Synopsis

Azari & III's "Manic" video turns a sleek electro-house track into a stylized portrait of self-destruction. The two performers move through sharply edited scenes, alternating between synchronized dancing, solo poses and deadpan close-ups. Around them, a female manipulator and a male addict embody the song's darker impulses, appearing with axes, drug vials and black blood. Fashion imagery, exaggerated gestures and deliberately artificial violence give the clip a camp, sinister quality, matching the song's fixation on destructive people and an unstable world.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video premiered in August 2011, shortly before the release of the "Manic" 12-inch through Turbo Recordings.

• Contemporary coverage singled out the editing and the contrast between the performers' synchronized movements and the unsettling imagery surrounding the two character figures.

• The clip's imagery was described at the time as an apocalyptic commentary on life, sex and self-destruction.

• The "Manic" release included remixes by Maceo Plex, DJ Sneak, Borderline and The Finger Prince, giving the track a notably broad club-music afterlife.

• "Manic" was issued on August 2, 2011, as part of the period surrounding Azari & III's self-titled debut album.

• The track became one of the group's significant club successes, placing at number 7 in the 2011 German Club Charts year-end list.

• Azari & III were a Toronto quartet made up of producers Dinamo Azari and Alixander III and vocalists Fritz Helder and Starving Yet Full.