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DJ Lag gets in sync with choreographer Mette Towley on ‘Switz’ video

2019 has indeed begun on a high note, with DJ Lag doing his own BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix; a timely reminder of the gqom pioneer’s burgeoning career, which sees the next few months of touring taking him to events around the world including Sonar Istanbul and an all-nighter at Berlin’s legendary club, Berghain. The last single off DJ Lag’s exemplary Stampit EP entitled ‘Switz’ embraces the way that music and movement come together to stir both body and spirit, on an international scale.

Shot and directed in New York by Bon Duke, Mette Towley’s interpretation of “Switz” is her response to the feeling that dance, and its ability to act as a mode of communication, needed a serious revisit, zeroing in on the essence of the moving individual in question. Mette is the performance artist known for her dynamic solo in N.E.R.D and Rihanna’s “Lemon” video, and has since become the face of freedom in a genre that embraces just that. With just the right music, that freedom can be shared in projects such as this one, where she found DJ Lag’s unique Gqom sound effervescent and liberating enough to accompany her and her collaborators’ steps. Choreographed in collaboration with the dancers, this piece truly embodies the spirit behind the ritual of movement and collective power.

“Dance’s challenge is to convey human emotion… The body becomes the mechanism through which we communicate,” says Mette. “Great dancers are poets. It’s about taking people through ideas, not steps. As a dancer, you have to embody the idea. Our cast of dancers spent their Saturday in Brooklyn, moving, creating, and conveying their authentic selves. We captured these moments and want to use this music video to celebrate their physicality, their individual voices and their communal spirit.”

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About Mette Towley

@mettenarrative

Mette grew up in rural Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota where she earned her bachelors in dance and cultural studies and performed as a company member in Black Label Movement and Guggenheim scholar, Ananya Chatterjea’s Ananya Dance Theatre.; Mette was inspired by Alonzo King’s voice and the opportunity to task dancers, over a day in Brooklyn, to move and create as their authentic selves. She hopes this project inspires more celebration of individual voices in dance.

About Bon Duke

@bondukestudio

Bon Duke is a director/photographer born, raised, and based in New York City. With a background in fine art, Bon’s creative approach is inspired by a fascination with the human form and movement, as well as his New York City roots. Bon intimately captures the essence of a person or place. His body of work is, on the one hand, dynamic, gestural, and polished, and, on the other, raw and youthful.

Over the course of his career, Bon has worked with brands such as Aritzia, Capezio, Chloe, Coach, Equinox, Jordan, Kith, Nike, PepsiCo, Public School New York, The Gap, and Vera Wang, among others. His editorial clients include W Magazine, King Kong Magazine, Vogue Korea, Paper Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and T Magazine.