Yip Man of Scotland – Here Comes the Feelings (Video Premiere)

Yip Man – otherwise known by his non-alter ego Al Nero – is set to release his fantastically-titled second album, Pure Zen, Ken?, on 6 Sep via Armellodie Records. Nero’s follow-up to 2016’s Braw Power – another excellent title, by all accounts – sees him continue the sunny, feel-good guitar-pop that refuses to shy away from experimentation, bold choruses, and a genuine love of groove-infused licks.

Ahead of the release of Pure Zen, Ken? The Skinny is delighted to premiere the video for Yip Man’s buzzing new single, Here Comes the Feelings, created by visual artist Laura Matikainen. "If my previous single Suffer More explored the act of suffering for one’s art," Nero tells us, "Here Comes the Feelings is my attempt at answering my own questions through the unencumbered three-chord joy of punk-rock, channelling the fuzzy majesty of a turn-of-the-century Sympathy for the Record Industry 7".

"It's a big burly rock song on the exterior but it's pretty reflective and downbeat lyrically," Nero continues. "The notion that as an artist or songwriter, you write down the stuff that pings around your head so you don't have to talk about it, a way to deal with your feels. But the very nature of performing, and especially if you have to perform it repeatedly is akin to opening a wound – the feelings, the dread, the anxiety, whatever you were trying to alleviate or communicate is there again and again. In one sense, it's therapeutic to write the song and have your baggage all out there, and the flipside is performing it's some sort of self-torture. Hopefully it's not torture for the listener!"

Nero also shares his enjoyment working with Manikainen on the track's video: "It was a real treat to work with Laura on the video as I'm a big fan of her style. She sent me a mood-board of her ideas not long after we got to talking about the song and collaborating, and I knew it was going to be a trip. There's a bit of Monty Python about it, and I think she's done a great job of journeying around inside my head."

Matikainen also shed some light on her creative process behind the video: "When I feel the music, creating visuals becomes something natural. For this piece, I cut, scanned and animated digitally. That gives the video a unique touch. I had some fun moments thinking about where to put Yip Man and what could happen in the video. It was a privilege to work with Al and I'm glad he allowed me to create this imaginary world around his song."

Watch the video for Here Comes the Feelings in the YouTube player above (click here if it’s not displaying correctly).

---

Here Comes the Feelings is released on 2 Aug via Armellodie Records and can be pre-ordered here; Pure Zen, Ken? is released on 6 Sep via Armellodie Records and is available to pre-order here

facebook.com/justsayyip