Last September, Brooklyn-based Boricuas Balún dropped “La Nueva Ciudad,” the first single off their forthcoming album Prisma Tropical, an intriguing return to their dreambow universe. The song is ethereal and magical, with heavenly perreo vibes that also tug at the heartstrings. 2017 promises to be Balún’s year, with upcoming shows and a planned spring release for Prisma Tropical, but right now they’re kicking things off with a brand new video for “La Nueva Ciudad.”
The video plays out like a vivid dream: uncanny, colorful, and slightly disorienting. Singer Angelica Negrón engages the video’s main character, a surreal and vaguely aquatic wizard, in a beautiful interpretive dance that finds them traipsing through a verdant forest. Along the way, they encounter Negrón’s bandmates, all holding fantastical, DIY patchwork re-imaginings of their instruments. The video ends in a ritual/party filled with potions, gift exchanges, and a farewell between Negrón and her bizarre spiritual guide.
It’s not entirely clear if the otherworldly being takes on the role of Negrón’s mentor, aid, or antagonist, the ambiguousness of which only intensifies the video’s dreamlike atmosphere. The influences of Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Wallace and Gromit, and even the films of avant-garde French director Michel Gondry are present throughout the clip. As a song, “La Nueva Ciudad” evokes mystery and wonder in a faraway land, and Balún have successfully translated that into a visual medium. Here’s hoping Prisma Tropical is filled with more journeys like this one.
Balún plays Brooklyn’s Shea Stadium tonight, January 10, at 8 p.m. For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.