Yannis & The Yaw is the project of Yannis Philippakis of Foals and the late, legendary drummer Tony Allen. Today, Yannis is unveiling the art installation / music video for “Walk Through Fire”, a track off the duo’s forthcoming Lagos Paris London EP, dropping on August 30 via Transgressive.

The “Walk Through Fire” visual is the result of an art installation held earlier this month in east London. A wall of 75 old school CRT televisions was constructed in a shop front, each of which displayed different footage inspired by and related to both the song and the wider themes of the EP – also complemented by classic archive footage of Tony, as well as two teenagers who represent young versions of both him and Yannis.

Passers-by were given a copy of the song to listen to on cassette while images from all 75 screens vied for their attention – effectively providing them with a unique video experience which they had subconsciously edited themselves. The concept was completed by a camera which also reflected footage of each listener’s reaction as they participated in the installation: a creative feedback loop creating a triangle of collaboration between Tony, Yannis and each participant.

The project also offers another engaging interactive element as the “Walk Through Fire” website provides viewers with a unique experience to create their own bespoke version of the music video – their webcam virtually immersing them within the wall of images.

The visual was directed by regular Foals visual collaborator Kit Monteith, whose other credits include Everything Everything, Mogwai and Jon Hopkins. Kit says, “The idea for the “Walk Through Fire” video came about from not really wanting to make a music video, or at least mainly wanting to make a work of art that would somehow find its way into video form, something inclusive and fun that would make them question their role as a listener. The video is a record of the artwork, the physical interactions people had with it and a space for its themes to be shared further afield, so too with the interactive digital website version which I also see as a key component to the artwork as a whole.”

pre-order Lagos Paris London by Yannis Philippakis and Tony Allen HERE