Band "Absolute Purity" and FRED & FARID Shanghai Release Dystopian Music Video 'Crime Fiction'

The band Absolute Purity, led by the singer Wen Jun, and the team at FRED & FARID Shanghai have created a thought-provoking and visually stunning work of art that challenges us to reflect on our relationship with technology.

Shanghai, China - Absolute Purity, one of the hottest upcoming bands in China, and independent creative agency FRED & FARID Shanghai, have teamed up to create a new music video for their single 'Crime Fiction.' In a world where ChatGPT hits the earth like an asteroid, the music video is a dystopian narrative that critiques the total control that technology can have on society contrary to the initial promise of technology to be a liberation.

Propelled by their lead singer, Wen Jun (文隽), a talented young Chinese artist, Absolute Purity is re-energizing the young Chinese generation with their music, a contradictory mix of a fierce and extreme force, alongside tasteful drops of poetic innocence and desperation. Their style mixes post-punk, electronic, experimental, and psychedelic, making them one of the most exciting bands on the Chinese music scene today.

“When I was writing the lyrics of this song, I wanted to capture my own inner feelings about the tension and pull between people and their relationships. The lyrics are intentionally vague, abstract, and more focused on emotions and consciousness, leaving space for the listener's own projection and imagination" says Wen Jun ( 文隽 / Lead singer at Absolute Purity).

In this narrative dance film, we are transported to a future where people are disconnected from each other and consumed by virtual reality. The hero, a mother with a young baby, is suddenly disconnected from her headset and begins to dance, breaking free from the virtual world and reconnecting with her emotions. Encouraged by this newfound freedom, she seeks to liberate her roommates and baby and escape from her virtual prison. As she finally frees herself and her roommates, we understand that their escape wasn’t real. It was just another level of the simulation.

'Crime Fiction' is an essential commentary on the impact of technology on society and is a testament to the power of creative collaboration. The music video is a perfect example of how music can transcend cultural boundaries and provide a platform for meaningful discourse. The dystopian theme of the music video resonates with the current global dystopian zeitgeist, where individuals and societies are grappling with the impact of technology on our lives.

'Crime Fiction' is above all "an unapologetically brash satire about a future humanity so consumed with advanced VR and the infinite possibilities of the Metaverse that it has been totally subjugated to technology," says Feng Huang, CEO/Partner and Executive Creative Director at FRED & FARID Shanghai.

As French Renaissance writer, François Rabelais, said "Science sans conscience n’est que ruine de l’âme [Science without conscience is nothing but the ruin of the soul] – "We all have a responsibility when it comes to our relationship with innovation and technology. Especially here in China, where the technological penetration rate across generations is extremely high," opines Adrien Goris, Group Creative Director at FRED & FARID Shanghai.

FF Production, FRED & FARID Shanghai’s in-house production company, gathered a team of mavericks for the project, including DJ Furth, a versatile American-born director and true visual artist, who spent a decade living in China and has recently worked with top brands such as Nike, Louis Vuitton x Numero, Saint Laurent, and Celine.

"The project was created in the midst of so much uncertainty, navigating fluctuating Covid policies in China, and yet together with the FRED & FARID team, we pulled it off in a truly impressive way," says DJ Furth.

Anneliese Charek, an super-talented LA-born choreographer based in Shanghai, imagined the entire choreography performance for the talents in this 5-minute-long music video. Together, they relentlessly practiced for weeks in their studio, even practicing at home during Shanghai's city-wide lockdown. Among many other renowned talents, such as the acclaimed Australian film editor Matt Osborne, senior colorist Nicola Gasparri at The Mill Shanghai, upcoming cinematographer Goopi, and production designer Majima, as well as the online/VFX duo Patrick Firmansyah & Allegra Firmansyah from PXA CO.LtD.

