PREMIERE: Tarantino-Meets-Garfield In Lakyn’s Fantastic Sunny Leunig-Directed ‘West’ Video

September 12, 2017

One thing I always thought was lacking in the spaghetti western film genre is the presence of bionic dancing cats. There just aren’t enough dancing cats, specifically the bionic kind, in Western flicks. Luckily, NZ-born artist Lakyn and director Sunny Leunig are here to right that wrong, delivering just the right amount of bionic cat dancing in the wonderful new video for Lakyn’s soul-tinged single ‘West’.

“I always pictured a Wild West Tarantino-esque theme in my head but after coming to the conclusion that a cowboy hat and a horse was a bit limiting, we had to figure out a way to pay homage to the spaghetti western film era while broadening our possibilities,” explains Lakyn of the clip’s genesis.

The artist enlisted the creative mind of director Sunny Leunig (the son of famous Australia cartoonist, Michael Leunig), and soon, after taking further inspiration from the music videos of ’70s disco luminaries Earth Wind & Fire and Boney M, Christopher Walken’s starring turn in the ‘Weapon Of Choice’ clip and the infamous ‘Indian Thriller’ video, the ‘West’ music video was born.

The song itself is a rumination on self-worth and ambition, Lakyn battling his inner insecurities while striving to do better.

“I wanted something to visually complement Lakyn’s cracking song (he’s a true talent). So naturally, I went for a Mexican stand off dance battle with a bionic cat,” Leunig tells Music Feeds. “It reminds me that life is truly a wonderful and joyous thing. And, if you think I sound pretentious then I say – ‘Au contraire – Extraordinaire’.”

Adds Lakyn, “Remember, we don’t grow when things are easy. We grow when we are faced by a bionic dancing cat in the middle of the road.” Never a truer word has been spoken.

Lakyn has just wrapped up a run of support dates with Vera Blu and will kick off his own run of headline shows in October, performing in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.