Mobley Cements His Artistic Vision With 'Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme' Visual [Premiere]
Much is given and much is wrought from men of deep talent, and Mobley is the corporeal embodiment of this artistic tension. A man whose deep voice carries a precision over the phone, speaking of high narratives while cradling his infant son, his demeanor feels capable of near soliloquy. He is a man comfortable with you being left uncomfortable, in fact his Gustave Flaubert mantra might require it, "Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work."
Mobley is the type of artist the world requires but struggles to contend with, wrestling conventions with optimistic criticism, holding the mirror to ourselves as we squint and squirm in discomfort at what we see. Describing his song construction as "sculpting" hints at the cross-medium approach Mobley is entirely comfortable with, often reducing his songwriting efforts to 30% of their original ideation. Its purpose is to create music with relistenability, a near anachronistic quality in today’s algorithmic churn.
Typically, visual projects are minor artistic indulgences, a way for artists to spitefully spend against a hated label or to hire their friends for some revelry in an exotic local. Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme has no such complacencies, its merits stand along work that not only enhances the audio accompaniment but layers in metanarratives that Mobley's visual acumen deftly handles (to be clear this was all written and directed by Mobley). It is meant to be a launching point for the record, and it provides a horizontal lift of imagination worthy of Elon Musk. The abstraction and surrealism of the effort are equally planned, given the use of that medium is an excellent vehicle for diving deep into larger social issues that aren't always easy to digest, blurring subjective reality and emotions as one.
Broken into an intro, outro, and four parts, the locations and composition for each is aptly described by Mobley as "shared dreaming." Mobley is clearly an artist that has a deep multi-disciplinary approach. With talents that bleed into different mediums, he felicitously balances the oppositional energy between music and film; music being a personal, self-interpretive vehicle and film being shared, a blend of auteur and audience. It is not appropriate to surmise the visuals entailed in the album, but the mise en scà¨ne of "Part II: James Crow" is wondrous to behold, viably one of the best constant tracking shots period.
In the instant gratification world of TikTok and self-referencing culture, Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme is a statement of integrity, a proper weighty effort of art. Mobley is a man with depth and conviction, and this multimedia endeavor will rank him as a true creative, ambitious and unafraid of meaning. For this reason, let Mobley challenge you, give this visual project the time it deserves, for it is a supreme accomplishment and you will be supremely rewarded for doing so.
Watch the Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme visual below:
