Lyric Video

PUT MY KICKS ON!

Voice. Cause. IMPACT.

Inspired from Dadaism and Green Day's punk rock spirit, came the lyric video. Highly influenced by the aftermath of George Floyd's death and the viral imagery that shook the entire world, the video took almost 4 months from conceptualization to final edits. The entire process was carried solely on Procreate app and an iPad. Every animation is hand drafted and down to the typography. A political satire with some easter eggs and no affiliation to any private entity like BLM. The thoughts are solely based on human emotions, societal disruption, gun violence, racism and propaganda that needs to be discussed. It is indeed a protest song but in no way promotes unruly, violent or discourteous behavior.

"People told me why not stick to one thing? That dichotomy might work for some, I choose to follow where my creativity leads me. For me, design is a passion and music is my life. Design is my eyes and music is my ears. And 'You' are my inspiration."

Imagine you have an ensemble always ready to play when you are, says Tomar about his creative output. "I coined a phrase when I first read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in high school and I thought it made sense. 'I came, I saw, I rocked.'"

Ankit defines himself as a visual artist with a passion in songwriting. He hails from Dehradun, a small town in northern part of India which boasts of a pool of talented individuals. Living in Japan for last three years, he established himself as a multi modal designer and creative associated with brands like Pasona Group, TEDx, AYF and YUNGA.

Ankit being an emerging independent artist is not afraid to showcase his flair when it comes to anything creative. He recalls his tryst with Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams in high school that ignited his love for music. “I saw Billie Joe Armstrong shredding his Les Paul in his signature style, and I was like, ‘I wanna do that!’” When asked about specific times he is inspired to write music, Ankit states that he is nocturnal in nature and that the night itself brings out his emotions vulnerability and time for introspection. “Heartbreaks, definitely. Anything that is unsettling in society…” he says while taking long pauses. He further acknowledges the idea of a fictional character that serves as his alter ego and creates a duality inspired from David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, Green Day’s St. Jimmy and its alter ego, Jesus of Suburbia, or The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby. He recommends Queen (especially the showmanship of Freddie Mercury), John Mayer for his songwriting and technical guitar skills and Green Day’s American Idiot album in terms of music narration and expressionism. While reminiscing the time that he discovered The Beatles, Ankit was not deeply moved until he heard ‘Hey Jude’, which changed his entire perspective on the band. He also mentioned how he still wells up when thinking about John Lennon and his untimely death. “John Lennon and Freddie Mercury were the two people that the world needed as artists. The world could have been a lot different.” He emphasizes the role of Johny Ive, former design head at Apple Inc., as one of the most brilliant minds that inspired him. Ofcourse, he sights prominent artists like Lautrec, Dali and Van Gogh, and architects Antonio Gaudi, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid and Verendra Wakhloo. Cubism and Impressionism are things that he deeply enjoys but believes in developing a first impression before learning about them. “We have Wikipedia for that. I would interpret the art by myself first, as was intended in the first place.” His perspective on art trends and techniques is quite a unique one. He readily agrees the fact that he is both fascinated yet scared of “…actual painting. And I don’t mean like abstract. I mean actual portraits.” The details of facial expressions and lower half of the face is something he considers quite challenging and unable to master it yet. Ankit also mentions manga as another such bittersweet experience.

Ankit reaffirms the fact that he realised his self-worth when no one actually did and in order to keep the confidence alive for his art, he started investing on himself. "I know a lot of people call me self-obsessed," he chuckles, "I do look in the mirror whenver I get a chance. It is my way of boosting self-confidence. If I look good, my work will look much better." Although it might sound boastful or larger than life, he is willing to take that risk.

Currently working on his debut album, June, as a solo artist, Ankit has tried to learn, perform and master everything on his own. It's not just a lack of resources but also “trust issues” that made him take this pathway. “It is also an opportunity to learn and know myself more.” As for his inspiration behind this album, “It’s my former girlfriend. I got a chance to know her for just over a year.” said a timid Ankit while avoiding eye contact. "Yet she inspired me to write an entire album. She lit my fire!” The album June is slated for release in February 2022 and will be available on all major platforms.