Sending a message of unity isn’t easy. It’s bold, it’s gutsy, it leaves the messenger vulnerable, and it’s a tough sell to most people. So why did LA-based producer/singer/ songwriter Meddie Bloom make that the message of his first-ever video, for his first-ever single, off his first-ever album? Take a listen to “Time To Live,” and you’ll have your answer. Because he believes in this brotherhood/sisterhood/ everyonehood so strongly, he just had to. Meddie Bloom is a newcomer, but he has the vision of a music veteran.
“Time To Live” soars musically and lyrically, an energized dancefloor track with something seriously positive to say. Meddie’s voice coasts across uptempo EDM that fuses catchy, heart-pounding pop with dramatic, uplifting melodies. The four-on-the-floor beat thumps and pulses, driving the atmospheric synths as they crescendo, reaching for the sky-high, sing-along choruses. When the backups join his powerful vocals for the scale-jumping release of the refrain, it’s hard not become a believer yourself.
For the video to genuinely convey the pain and confusion of isolation, Meddie shot in the barren desert outside LA. As breathtaking as many of these scenes are, he tapped into some Method Acting for this one. He and his ultra-barebones crew (read: good friends) shot the first exterior clips around 5 AM, when the temperatures were already pushing 95, and only got worse from there. The brutal, unforgiving Sun meant that they shot fast, without rehearsal, which gives the performances their very organic feel. The video was filmed and directed by friend and collaborator Pasha Teplo and produced and written by Meddie. At the video’s open, he awakes alone, blindfolded, at sunup in the parched wilderness. He tries to get his bearings. Interspersed with footage of his desolate wanderings are intimate black and white shots of others, alone, withdrawn, solemn. But when the first chorus hits, his doubt and fear, along with that of the other actors, vanishes. Now he shouts to the world from atop a windswept rock formation, as the others come together, sharing the frame for hugs and welcoming smiles of relief.
Meddie gets it, and he wants all of us to get it. We can remain unaware of all the people around us who understand, who feel the same way we do, or we can remove our blindfolds. If he can create something this profound and catchy right out of the gate, what’s he going to pull off next?
