super emotional for myself and for the huge list of people who have reached out to me after seeing it. Losing unborn children is a topic that affects a lot of people but not many of us talk about.

Interview feature by Karla Harris