Next Tuesday, September 24 iamamiwhoami will fill the Brooklyn Masonic Temple with intricate sounds and stunning visuals. Presented by LPR and the BOOM Collective, the concert is one of only two dates scheduled for the Swedish act’s much-anticipated US live debut. With the show less than a week away, here’s an overview of the audiovisual enigma that is iamamiwhoami.
the preludes
iamamiwhoami’s output started with six cryptic videos, which began appearing on YouTube in December 2009. Each of these short pieces features a drawing of a different animal, as well as a numerical code in its title that contained a hidden word or phrase. At the time, no one was sure who was behind iamamiwhoami, and unusual PR moves like sending a package containing a lock of hair, bark and a pictogram to MTV only heightened the intrigue. Guesses at iamamiwhoami’s identity ranged from Björk, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Alison Goldfrapp and The Knife to Christina Aguilera, but the subsequent bounty series would soon put an end to those rumors.
“Prelude 699130082.451322-5.4.21.3.1.20.9.15.14.1.12″—the very first iamamiwhoami video to emerge.
bounty
“b”—the opening track of bounty.
The bounty series began with “b”, the first full track from iamamiwhoami. As more videos appeared, their titles spelled out the word “bounty”. Their contents revealed a collection of exquisite, immersive electro-pop paired with vivid, cinematic visuals and a complex web of concepts, symbols and themes. With her face appearing in these videos, there was growing speculation that iamamiwhoami was Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee. And soon the secret was out: Lee and producer Claes Björklund were behind the project, which also featured visual collaborations with director Robin Kempe-Bergman, set designer Agustín Moreaux and cinematographer John Strandh.
“y”—with more than 14 million views, this is iamamiwhoami’s most-watched video on YouTube.
A couple of months after the debut of bounty‘s “y”, iamamiwhoami presented IN CONCERT, a live performance that featured the tracks from bounty, as well as the earlier “preludes”. IN CONCERT was streamed live and only made available for a few hours afterward, but you can still find it online:
While it wasn’t apparent when they were first released, two additional tracks, “; john” and “clump”, were later revealed to be part of bounty well. Though it was the first series of full songs to emerge, bounty wasn’t released until earlier this year, becoming iamamiwhoami’s second album, following 2012’s kin.
“; john”—the penultimate track from the bounty series.
kin
Announced and shared with fans on YouTube in the same manner as bounty, the kin series was released as iamamiwhoami’s debut album in June 2012. It was inspired by “a close encounter with the audience” at iamamiwhoami’s first live show, Lee told Dazed & Confused in an interview, adding that the “whole Kin album is tied together both musically and visually.” kin‘s highlights include “drops”, “play” and “goods”.
“play” from kin
live
Having toured across Europe in 2012 and 2013, Jonna Lee and company are finally coming to the states for just two dates. Don’t miss this rare chance to see iamamiwhoami live in concert next Tuesday, September 24 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Ital opens.
iamamiwhoami performing “goods” live.
posted by John