aKING honours Herman Pretorius in "You & I"

I am sure many aKING fans would disagree with me judging by the aKING Facebook page, but the video for “You and I” is hardly what I would expect from one of SA's premier rock bands. Okay, so they are more mainstream than their Bellville Brothers, but still a music video that looks like it could belong to an artist like Danny K; (cue lead singing to pretty girl) has been done to death and is about as clichéd as you can get. It just doesn't seem fitting for a band that, in conjunction with producers Fly on the Wall (those talented guys who made the Fok-umentary), created the awesome “Safe as Houses” video. “You & I” in comparison, seriously lacks dimensionality and flavour in concept.

Don't get me wrong, it is beautifully shot and produced and includes some heartfelt scenes with the band looking serious in Argentinean cemeteries and strolling around monuments in the Recoletta district of Buenos Aires. But, somehow, the two different veins of the video, said Buenos Aires street strolling scenes and Laudo singing to a girl on a bed, don't seem compatible or do justice to the song or band.



However, the director has this to say about the making and concept behind the video: I really liked the idea of a nostalgic video. A feeling of mesmerisation - it should feel like "I've been here before". We thought that the beauty of Argentina would capture that, from the interiors to the Recoletta cemetery and the tango clubs.

I wanted to capture the essence of appreciating someone or something and capture that moment when you sit back and think of your life; how you get older, how you are going to change and the people and memories that keep it alive for you. Ironically, Herman Pretorius from MK lost his battle against cancer while we were over there and the song became very real for everyone on set. RIP HERMAN!

And the band had this to say: Going to another country on a whim, with a couple of your best friends, seemed like a wild idea at first, especially due to the fact that we were the ones footing the bill. In retrospect though, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The whole experience drew us closer together, not just as a band but as best friends.

Which is all quite understandable and sweet respectively and, I suppose, when creating a video for a more ballad-type song that deals with nostalgia one might not want to create anything too out there. But I'm still not really convinced that the original intentions were realised and if the “essence of appreciating someone or something” was really captured. I think it was those bed scenes that really turned me off, altogether far too soppy for a band like aKING.

Okay, I feel bad now, dissing a music video that was dedicated to Herman Pretorius (shame on me), so please visit www.vredefoundation.co.za the foundation that Pretorius founded for young people with cancer and show your support. And let us know what you think of the video - maybe it's really brilliant and I'm just not getting it.