South Korean electronic artist Song Yeongnam has released the music video for the EP [PO WAH BUILDING 寶華大廈], transforming the album’s conceptual narrative into a unique visual experience that blurs the line between sound and gaming.
The groundbreaking visuals were created in collaboration with director and game developer MeltMirror, widely known for directing the music video for aespa’s “Whiplash.” MeltMirror’s expertise in both digital art and video game aesthetics was crucial to the project.
The music video is styled as “fake gameplay” from a non-existent, retro video game, merging nostalgic pixel art with the unsettling atmosphere of liminal spaces—transitional areas like empty hallways and closed-off rooms.
The EP is inspired by the actual ‘Po Wah Building’ in Hong Kong, reimagined as a virtual edifice where residents are psychologically trapped by their individual stories of loss and unfulfilled dreams (a theme often associated with Hauntology).
Key Visual & Technical Highlights:
Directed by a Game Developer: Melt Mirror utilized their background in game development to render the building as a detailed, explorable 2D world. This “fake gameplay” format is central to the viewer’s experience, guiding them through the story.
Pixel Art Meets Liminality: The visuals use detailed pixel art to depict the vast, echoing interiors of the fictional building, capturing a sense of melancholy and disorientation.
Sound-Visual Synergy: Song Yeongnam’s experimental sound design—which involves intensely “tormenting” and fragmenting samples—is mirrored visually by deliberate in-game glitches and system errors, creating a dramatic, cinematic tension reminiscent of a jump-cut.
This project stands out as a high-concept piece that pushes the boundaries of the music video format, leveraging a director’s diverse skill set to offer a profound exploration of space, memory, and sound design.
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