Last month, Chilean singer and songwriter Juga, premiered her latest music video live at the official broadcast studio of the Chess World Championships – viewed by an audience of over 1.5 billion.
Juga’s work brings to life the drama, beauty and artistry of chess through music – so we sat down to ask her about the inspiration behind her latest music video, ‘Isolated Pawn.’
“In my new music video ‘Isolated Pawn’ I go through the human emotions of being an isolated pawn, in first person, as if I was alone and undefended in the middle of the chessboard.
The song and video begins with the lowest self-esteem one can have, and the labels that are put on you by other pieces (society): that you are weak, you can be blocked, attacked and captured.
But if your aims and hopes are high enough, you can empower yourself to break through, advance and become the most dangerous piece of the attack.
In the case of the song, you can even achieve promotion, when the pawn arrives at the enemy’s side of the board, the 8th rank, becoming the most powerful piece – the Queen.
The golden scar across the isolated pawn’s head represents how special and strong your wounds can make you.
In Japan when precious porcelain objects are broken, there is a traditional art called “Kintsugi” which fills up these “scars” with gold, honouring the story of the object instead of throwing it away.
It is the triumph of Spirit over Matter, something that happens often in Chess. For me, that is what makes Chess so poetic and beautiful: the continuous contrast with its scientific and logical side.
At the end of the video there is a Chess sequence which portrays the diverse dimensions of a Chess game, inspired by the famous Chess poem by Jorge Luis Borges, which ends asking:
“God moves the player, and he moves the piece. Which god behind god begins this plot of dust and time, and dream and agonies?””
Follow Juga below:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4kDj5alm5mRpcDjwE46cdA
Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=21QpsK7LRM4
Twitter: @Jugadiprima
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jugamusica/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jugamusica/
Website: www.Jugamusica.com