FEATURE: Dugong Jr, Georgi Kay – Keepsake (Dir. Jaydan de Oliveira)
The term ‘era’ is often used to mark the beginning of a new creative period – one that can symbolise many things: creative growth, transformation, and a willingness to step into the unknown. For Melbourne/Naarm-born multi-instrumentalist and DJ, Dugong Jr, the release of ‘Keepsake’ marks the beginning of this new chapter – a cathartic moment that captures the beauty and tension of transition. Known for his ability to fuse dance, hip-hop, jazz, house, and indie influences into a sound that is uniquely his own, Dugong Jr extends the song’s emotional world into a cinematic space through his latest music video, brought to life in collaboration with filmmaker Jaydan de Oliveira – whom Dugong Jr describes as an enthusiastic, fun, and always receptive creative partner open to his “weird ideas.”
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Their first joint project, ‘Patience,’ was designed to bridge Dugong Jr‘s previous album, ‘Good Time Hotel,’ with a new era of storytelling. Together, they envisioned ‘Keepsake’ as the defining moment of this departure – the chapter where you quit the safety of your “9-5” and step into the unknown, chasing what feels true but uncertain. Yet within that anxiety of change lies an unmistakable excitement, embodied in his new single ‘Keepsake,’ featuring the distinctive and sumptuous vocals of Perth artist Georgi Kay, whose ethereal tones bring rich emotional texture to the layered beats that pulsate throughout the track.
In conversation with CLIPPED.TV, both producer and director spoke at length about their collaboration and the process of bringing their shared creative vision to life. For Dugong Jr, this chapter is deeply reflected not only in his artistry but also in the personal:
“[…] I guess this is the start of a new chapter for me. I’ve essentially quit my day job and am fully focused on music at the moment, which is incredible but also terrifying. I’m sure all creatives know it can be extremely hard to support your career without supplementing it with a part-time job or contract work. So there’s a bit of that reflected in this video, [sic[ I’m terrified but also ready to embrace whatever comes next and excited to see how far I can push it, giving it everything.”
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If music can sonically capture the feeling of vulnerability and determination, then the music video for ‘Keepsake’ visually mirrors the emotional push and pull of stepping into the unknown. Following on from his previous single and in continuum with his 2023 album, ‘Good Time Hotel,’ Dugong Jr opens the video with a striking image of the Good Time Hotel engulfed in flames – its glowing red signage collapsing as a lone figure sitting on a horse watches from afar. The burning hotel becomes a powerful symbol of release and rebirth, setting the tone for the journey that follows. As the camera moves directly into the eye of the horse, we’re transported into the surreal world of the music video, blurring the line between reality and dream. The surrealness was awakened by the sophisticated directorial work of Jaydan, who recounts:
“Dugong and I chatted briefly back in 2023 whilst he was releasing “Good Time Hotel”, and I loved that album. I think subconsciously when it came to working on this next chapter I wanted to start at the end of that album, so visually we’ve still been in that world. ‘Keepsake’ is a big change towards a new direction. Dugong has shown me a lot of his boards and what themes he wants too, the Horse has been one that is important to him – being the Year of the Horse. So even though we’re in this old world, there’s elements being sprinkled in more and more with each video.”
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The layered intertextuality present within this music video – particularly in its visual motifs – is omnipresent in the collaborative effort between the two, further expanding and curating the artistry reflected in both the sonic and visual elements of Dugong Jr‘s music. For Dugong Jr, composing music is a therapeutic practice; only through articulating his emotions instrumentally does he fully come to understand them. The ‘Keepsake’ video translates that process into striking imagery, taking on a surreal and almost grotesque intensity through the depiction of melting faces. In doing so, it compels viewers toward introspection, mirroring the way personal clarity gradually emerges from emotional chaos:
“When I start writing something, I know there are sort of these places I can reach to, that I haven’t fully unpacked yet and maybe a part of me has been avoiding it cause I’m a little scared what might come out. It’s [sic] super avoidant of me […]. But in this video, as our faces are melting in the void, and we’re kind of forced to reflect and slowly things come back into perspective as the video progresses and we come to terms with our actions or decisions. There’s a line in the song where Georgi sings ‘Don’t say it, I don’t wanna know’, which I think echoes that sentiment nicely.”
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For Jaydan, the synergy between sound and image contrasts directly with the collaboration between the director and the artist. It’s a shared creative language rooted in trust and storytelling – an ongoing exchange of ideas that, in essence, expands the soundscape Dugong Jr has created through movement, tone, and texture to broaden the song’s emotional register. Their partnership is built on mutual respect and curiosity, which thrives on experimentation rather than constraint. As Jaydan elaborates, their initial conversations around ‘Keepsake’ explored the tension between nostalgia and growth – how clinging too tightly to the past can inhibit transformation. Jaydan’s imagery doesn’t merely interpret Dugong’s music; it extends it, giving form to the artist’s internal struggle between preservation and renewal:
“When we first discussed the meaning behind ‘Keepsake’ I remember Dugong talking about how sometimes we want to go back into our pasts and cherish our memories, but staying there too long can be unhealthy because we’re not moving forward and making changes in our lives. So with Dugong in the burning building and the faces melting, I kind of wanted to show that danger of it. He wants to stay in his past ‘Good Time Hotel,’ because it was important to him, but that’s stopping him from moving on and changing into something new […] I feel incredibly lucky to work with Dugong Jr as he’s given me so much free reign for direction and creative vision. We started talking as he was about to release his previous album so when we caught up to discuss this new era, a lot of ideas were thrown around not only for the song but where he wants to go with his new work, and we’ve just kept that conversation going each time we meet up. It’s been really sick to see his vision and ideas, and having it pair really well with what I want to bring to the table as well.”
