Brooklyn-based musician Middle Part has only been making synth-heavy dreampop bangers since 2019 but already has a deft hand for carving grooves into hectic sound landscapes. After releasing his debut EP I Wish I Was Alive to acclaim in 2020, the indie dynamo gives a striking and unique visual treatment for lead single “& Cry!”.
In what feels like a distinctly Lynchian visual straight out of the Black Lodge, Middle Part (real name Andrew Selkōw) performs at perhaps the most melancholic open-mic night in history. The blood-soaked red visual (directed by Kevin Neal, photographed by Carina Allen) finds a disheveled Selkōw performing his song in tear-stained mascara and occasionally breaking away to chain smoke cigarettes. The visual exudes an aura that very carefully tiptoes the line between nightmarish and strangely beautiful, while seemingly fitting the song’s energy perfectly. “& Cry!” focuses on a numbness against depression that Selkōw made a thematic priority for the track. Middle Part had to say of the visual, “I wanted the video to represent the duality of my being, where on one side you can be so filled with emotions and feelings and the other side can be so apathetic about it all.”
Andrew Selkōw has had an interesting journey leading up to his music career, traveling from Nashville to Alaska and then to Brooklyn, on a journey of self-discovery and self-understanding. His experiences and battles with mental health have all contributed to his music in some form which is why he carries such a unique openness to everything he does. Watching Middle Part going forward, it seems like the development of his art closely mirrors his own development as a person.
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