British band Jungle has built its visual identity around one consistent idea: let the dancers, not the frontmen, tell the story. Their 2018 single “Heavy, California,” from the album For Ever, is one of the clearest examples of that philosophy in action – and the numbers show it struck a chord well beyond the dance world.
“Heavy, California” has racked up 27 million views on YouTube
While Jungle’s catalogue has reached 68 million total streams on Spotify. The parent album, For Ever, charted on 16 different world charts, cementing Jungle’s status as one of the more quietly influential acts to come out of the UK’s neo-soul and funk revival.
Let’s talk about the video clip of “Heavy, California”
Directed by Charlie Di Placido and Kane Klendjian, and choreographed by Nat Zangi, the “Heavy, California” video follows Jungle’s signature one-shot, dancer-led format. The cast includes Will West, Mette Linturi, Anna-Kay Gayle, Durassie, Jamie Mason, Jess Rix, Jorrdan Lightbody, Megan Westpfel, Nathaniel Williams, Simon Donnellon, Tag Garwood, Che Jones, Kane Horn, Kojo Hammond, and Naomi PattersonL
Not a single band member in sight: that absence isn’t an accident.
In Jungle’s early days, founding members Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland deliberately kept their identities hidden, wanting audiences to focus on the music and the art rather than on who was making it. Letting dancers carry the videos was a natural extension of that instinct.
A Band Built Around Dance
Jungle has put dance at the center of its work from the very start. Their first music video, “Platoon,” released on YouTube in 2013, featured only BGirl Terra, with the entire clip built around her breaking.
That same one-shot, dancer-focused approach has defined the band’s visual language ever since.
It reached its fullest expression with Volcano, Jungle’s most recent album. Choreographed by Shay Latukolan, every video from the record links together into an almost feature-length, 50-minute motion picture – dance still firmly at the center of the frame.