The Artist Explains: Danny Matos - 'Oasis'

Hip Hop artist Danny Matos talks us through his minimalistic visuals for ‘ Oasis’ which uses clocks, scales and calendars to symbolise the factors that dictate our lives.

Where was the video for ‘Oasis’ filmed? 
The video for ‘Oasis’ was filmed in my apartment actually.

How does the video connect with the song? 
The song details my deep introspection surrounding the idea that we, whether knowingly or unknowingly, give so much praise and recognition to the things that don’t serve us. In my opinion, the same energy required to go within, make peace with our subconscious stories, and investigate our emotions is the same energy that goes into feeding the war against the outside world. So much of life is missed by building an altar for fear and anxiety, and we don’t even realize we are doing it. We are bound by time and clocks, calendars and scales, envy and perceptions of inadequacy so much so that we have lost the ability to understand that the entire foundation of our so called beliefs can be built on lies and distortions taught to us by so many varying and conflicting sources. As scary as this is to accept, we have to do it in order to truly see ourselves for the first time ever. Perhaps the reason we are so broken is because we keep trying to fix ourselves. In other words, we are flawed because we think we are flawed. It is based solely from a perpetual state of comparison. We all have this song inside of us that is unique to us, and I think it’s our job to cultivate it.

Any behind the scenes stories you could share with us? 
There are no behind the scenes stories except for the fact that the video was shot in 45 minutes. I wanted the video to reflect one continuous scene that took place in my small apartment. Our bedroom is where we close our eyes, yet it’s the place where we spend probably a lot more time awake than we realize - thinking, ruminating, obsessing, editing the day, reliving the day, and even redoing the most painful scenes of many days. I chose to leave the bedroom where I’m literally hog tied to a clock on top of a scale while writing envy on my calendar to go and grab a guitar from the living room alluding to how I want to actually live. Ironically, a year ago, I found out my father’s uncle is a very well known guitar maker in Puerto Rico with a custom-made guitar (cuatro) for Paul Simon under his belt. I don’t know how to play the guitar, but I keep one in the corner of my living room to remind me of what, who, and where I come from and the song I have inside me at all times whether or not I can hear it. Throughout the video, I’m seen blind folded revealing, at the end, that I’m blinding myself from the false realities projected by the same images we find ourselves idolising. Our is identities are shaped usually before an age we can even remember, and the level of reconditioning  required to reach true self is just as arduous as it is liberating. 

What do you hope people take away from watching the video? 
Like any artist, I hope people appreciate the perspective I attempted to share, and I hope people find themselves and their own realities within it. 

Interview feature by Karla Harris

‘Oasis’ is taken from Danny Matos’ current album, ‘Caged Are The Songs That Set Me Free’ which you can stream/download, here.

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