Lianne La Havas: Tease Me

Under animated brushstrokes and in front of a neoclassical marble mantelpiece, English singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas performs her heart-aching hit “Tease Me” at the inaugural Behind Closed Doors, a series of private concerts organised by Hikari Yokoyama in the Piccadilly townhouse of art dealer and gallerist Jay Jopling. Compared to the likes of Adele, Corinne Bailey Rae and Janelle Monae, and nominated for the BBC Sound of 2012 award, La Havas performed solo in front of an invite-only audience in one of London’s grandest houses. “This Georgian, Robert Adam-designed cavernous city house was built for parties and entertaining,” enthuses Yokoyama about the space. “We wanted to bring people together, not just to drink and chit chat, but to listen to and feel the music––so close that you can feel the vibrations of her guitar and voice reverberating through the air.” To commemorate the recital, Yokoyama asked her sister Amia to collaborate with filmmaker Jacob Wildschiødtz on a video of La Havas in action, combining black and white concert footage with stop-motion splashes of blue, orange, and white. “I wanted to recreate the experience of being there with the intimate and almost candid footage,” explains Wildschiødtz, “then add a layer of animation that could express the emotions of being there in the moment.”