Toronto’s Puma June released her first single, “Lost Years,” in November 2022, followed by Exclaim! naming her an “emerging Canadian artist you need to hear.”  Puma June wants to continue to change the conversation in pop music – pushing discussions on the hard truths and painful pasts that shape us into the people we become. Her music centers around regaining power in one’s life and the duality of people. With a clear political point of view, Puma June has a particular focus on women’s rights, familial trauma, and the struggle of being an artist in a world that under-appreciates art.

Her latest single, “Ride or Die,” is a light soulful bop dusted with funk. The inspiration of the track comes as an ode to the relationship with her twin sister Vale. “It’s a beautiful thing to have a person in your life who you know will remain by your side, through thick and thin, forever. For me, that’s my sister. This song is for her.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

This song was inspired by my relationship with my twin sister Vale. As all close relationships do, ours has gone through many ups and downs. She has made me laugh until I cry and cry until I laugh, but in the end, no matter what, I know she will always have my back and I will always have hers. She is my Ride or Die. I thought this song would be a good opportunity to show another side of my personality and make a video that was uncanny and weird to fit with the funkiness of the track.

2.What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

The music video concept was to celebrate that child-like light-heartedness and to just have fun, while channeling some David Lynch-esque bizarreness. We wanted to leave the video up to interpretation to the watcher – it doesn’t have a glaringly clear message or meaning, we wanted people to find their own meaning based on what the song means to them. We wanted to show a funkier, quirkier side to Puma June.

3.What was the process of making this video?

The director Nathan Hughes-Berry and I packed up my car to the brim with props and furniture and drove to the campus of a Humber college after hours, where he was teaching film classes. We spent a few hours dancing and laughing – just having fun and being weird, playing with lighting and creating something much more bizarre than our beautiful, ethereal videos in the past. It was a relaxed environment since it was just the two of us and his camera and we didn’t have a strict treatment plan, so we were very creatively free to experiment with different shots and energies, bringing Nathan’s vision to life.