Rostam on how he got Kaia Gerber, HAIM and Nick Robinson to be in his new video
"I really wanted to capture them being themselves on camera," says star of clip for 'From the Back of a Cab'
Words: Jamie Tabberer; pictures: Nick, Rostam and Kaia in Rostam’s new video (provided)
Former Vampire Weekend star Rostam has dropped the video for his new solo single ‘From the Back of the Cab’ – and it features an array of famous faces in unexpectedly intimate scenarios in taxis.
Among them are fellow musicians and Charli XCX and HAIM (Rostam received a Grammy nomination for producing the latter’s album Women In Music Pt. III), plus supermodel Kaia Gerber and Love, Simon actor Nick Robinson.
The song is taken from the star’s upcoming album Changephobia – his first since 2017’s Half-Light.
“I really wanted them to capture them being themselves on camera”
In a statement, Rostam said: “’From the Back of a Cab’ is probably my favorite song that I’ve written. It started with the 12/8 drums — something you find in Persian music and African music. I built the song around those drums over time, writing the piano part in my living room, the melodies and lyrics on foot walking in New York and Tokyo, on California’s highways, and on the flights and car trips between all those places.”
On how he recruited the likes of Nick and Kaia, Rostam explained on Instagram: “I’m probably more comfortable doing favors for people in my life than asking them to do favors for me. But in making this video, I asked a bunch of friends if they would want to be in it. They pretty much all said yes— I really wanted to capture them being themselves on camera. I’m proud of the result.“
The video also features special guests such as Wallows, Remi Wolf, Bryce Willard Smithe, Samantha Urbani, Demi Adejuyigbe, Seth Bogart, Huck Kwong, Ariel Rechtshaid, Matt DiMona, Ghazal Hashemi, Carter Howe, Julian McClanahan and Chris Paloma.
Rostam, who is gay, was a founding member of Vampire Weekend, with whom he recorded songs like ‘Horchata’ and ‘Ya Hey’. He quit the band in 2016.
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