Welcome to Kae Sun’s beautifully intoxicating worlds. The singer-songwriter, also known as Kwaku Darko-Mensah Jnr, puts out the kind of sonic experiences that make you want to dive into them and luxuriate in their tender melodies and soulful energies. And with his latest project, the film and EP Midnight and Other Endings, his storytelling has become more captivating than ever.

Conceptualised and recorded between Montréal, where the Ghanaian artist is based, and Namibia, the endeavour explores ideas around desire and belonging. The dreamy seven-minute short takes us from the desert to the sidewalk, all the while transported by Kae Sun’s hypnotic songs taken from the five-track record. We swoon to ‘Mass’, yearn for ‘Bright Lights’ and feel the pulse of ‘Midnight Creepshow’.

Kae Sun has enjoyed critical acclaim since his 2013 debut album Afriyie, which he followed in 2015 with the Ocean’s Apart, a multi-media project with designer and art director Emeka Alams that went on to be included in the innovative travelling exhibition, Future Africa Visions in Time. Followed by the 2018 album Whoever Comes Knocking, Kae Sun has remained a vital, independent voice in contemporary African art-making. Here we find out more about his new work.

How would you sum up the mood of Midnight And Other Endings?

I like working with multiple, subtle layers of meaning. I’m always curious about ambiguity in perception, the kind that sometimes exists between dreaming and wakefulness, or performance and spectacle. A piece like this is a perfect vehicle for that kind of exploration because music and sound open up several narrative possibilities. There’s also that very obvious element of our sublime location in the film. I think the sum of all those parts create a wonderfully surreal experience which I’m hoping is felt first and then reflected on later.

How did you come to shoot in Namibia?

My first visit to Namibia was in 2018 for the exhibition Future Africa Visions in Time. I was struck by Namibia’s staggering natural beauty and the warmth of the creative community I encountered. I have to credit brilliant art director Ericke Tjiueza for his work and dedication and for helping us hire such a stellar cast and crew.

What has been the journey of your music since you started out?

I often receive comments about how my work has evolved over the years and I’m most proud about that. My approach with music, and in life generally, is to express myself freely. That said, discipline and perseverance are perhaps the most essential ingredients in any sort of creative work. Refining my approach has been more important to me than sheer volume of output. I like to think that I’m blending my influences - my love for poetry, film, literature - in a much sharper way now.

The latest EP is wondrous! What are some of the other tales that we can find within it?

The spiritual is erotic, the dreamt is real, that’s the underlying tale in these songs. Just acknowledging the overlap and nuances in things and celebrating them where possible.

What's next for Kae Sun?

I look forward to many more musical explorations, but right now I gotta finish and hand in a collection of poems for my MFA thesis.

Discover Kae Sun’s Midnight and Other Endings EP here.

Direction and co-writing Christian Boakye-Agyeman
Photography direction Kevin Perestrelo
Photography and art direction Ericke Tjiueza
Styling Dângos Geingos
Production Kyra Sales

Words Helen Jennings

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Published on 11/03/2021