Finn Foxell Gets Political In New ‘Leaders’ Video

West-London storyteller Finn Foxell releases his video for his new single ‘Leaders’ directed by Alia Hassan, produced and co-written by Jacob Manson. Marking a new era of music and following up his most recent EP, ‘Alright Sunshine’, ‘Leaders’ demonstrates Finn’s evolving sound and embodies his fearlessness as he boils over into new territories. Quickly becoming the voice for his generation of inner city young adults, ‘Leaders’ lyrics straddle serious and playful with a nod to the current state of politics in the UK. The guitar-driven track allows Finn to speak his truth and confront contradictions with the recurring line ‘Rich, the pompous pricks who judge when all of their kids wanna be like us”, taking centre stage. 

When speaking about the video, the director, Alia Hassan stated:

“since the age of 11, having just watched Christopher Nolan’s ’The Dark Knight’ at the Acton Due cinema, I’ve had an obsession with masks, a human innovation that has held significance across many cultures for thoughts of years. Masks have taken many purposes over time – from battle to performance and ritual – and it seems to me that the common theme of all such uses is some ability of the wear to elude to trappings of the pure, but fragile, humanity that lies beneath. It is also apparent that the mask is not exclusively a physical entity; in fact, more often it is a psychological veil. Whilst such a view is not intrinsically corrupt, danger lies in the wearer’s propensity for self-deception, to the extent that they lose touch with what was once beneath. The ladder of power seems plagued by such self-deception, and it is no coincidence that those who are given, lack distinct humanity. These are our leaders.”

About the song, Finn states:

“The song when making it I didn’t have any political motive, but right now it feels like something needs to be said and the chaos of this record gave me room for that, to show the lack of faith in our leaders and government, from the eyes of my generation at least. There’s a lot of frustration right now from all corners of our society except the top, they seem to just fuck about like bored spoilt kids whilst we all decline. Boris actually stepped down a couple of months after but that’s why it’s called Leaders, plural, whoever follows him will just become another trickster with a mask on.. and they all judge us. This song reflects the general lack of faith in our political system, it’s a house of clowns in my eyes, tricky because they’re dangerous ones.”

Community has always been at the heart of everything Finn does; this is reflected through his lyrics and the company he keeps. Elevation Mediation (P-Rallel, Lord Apex, Xav and Louis Culture) – one of London’s most pioneering collectives – are Finn’s biggest supporters and their musical bond pushes them to create something that money can’t buy continuously. Authentically speaking to his fans, the 23-year-old’s music is dexterous and free flowing and with this, he uncovers the stark realities of urban living by drawing on personal experiences. Finn’s ethos is about being himself unapologetically and experimenting with genres with freedom and confidence.