On the heels of its Cat’s Cradle debut Friday night for Signal Fest, The Foreign Exchange has issued the second video for Leave It All Behind, the excellent sophomore album released last year by emcee Phonte Coleman and producer Nicolay Rook. The first three minutes of the video, set to “Take off the Blues,” are simple enough: Phonte Coleman sits around a table in a posh bar, joking with friends like Darien Brockington (who sings here, too) and Yahzarah (nope, we don’t know why Muhsinah isn’t featured). He spots a pretty woman across the bar, buys her a drink and dances with her. His happy-man soft-shoe gets a tad happier, and, half a minute later, he’s swept her off her feet.
But here the song fades a minute sooner than it does on Leave It All Behind, putting the synth-and-drums outro on the cutting room floor and segueing into “Valediction,” LIAB‘s break-up track. The video jumps to Phonte sitting at his kitchen table in the dark when his lover of one year ago arrives. He lets her off while holding her hand as two minutes of flashbacksmoments both romantic and bitter, reflecting mutually lost interest in the relationshipsplice the chat. Interesting idea, and well executed by director Matt Koza. Check it after the jump.
The Foreign Exchange feat. Darien Brockington – “Take Off The Blues” from The Foreign Exchange on Vimeo.
