His real name is Yoann Lemoine, but he goes by the stage name Woodkid. He’s a music video director, graphic designer, and singer-songwriter who’s known for directing Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Drake’s “Take Care,” and other mainstream videos. But he’s also becoming known for taking a different outlook on music, and life. Myspace recently sat down and talked with Woodkid as he walked through his visions behind Katy Perry and Drake’s video, as well as some others. Perhaps the most striking feature of this interview, was Woodkid’s response to the meaning behind his song/video “Run Boy Run”:

I was obsessed with the character you decide to play in life—[whether] based on anger, running way from something, revenge, very strong teenage excitement and invincibility feeling—you can feel [that] in my videos. There’s that teenage scream in my videos. I thought that was interesting because I could link it to a lot of things I love, like fashion. Putting a disguise on your body, cheating who are you are, [it’s] almost an armor around yourself. 

The video is dark, the song is dark, and yet it tells a story…it’s cinematic. Without even seeing the video, you can feel as if you should be watching a movie. The loud drums, the violins, and the overlapping elements of the song are all so intriguing. And somehow, one can’t help but hope that this boy escapes and reaches tomorrow…because we’ve all ran from something at some point another, haven’t we?

run boy run break out from society.