Watch Him's Video For 'Suicide Town'

Tāmaki Makaurau sound and performance artist Him aka Jazmine Rose Philips has shared a beautifully filmed video for 'Suicide Town', shot amongst the dunes of Te Henga (Bethells Beach) where they were based for a year, living in a tipi and finishing up their recently released debut album Snakes At Night. Co-directed by the cowboy hat wearing artist and Robyn Jordaan, the new clip matches the song's affectingly fragile sonics – recorded in collaboration with saxophonist Aaron Longville and engineer Rohan Evans – with evocative, edge of the earth cinematography. Him is heading to Australia in October for a run of shows, and today opened up about the origins of 'Suicide Town' with RNZ...

“I was on an artist residency in the Himalayas. Sleeping in my little concrete room, I heard dogs barking across the mountains. There was unrest. I woke up and knew I needed to call my mother.

I called her in my home town Trafalgar [in Gippsland], and she told me her friend and our neighbour had taken her life the night before.

It’s sad. It’s always sad when this happens, but may she rest in peace now.

The thing that really unsettled me is that when I lived in that house with my mother over 10 years ago, our neighbour on the other side had taken her life. I remember having had the same feeling on that night too.

So there are these three houses in a row, with three mothers. Two are gone now and my mother is in the middle. So, in the only way I knew how, I wrote these words asking her not to wash away.

I don’t like to tell people what things are, but I do want to say: this isn’t a sad song.”

Rohan Evans' imprint Arcade Recordings is currently raising funds towards future releases and further recording equipment, for more info and to show your support head over here.

If you are concerned about yourself or a friend please reach out to Lifeline at 0800 543 354.