Prism Prize Videos: Cadence Weapon - "High Rise"

By External Source

On February 21, the Prism Prize will announce the Top 20 Canadian music videos competing for the annual honour, to be handed out May 13 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto.

Leading up to the Prize, we will profile some of the noteworthy clips likely to be in contention. More information on the Prize here

Cadence Weapon - "High Rise"

This thought provoking video unfolds in one long, unending take. Shot from a bird’s eye view perspective 20 stories above street level, "High Rise" seamlessly entwines voyeurism with art by alternating between candid images of oblivious pedestrians going about their days and choreographed shots of solitary figures dancing at streetcar stops, on city sidewalks - and eventually - on the balcony of their very own high rise. The dancers, it should be noted, are ignored by the passers-by (who are themselves entirely unaware that they are part of a music video).

The video is a political statement as much as it is a work of art. "High Rise" was shot in the Spadina-Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, a city notorious for an increasingly untenable cost of living and boasting one of the most expensive and densely populated rental markets in Canada. With High Rise, Cadence Weapon and Director Lester Millado didn’t just make a music video; they’ve also made a statement about the monotony and oppressive detachment that are so often the result of gentrification sucking the soul out of the community that existed there before.

Director: Lester Millado
Director of Photography: Lester Millado
Editor: Soji "Shakes" Oyinan
Producer: Imad Elsheikh