The politics of plastic
It’s time to catch up on our favorite musical Moldovian as FLAVIYAKE unveils her latest video ‘Because I’m A Doll’, whose cartoon world explores the ideas of the perception of women and sexual politics.
As Flaviyake herself explains: “‘Because I’m a Doll’ is written about human dolls – the cultural world trend when girls turn themselves into living dolls with make-up and women undergo plastic surgery to achieve perfect shapes”. Rather than opt for the obvious image of a Barbie doll, Flaviyake instead explored her own interpretations of 3 different dolls inspired by anime figures. Lending inspiration to the visuals, the Japanese dolls are by artist Sonia Berdullas González, the Russian doll by Agnieszka Murphy and the colourful cat by Tammy Tanuka and Binod Tamang. The lyrics of the song also utilise popular Instagram hashtags, such as #sweet, #yummy, #bunny and #lol.
The cartoon visuals of the video provide the perfect contrast against the obvious critical content of the lyrics. Flaviyake shot the video while in Moscow, filming the footage across 3 different studios, although the final edit was only produced once she returned to the UK.
The video tells us a story about a doll falling asleep and dreaming about becoming alive. In the final scene, a guy turns up the doll’s dress and finds there a real plastic doll’s bottom. Flaviyake herself recalls getting new dolls in childhood and checking if they were shaped underneath the same as humans. She wanted to visualise this intimate thing done by many children as a reminder that the discovery of sex often comes to children with their first dolls.
With its drum & bass and electropop mashup approach, the song gives the track a frenetic edge which seems to be in-step with Flaviyake’s desire to mix and add different msuical ideas in pursuit of her own distinctive sound (see also the choral effects of ‘Celestial Beauty’ or the flute elements of ‘Electronic Boy’).
‘Because I’m A Doll’ has also attracted a broader interest from the media, including Tom Robinson featuring it on his BBC6 radio show. Feel free to pay a visit to Flaviyake’s world. You might be inspired to stay for a long holiday.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flaviyake
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/flaviyake/sets/flaviyake
Instagram: http://instagram.com/flaviyake