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Building on that shared vision, the production for the ‘Keepsake’ music video became an exercise in creative trust and experimentation. In part, that innovation relied on the work of a small but mighty team across both the production and post-production stages. The song’s synthetic textures and organic instrumentation merge effortlessly with the visuals, creating a seamless interplay between sound design, visual pacing, and mood. Working with VFX artist Josh Hackett, Jaydan explains, “So many people tend to ask how we shoot things that were purely CGI, which is a testament to Josh’s work. We tend to have CG shots drafted and being worked on weeks before the shoot day as well, so it helps guide the vision for shooting on the day.” In terms of the actual processes of shooting and editing, Jaydan discusses in further detail working with editor Liam James:
“[…]The arpeggiator that starts the song and carries through is so strong and “synthetic” it felt important to translate that visually. We grabbed four other cameras and had them placed around the artist to capture this bullet time effect to match the arpeggiator, creating this shaky distortion. The editor Liam James, spliced all four cameras together to create this effect and played around with it to mix both artists together as well. We have worked together on every single project so there is this unspoken understanding between the both of us for most of the time, and always keeps me surprised with the edit.”
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The achievement of the visuals draw inspiration from the likes of David Lynch‘s surreal world depicted in ‘Twin. Peaks’, to the bold imagery of the anime-classic ‘Akira’, as well as the technology-influenced advertising of the millennium era. For Jaydan, ‘Akira’, in particular, was an important visual reference that informed the imagery of the hotel burning, but also the illusion of mirrors. In a striking sequence during the song’s bridge, Dugong and Georgi appear in parallel close-ups, their faces framed by mirrors that blur the boundary between reality and illusion. The image implies perhaps, a struggle between the internal and external self, suggesting a conversation between two fragmented selves, each caught between connection and disassociation. The lyrics, “Flashing light, hits my phone” reinforces this, as red lights cast over the covert blue light filter. Elaborating further on what it took to achieve this visuality, Jaydan singles out these influences, whilst also praising the work of cinematographer, Ryan Bell:
“Akira is one of my favourite animated films [..], it’s such an amazing piece of work that holds some really strong images – it was a no-brainer to incorporate it with the hotel burning. Dugong also sent me a PlayStation Commercial from 1999 of this girl with this almost alien face talking to camera, so in the dark void – shot by the cinematographer, Ryan Bell – those distortions feel even more unnerving and creepy. I also wanted to do things practically by using mirrors, and Ryan took that one step further by adding a prism crystal in front of the lens, creating more reflections. He’s truly amazing at his job and helped set the tone of the project visually as well.”
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When asked to pinpoint the moment that captures the essence of the ‘Keepsake’ music video, both Dugong and Jaydan say that it hinges between the bizarre and the profound. Upon reflection, Jaydan singles out a shot of “Dugong standing in the burning building, [sic] that has to be my favourite. It was the first or second shot that I had envisioned when working on this, and an important moment to the message of what Dugong wants to say with his song.” But at the heart of it is, something that Dugong recognises as being engulfing and wonderfully cinematic – a moment that resonates far beyond the screen. It is ultimately, about coming to terms with anxiety, and showing resilience in the face of adversity:
“The faces that morph back together, almost kind of showing that realisation of our anxieties and… [sic] how seemingly big something can be despite it not being that much of a big deal. Even though I’ve just burned down a hotel.. I think towards the end of the clip, when the face morphs kind of starts to come back into perspective and slowly things come back to normal. I think there’s a nice metaphor there for this idea around how our anxieties can get the best of us at times, you build something up into something it isn’t, and it isn’t until you finally do something about it that you realise it isn’t as bad as you’d built it up to be…. Even if you did just burn down a hotel.”
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Yet, in many ways, ‘Keepsake’ represents not just a continuation of Dugong Jr‘s sonic and visual narrative, but a reinterpretation of what transformation truly means. It’s a project built on trust, respect, and a fearless creativity that encapsulates music, memory, and the image present within its music video. At its core, ‘Keepsake’ isn’t just about burning down the past; it’s about what emerges from the ashes, and the journey – for all the beauty and uncertainty – that follows. As Dugong Jr explains:
“Our first project we collaborated on, ‘Patience’, Jaydan and I had talked about constructing a narrative that would sort of bookend the previous album, ‘Good Time Hotel’. So if ‘Patience’ is the chapter of your lift where you quit your 9-5 at the Hotel and go chase your dreams, ‘Keepsake’ is the anxiety that follows that decision into embracing the unknown.”
And as for this new era? Well, he promises this chapter will be “high energy, organised chaos – romanticised nostalgia with moments of vulnerability. If you like to drive really fast at night while holding back tears, this era might be for you.”
