Zavala’s “Roosevelt & Let Go” Video is a Cathartic Acid Trip Through the Pacific Northwest

When life feels too overwhelming, few activities are as effectively head-clearing as late-night drives and taking temporary refuge in nature. Taking this notion to heart, Chicago-based artist Zavala has shared a music video for his single, "Roosevelt & Let Go," that takes viewers on a cathartic trip through Seattle and the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

To date, the producer, born Alexander Zavala, has put out few releases outside of his work as one-half of leftfield hip-hop duo Dark Time Sunshine with MC Onry Ozzborn. But on January 13, 2017, he is finally releasing his debut solo full-length, Fantasmas, of which "Roosevelt & Letting Go" is its closing track. Though brooding, it blossoms into being with a gradual build-on of twinkling atmospherics, garage-tinted percussion, and surging chords, making for a lively soundtrack for the video—which captures lush scenery, cascading waterfalls, and dim-lit city streets with a surreal, LSD-smeared lens.

Speaking to THUMP over email, Zavala says, "The concept of the 'Roosevelt' video is basically that it's a form of personal therapy. It's a sort of reclamation and cleansing of tumultuous memories & experiences, birthed in a specific place and time. The track was created during that time mainly on a laptop and at some of the locations you see in the video. Later on I brought it home and was further articulated with various synthesizers & samplers. All in all, it's really just therapy and captured beautifully by TimSlew of Soundlapse."

Watch Zavala's "Roosevelt & Let Go" above. Fantasmas is out January 13 via Fake Four, Inc.