TOP POPS! Gardens & Villa, Animal Feelings (Music Video Premiere)

TOP POPS featuring “Everybody” and “Fixations” from Gardens & Villa and the music video premiere for “Fire” by Animal Feelings, directed by Adam France.

TOP POPS! is a a recurring selection of indie pop highlights across a selection of styles, to keep you on your dancing, shaking toes. +++ ALL TOP POPS! COLUMNS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS

Animal Feelings – “Fire” Music Video Premiere

In this highly post-processed music video, New York’s Oli Chang, aka Animal Feelings, works with director Adam France on a confetti-laden dance track full of pattern-mastered characters and dizzying hyperactive movements. Chang’s only instruction to France was to make the music video like the track — “dark but fun” — and left him to his craft. At the marvel of the human body, it’s amazing as always how the crisp use of negative space, when paired with costumes and, in this case, the able body of dancer Kai Pai, is quite enough to make an eye-catching video.

“The song’s fast energy and electronic edge inspired the clips choppy, dance-driven design. Some of the more subtle electronic moments were matched with macro footage that give the clip an otherworldly and galaxy-like element. Also the infectious personality of our dancer Kai added elements of sass, sex and sill[iness]. Together, all these parts make a clip that is overloaded with stamina, sharp graphics, bold props, skin, and the mojo of the original song.”
– Adam France, Director

Adam France – Director
Thief – Featured Vocalist
Kai Pai – Dance and Choreographer
Ebony Fleur – Prop Design
Theresa Caffrey – Producer
Nathan Lynch – Director Of Photography
Adam France – Additional Prop Design and Choreography

Gardens & Villa - Everybody

Gardens & Villa – “Everybody” / “Fixations”

Hailing from Gardens & Villa’s third full-length record, the strangely titled Music for Dogs (which ultimately provides commentary on mainstream music consumption), comes two singles, the piano-heavy “Everybody” and the swirling “Fixations”, both prime time jams for the height of summer. Music for Dogs comes out on August 21st via Secretly Canadian; stay tuned for more coverage. Full national tour begins September 15th, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Gardens & Villa – “Everybody”

Gardens & Villa – “Fixations”

Gardens & Villa – “Fixations” (Live @ Bunk Bar)

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Written by
Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and artist who splits their time between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Seattle, Washington. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Editor-in-Chief of International Examiner, and an Environmental Justice reporter at South Seattle Emerald. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in 2026. In 2025, they premiere their documentary short film, Hunt's Trading Post, set just outside of the Navajo and Ute Nations.

In 2017, Vee released the narrative short film, Searching Skies — which touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States — and co-organized The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!. They have a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota and are pursuing a certificate in Incidencias en Problemas Socioambientales at the Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Mexico.

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