iskwē – “Breaking Down” (Official Video)

“Breaking Down“ is about me finding my way back to my clan, the butterfly clan, which represents my family in the spirit world. I wanted to show the emergence of self, by shedding layers of the past while discovering strength in being true to who I am. Our vision, director Jessica Lea Fleming and myself, was to be as inclusive as possible, with each of the dancers representing different communities – Indigenous, people of colour, LGBTQ, as a way to honour our various stages of emergence and growth in finding comfort in who we are.

“Breaking Down” is from iskwē’s Juno-nominated album acākosīk available everywhere.

Directed by Jessica Lea Fleming
Director of Photography – Angel Navarro III
Production Manager – Ulla Laidlaw
Editor – Ricardo Temporão
Choreography by Aria Evans
Costumer Designer – Ming Wong
Created and performed by:
Sze-Yang Ade-Lam
Micha Baltman
Kennedy Bomberry
Serwaa Daley
Geoffrey Dollar
Kristy Janvier
Aisha Nicholson
Karyin Qiu
Heath V. Salazar

“Breaking Down” is available now on all digital platforms: ffm.to/breakingdownsingle

Written by: M. Meisters, A. Mak, M. Ancheta

Lyrics:

You were just one of those
The kind that gets under the skin
You pick me up, pick me up
Then you threw me down again
I know
How it feels to start again
You turn away, turn away,
turn away and I remain

I, I’ve been breaking down

You were just one of those
Now every time I hear your name
I get shook up, get shook up
Left your mark, I wear the stain
I know
How it feels to take the blame
You push away, push away
Push away and I remain

I, I’ve been breaking down

I’ve waited all this time to speak my mind
You pushed me down so far I thought I died
Because of you
The thought of you
But now I’m here to prove I’m still alive

I, I’ve been breaking down

www.iskwe.com