Sleep Days: Chela

Featuring Melbourne pop songstress/dance phenomenon Chela in a creepy LA dream reenactment, Sleep Days is the first in a series of short films issued by director Johann Rashid and created on behalf of Sugar Mountain festival.

Driven by a spooky organ soundtrack, the video features a voice manipulated narrator and Chela’s frightened stare into a wall of mirrors that brings to mind the ominous feel of a Twin Peaks’ dream sequences.

Chelsea May Wheatley or simply Chela, who will be performing at Sugar Mountain, has been making waves in the electro pop and dance-instruction world for a while now. The Melbourne born and LA-based performer is one of our favourite artists and this love culminated in us recently premiering her video for the self-directed “Handful of Gold” on Noisey’s YouTube channel.

Rashid is a Melbourne artist who has worked across video, performance and sculpture and produced videos for Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Parquet Courts, the UV Race, and his own acts Eastlink, Home Travel, and Promise Land.

Rashid’s series of videos of Sugar Mountain artists will feature at the arts and music festival at the Victorian College of the Arts on Saturday January 24.

Directed by Johann Rashid

Starring: Chela, Tsmail Shallis

Produced by Johann Rashid and Pete Keen

Cinematography: Johann Rashid and Daniel Daly

Soundtrack: Harmon

Look out later this week for Rashid’s video with Ariel Pink.