YOUNG soul and gospel musician Leon Bridges has revealed the highly emotional and cinematic music video for ‘River’,the closing track off his debut album that bases its theme wholly on the Baltimore Uprisin and is now accompanied by a short film that lifts the spirits of anyone deluged in depression.
For a guy at 26 years old, his soulful vocals make ‘River’ the perfect conclusion to any album, and the video directed by Miles Jay reinforces that. The song details the message that no matter how much despair is in your life, there is always a light approaching in the distance. Bridges has said of the video, “My goal was to write a song about my personal spiritual experience. It was written during a time of real depression in my life and I recall sitting in my garage trying to write a song which reflected this struggle. I want this video to be a message of light. I believe it has the power to change and heal those that are hurting.”
The song talks about the subject of the Baltimore Uprising – and there’s footage of the event in the video – which was a movement created in order to show depreciation for the death of Tyrone West in 2013, who died in custody of a Baltimore police station. The footage in the video is all thanks to the members of West Wednesday, which was made by West’s family.
If one of the best music short films of the last few years wasn’t enough for his fans, Bridges will be visiting Liverpool’s O2 Academy and London’s Brixton Academy in April.
Check out the video below:
