Woodkid's 'Hidden Meanings'

Through out all of Woodkid's music videos there are lots of different imagery and symbols used which can be slightly confusing to those who are not fans and don't follow the artist. Therefore, I decided to do a little research and actually find out why these images are used and if there is a 'hidden meaning' to them which would give the music videos depth. 

After some research I found a music blog which had an interview with Woodkid himself, which he was asked questions about his music and music videos. One of the first symbols used in the music video for 'Iron' is a set of crossed keys that feature through put the video, e.g. on a flag. This is because this symbol is something that actually has a link to the artist himself. This is the question Woodkid was asked and his response:

I notice a lot of keys represented in your videos and promotional material. What’s the significance of that imagery?

I have two key tattoos on my arms that I got in 2007 when I moved to New York. It was just a way for me to express my identity as an adult and the act of making them into two and having my own set of keys, which to me represents my home both to and away from my parents. I decided to use crossed keys because they’re a symbol of religion — the symbol of the Papal keys and the Vatican. There are a lot of religious inserts in my project because, of course, religion is very important to my music. I have used a lot of organs and chords that belong to classical religious music, so having these keys definitely makes a lot of sense. But it also represents me and the kid that thirsts to become an adult and collide with a lot of themes surrounding religion and war.

It is clear from Woodkid's response that his music videos do have a lot of symbolism and use of hidden meanings, which makes his music videos very interesting and adds depth to them as only true fans of Woodkid will understand the meanings behind the imagery used, which reflects the niche audience for this genre.

Here is some more sections from the interview which explains the artist himself and the a little about the concept of his music:

So then where does the name “Woodkid” come into play?

There’s another dimension to my work, like the way I would like to make metaphors and symbolism around the textures or materials and the story that I am trying to create. “Woodkid” is the story of a kid that grows up, and after time turns into stone and marble, representing the city and the concrete that makes it up. It’s a very hard material that turns humans into very hard sounds. That’s the idea of the whole project. I would say that “Woodkid” is the boy in “Run Boy Run” — he’s the one that comes from underneath and from the very emotional material. In the album I explain at the beginning he’s made of wood — he bends in the wind because he is very supple and tender, but the more he grows up, the more he turns into this marble and he has to break it.

So then when you’re presented with a song or an idea, what are you looking out for or what inspires you to bring it into a visual realm?

I have an artistic statement, which is what I call “translations.” It’s whatever I do, I try to translate things from one language to another. In this case, it would be the language of image to the language of sound. For example, in “Iron,” I looked for this very epic sound that was half synthetic, half real, half orchestra and half sampled. I mixed it to have this very epic sound, and then once I had this texture, I thought of what would be the cinematic equivalent. So I worked with how to make the look of environments with the same toxicity that the sound implies. I basically get inspiration from my work by just finding sounds and then translating them into images or finding images and translating them into sound. It goes back and forth, vice versa. It’s like a very powerful circle where I just feel that universe — that unique voice in sound and image.