There’s something familiar about Zild Benitez’s “Kyusi,” and it’s clear from the get-go.
A follow-up to his 2020 album “‘Homework’ Machine,” “Kyusi” takes nostalgic, coming-of-age stories then wraps them up as a track—and into a music video released today.
Directed by Simon Te, the visuals for “Kyusi” feel like something straight out of our parents’ warm-toned photographs. Woven with cinemagraphs of idle, schoolboy days, the MV shows Zild wearing a uniform and singing lyrics that are as vivid as the video itself: “Sasamahan ka sa Kyusi / At iikutin na ang UP Diliman / Pagsakay natin ng jeepney / Pupuntahan naman ang bagong sinehan.”
“‘Kyusi’ is a song that takes me back to my 18-year-old self, experiencing teenage love for the very first time,” says Zild in a press release.
“It also is a song about acceptance… in fact, I find that with the new songs I am writing, I finally overcame my fear of telling specific, personal stories—this is me being honest, at peace with my personal experiences and attempting to relate my personal experiences to listeners. These stories are damaging, funny and peaceful all at the same time,” he continues.
With its distinctive dreamy harmonies, Zild’s latest single is a clear departure from the highly electronic tunes of his debut “‘Homework’ Machine.” And as hinted by the artist, “Kyusi” is just one of the many that are about to come.
Watch the “Kyusi” music video below.
Read more:
Zild archives our pent-up isolation feels in “‘Homework’ Machine”
Zild’s ‘Luha ng Lupa’ is an eerie call to declare a climate emergency
Zild dedicates “Dila” to the peeps who need to STFU
Still from “Kyusi”