WL//WH Video Of The Day: THE BIPOLAR DISORDER PROJECT “Sumitomo Girl”

Video of the Day THE BIPOLAR DISORDER PROJECT

It is not often that we receive a request for a memorial tribute, but when we do, it is always moving to observe the beautiful, lasting effects the deceased has on those left behind.

The Bipolar Disorder Project is Robert Cotoros, a solo music project from Brasov, Romania whose 2020 death left not only tears and heartache but an unreleased 7-track album, “Black.”

In honor of his birthday, tomorrow April 26, his dear friend Ilinca Ivanuca will honor his final wish by releasing the multi-genre fused album, titled “Black,” both on Bandcamp and YouTube.

A dramatic video created by Ilica herself for “Sumitomo Girl”, a song inspired metaphorically by Hiroshima’s infamous “Human Shadow Etched in Stone”, gives us a glimpse into the soon-to-be-released posthumous LP.

The song is about love, a love felt by each of us at some point, which overwhelms us, makes us discover unknown parts of ourselves, and ultimately destroys us.

Deeply sentimental and soul-stirring passions roll out poignant asymmetric stabs laced with mellow melancholic piano melodies, soft crisp percussions, low tremoring bass lines, and distant icy synth swathes, to carry emotional layered vocal harmonies through soft breathless wistfulness and angsty falling cries, pausing briefly with twinkling introspection, before being swept away into a chaotic lovelorn tragedy of aggressive guitar riffs, buzzing reverbs, and bombastic drum beats.

The Bipolar Disorder Project LP Cover

Making this video, I wanted to tell the same story: the longing for deep and sincere love, the illusion that it has finally been found, and the agony that comes with the harsh reality in the end. The permanent shadow left in front of the Sumitomo Bank after the Hiroshima bomb exploded (known as “Human Shadow Etched in Stone”) was used by Robert as a metaphor for never getting over someone and the lasting effect a person can have on us.

The haunting romantic video, by Ilinca Ivanuca, stars Andreea Danu and Alex Grigoraș as a pair of star-crossed lovers. Sweeping, immersive camera work captures a ghostly encounter along an isolated river bank where surreal black-and-white contrasts and on-point acting take the viewer into the disturbed mind of a shattered soul to sync seamlessly with the obsessive love theme of the soundtrack.