EXCLUSIVE: Watch the brand new video for "Theorize" by Jol

Jol has come to the rescue of those still doing the hard yards in lockdown level 4 in Tāmaki Makaurau with a thought-provoking video for his indie-pop gem "Theorize".

As it happens Jol – AKA Jol Mulholland (multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, engineer) wrote "Theorize" in the first lockdown last year. Just before the country returned to Level 4 this year, Jol looked to his brother Eden Mulholland to help him portray the sentiment of the track in a video – obviously not knowing, people across Aotearoa were about to be confined to their homes all over again.

“Eden wanted to get across the feeling of everyday claustrophobia, of being stuck inside, trying to capture life during the lockdowns going down all around the world,” says Jol.

And the cleverly-crafted video does just that – it takes us on a journey through an average day in lockdown where the four walls of your own home and supermarket aisles are the very things that bring you both comfort and confinement.

“First I chose a bunch of everyday objects - shampoo bottle, air freshener, cordial, mayonnaise bottle, 2 stroke Oil bottle etc,” explains Eden. “I took a high-res photo of each item and photoshopped in single words or phrases from the song, printing them and gluing to the packaging.

“I used my iPhone to take detailed LiDAR scans of the items in and around the house, car and supermarket. I used screen capture to record me exploring the scans in an app. The capture of these became the material for the video. I then added another graphic layer to display the lyrics as typed messages.”

Eden says, “I wanted to warp how we perceive objects and our everyday environment. It’s a twisted analogy for how we kinda 'theorise' everything in life, especially in lockdown when we have to find new ways to experience the world.”

"Theorize" sets the scene for Jol’s upcoming album, on which the Christchurch-raised, Auckland-based artist wears all hats, from writer and artist to producer and mix engineer.