'Crime Fiction' is now available on all major streaming platforms, and the music video can be viewed on the band's official social media channels.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: FF PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTION BY: FRED & FARID SHANGHAI

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICERS: FRED & FARID

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: FENG HUANG

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: ADRIEN GORIS

ART DIRECTOR: BILLY LIAO

DIRECTOR: DJ FURTH

CHOREOGRAPHER: ANNELIESE CHAREK

MAIN DANCER: JINGLIN LIAO

SUPPORTING DANCERS: SIYU LIN, LINGMIN ZHENG

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: CHARLES RENARD

PRODUCER: SAKURA Y. ZHI

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GOOPI

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: MAJIMA

EDITING: MATT OSBORNE

GRADING: NICOLA GASPARRI @THEMILL

GRADING PRODUCER: SHIRLEY HUANG @THEMILL

ONLINE: PXA CO.LTD

1ST AD: CHARLES RENARD

PRODUCTION MANAGER: DIAN ZHOU

B CAM: GUANGXIANG CHEN

1ST AC: RUI HUO

2ND AC: DONG QIN, SHIFU XIONG

TRINITY: ERIC WANG

TRINITY ASSISTANT: JIAHAO FU, CHONG ZHAO

GAFFER: JINLIANG HONG

DIT: HAICHEN SUN

ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT: CHER

PROP MASTER: DAONIA HAO

PROP ASSISTANT: YONGCUN CHANG, QIHUI XU, YIBAO QIAO

STYLING: HO YUN NAM

STYLING ASSISTANT: SHAWN ZHAO

HAIR & MAKE UP: FAN GAO

PROP ASSISTANT: LABEI SHENG, LISA LI, QIHUI XU

RUNNERS: YUXIANG

MUSIC:

PERFORMED BY: ABSOLUTE PURITY

LYRICS I WRITTEN BY: WEN JUN

MUSIC COMPOSITION: ABSOLUTE PURITY

MUSIC PRODUCTION: ANGUS ANDREW

MUSIC PRODUCED BY: ℗&© TAIHE MAITIAN (TIANJIN) MUSIC CO.LTD (A COMPANY OF TAIHE MUSIC GROUP)

MUSIC PUBLISHER: QIAN SHIMU

CHIEF PRODUCER: TIMOTHY XU

CO-PRODUCER: SAM HU

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ZHAN HUA, WANG HAIFENG

ARTIST MANAGEMENT: TIANTIAN YANG

CAST: WEN JUN , TANG TING, SIYU LIN, YICHEN QU, ZHIWEI HUANG, XUANYE LI, BILLY LIAO, WATER lI, GUO TANG, EQUIPMENT PROVIDED: JINMA FILM AND TELEVISION EQUIPMENT COMPANY, TRANSPORTATION: SHANGHAI YINGGU AUTOMOBILE SERVICE CO.LTD

LOCATION: VIOIPAI VENUE RENTAL

SPECIAL THANKS TO

YAN GE,DADA YE,CAROLINE WEI,STEVO, KAILUAN LI,CHUANDE ZHU,ZHIQIANG ZHANG,QI XU,CHENMU YANG,ZIHONG GUO,YONGZE MA,CHENGPENG YU,BAPING MA,HUAN ZHANG,SHENGMING LI,WEI TIAN,KAI JIA,CHUCAI LIU,JUN LIU,ANJI XIAOFENG DADA WOOD PRODUCTS FACTORY,HUAGE(PROPS),SHAOMING CHEN, YIPING PAN, GUANGZHONG XIE,DAOHONG JIANG, ANQUAN REN, YIXUAN CHANG, XIN WEN, YI JING, YUECEN MENG, XINGXING, VANE LU,GANG SHI,HONGXING ZHAO,JIAN WAN, HONGKUI ZHAO, BAN ZHANG, QIANG LI, JINPING ZHANG, YUZHOU XU, YI ZHANG, LIJIA GAO, YI XING FILM AND TELEVISION EQUIPMENT COMPANY, TIANJIASHAN ECOLOGICAL CULTURE AND INNOVATION PARK, LEO LIU,XIMAN MA,LILONG,CHENCHEN LI,ZEWEI ZHENG, SHIYAO LIANG, AO XU,KOPA,MUMI, ALAN, XIAOWU, SANGENG LIU,PAPRIKA CHOW,WANRU LI, DONGKAI, XINGYUE, XIN LIU, XUANYE LI, YI JING, YAZHOU WANG, MR ZHU (TIANJIA ACADEMY), ALIAN RESTAURANT,APENG,CHENG HAN, DIE YANG, SIBAO, TOM (LOCATION MANAGER)