Synopsis

Merrill Garbus performs "Fiya" in a surreal, performance-driven setting that turns the song's emotional volatility into a visual burst of movement, color, and theatrical imagery. Tight framing and stylized effects keep attention on Garbus as she shifts between vulnerability and force, echoing the lyrics' tension between isolation, self-doubt, desire, and renewal. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the video builds as an audiovisual portrait of inner turmoil gradually becoming something more powerful and liberated.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was produced under the New Masses banner. The credited production team also includes cinematographer Theo Jemison, visual-effects artist Peter Sauvey, editor Eli Stonberg, and colorist Alexandra Pelly.

• Merrill Garbus is the only performer listed in the video's credits, making the clip a focused visual interpretation of the solo project's early identity.

• The production credits include special thanks to 826 LA and the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a Los Angeles literary nonprofit and shop known for its playful, fictional time-travel theme.

• "Fiya" comes from BiRd-BrAiNs, the debut tUnE-yArDs album that Garbus recorded largely with a handheld digital recorder and assembled with basic computer software. The deliberately rough recording approach became part of the song's character.

• Garbus has said that she recorded "Fiya" during a very hot summer in Montreal. Street noise entered the recording space, including children shouting "Fire, fire, fire!" outside, an accidental detail that fit the song's imagery.

• The song reworks the familiar phrase "You were always on my mind" into "You are always on my mind," giving its climax a more immediate and unsettled emotional charge.

• "Fiya" later reached a much wider audience through its use in a 2010 BlackBerry Torch commercial. Garbus described the licensing decision as conflicted, but said the money helped her continue working independently and finance the follow-up album w h o k i l l.