Golda May on Movement and Expression in Her New Video “Lost”
Golda May’s new video for her single “Lost” brings viewers into a dream-like world of vibrant color and expressive raw emotion. Golda’s movements become increasingly sporadic throughout and her delicate delivery of lyrics evokes a mood so palpable that you can almost smell the evening ocean air as she lays in the sand and drives along the coast with the top down.
“The song is about the idolization of a person who didn’t care about me at all,” says Golda. “I let them reach God-status in my life. But in the end, it flips, and I become their God.”
Golda says the song highlights themes of imbalance in relationships and the idealizing of people. The mannequin represents an ‘empty body’ and the idyllic, unobtainable form. The video brings us through a transformative relationship between this form and the singer, as Golda begins by caressing the mannequin, driving it around in a car, until she ultimately chooses to destroy it.
“I really wanted there to be a dance,” Golda said. “The track really moves in a cool way. I try and emphasize the beats of the song, especially in the chorus. I basically just move however the fuck I want—feeling empowered and emboldened to move however I wanted.”
Golda, her sister and a team of film makers shot the video in the Bay Area, using a car rig, going up and down steep hills and trespassing onto a private beach.
“It was exciting and nerve-wracking. We thought for sure we would get kicked off the beach, but the only thing was that the tide got too high, so we had to rush.”
Golda moves with such expressiveness that one wonders if it was at all choreographed, but the artist says the movements came from the heart. She had danced as a child but was shunned by the other girls for having a belly, and eventually quit, but has since recognized the importance of movement and how it’s an effective tool for making her art.
“Movement is something Ive been working on embracing more of. I love to dance. I find it to be a beautiful way to express inner body stuff—expressing traumas and moving through them, feeling embodied, feeling in my body…American culture is all about being really smart and not really being present with your body. You look at meetings, everyone sits still and is looking forward, head up, but really we should be moving around! Bodies should be more fluid.”
As for the song itself, Golda mentioned that she and her co-producers Miro Mackie and Daniel Chae were careful that the production of the song wasn’t generic and was custom treated to her vision, which can certainly be heard in the music.
“I really like this track because it sounds different than what I’m hearing right now,” Golda said. “A lot of Spotify play-listing is about what sounds good together, and that’s the risk with something like this, is it doesn’t necessarily fit.”
Although, fitting in isn’t as cool as it once was, and Golda May’s unique artistry is exemplary of that.
Golda’s next single will be available in late April, and a six-song EP is coming in late May.
“I know a lot of people who make a song and put it out right away but I like to sit with them and make sure they stand the test of time,” says Golda. “If they still sound good after two weeks or six months, then I know they’re ready.”
