US-based director Tom CJ Brown has just unleashed the stunning video for Hilton Dresden’s phenomenal debut single, ‘Cousin John – The Arrival’.
For a while now, Hilton Dresden has been one of the most influential names in New York City’s queer community. Influential for their work within the worlds of fashion, comedy, and journalism, Dresden’s focus has now turned to that of music, releasing their debut single recently.
Titled ‘Cousin John – The Arrival’, it’s a reinterpretation of the Troggs’ song of the same name, delivered with a new energy and style, and backed by a mesmerising music video.
Directed by British born and Brooklyn-based director Tom CJ Brown, the clip portrays a “wonderful queer, non-binary world we could all live in and aspire to.”
Brown – who has won prizes at Sundance, SXSW, Amsterdam Film Festival, and more – recruited Hilton Dresden to perform the track and star in the music video, collaborating with a primarily queer and gender non-conforming team during the video’s creation.
“When I was reunited with my Cousin, I felt like he came from another dimension, living out his truth as a native of his world where queerness, non-binary, and androgyny rule,” Brown explained of the video’s creation.
“One that is lead by our world’s queer children, Cousin John is our grandchild from the future, when we and our bigotry are dead.”
“Imagine a future where Miley Cyrus and her Happy Hippie Foundation were the bedrock of society; where gender-queer and non-conforming kids, who are just now coming of age, are in charge. What would that future look like? What space does that create for everyone to live their truth, free from the tyranny of patriarchy and binary social norms?”
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“Using this world as a vehicle for Hilton Dresden’s beautiful cover of The Troggs’ 1962 classic single was an obvious choice,” Brown continued. “Who better to embody these ideas than Brooklyn’s very own frizzy, frilly, forest fawn?”
“Whom every day just by walking down the street creates space for the lucky few who follow their footsteps. And of course, I had to introduce the world to my dear Cousin, he cannot hide away in his Hotel upstate forever.”
“When Tom asked me to be a part of this project, I was immediately both thrilled and terrified,” Hilton Dresden added.
“I knew, somehow, that no one else would be able to slip into this Cousin John role quite like I could (mainly because the part had been written specifically for me, by my lover.)”
Check out the Tom CJ Brown-directed video for ‘Cousin John – The Arrival’:
