Michael Diamond shares cinematic video for ‘Third Culture’ album track, ‘Lamentations’: Watch

Michael Diamond has shared a new single from his forthcoming debut album, ‘Third Culture’. A short film made to accompany the single, ‘Lamentations’, can be seen below. 

‘Third Culture’ will be released via Vasuki Sound, the label Diamond co-runs, tomorrow, Friday 24th June. Across seven tracks, the album merges “ethereal jazz-breaks, introspective 2-step, sax-driven power ambient and world-building, story-telling electronica”. The Kerala-born, Oxford-based DJ and producer’s album also examines the complexities that come with being a “third culture kid”, someone who was raised in a culture other than that of their parents. 

The video for ‘Lamentations’ is directed by Oscar McNab, and invokes themes of sleep paralysis to explore ideas of third culture identity. 

Michael Diamond holds a music scholarship at Oxford University and is a resident at the city’s much-loved club night, Simple, where he has  played alongside the likes of Batu, Ben UFO and Shanti Celeste, and has been given props by the likes of Gilles Peterson and Butterz’ Elijah. 

Dubbed as a concept album by the artist himself, ‘Third Culture’. is a deeply personal outing, tackling his feelings around identify, nationality and nationalism, trauma, acceptance and isolation head-on. The music is accompanied by a short story from close friend Áine Kim Kennedy, whose heritage is Irish-Korean.

“My album and Áine’s short story is one big allegory depicting both of our experiences as third culture kids through a tale of sleep paralysis demons and anxiety spirals,” Diamond said of the record. “I checked how much time I’ve spent on it in total project time, and it’s something ridiculous like 4000 hours-plus, and that’s not even including all the time I spent re-listening to the tracks offline and making notes… I was pulling 14-hour days.” 

Pre-order ‘Third Culture’ here.