Pivoting on the power of round-the-clock creativity, Diesel's new short film sees creatives Brandon Miel Masele and Mechatok warp time and space through artistic expression
Diesel Watches & Accessories
Every 12 hours sees a full revolution of the hour hand. With that, comes the opportunity for equally revolutionary creativity, a timeline of expression that spans from day to night, dawn to dusk.
While those of us bound to office hours and timesheets rerun the same routines, eagerly watching the clock wind round, creatives working outside these boundaries have the ability to start and finish when inspiration strikes. Step-sequencing a kick drum at 3am? Sorting a kick step dance sequence at 9pm? Anytime! And, if the creative streak is powerful enough, just one spin of the dial might not be enough.
If there’s any brand working overtime right now – and being talked about 24/7 in the RTW timezone – it’s Diesel, powered by Glenn Martens’ vanguard approach and centred on second-to-none, statement pieces. It makes sense, then, that its latest line of watches and accessories – featuring the Cliffhanger watch and the revived Biscotto Logo across several pieces – is backed by a campaign championing the idea that spending time creatively pays dividends.
Directed by Till Janz and produced by Diesel in collaboration with Dazed Studio, By The Hour sees two multi-hyphenate creatives metamorphose over time, reflecting their shape-shifting, time-warping powers. First up is actor, movement artist, and choreographer Brandon Miel Masele, known for an electro dance style that oscillates between slow, deliberate elegance and sharp, frenetic electricity. He’s joined by producer and Drain Gang collaborator Mechatok, who has tricked time itself and somehow managed to fit a ten year career into just 25 years, already a veteran at some of the planet’s most reputed parties.
The creative circadian rhythm within them both is expressed through the film’s own sense of movement, directed by Simon Donnellon. Free from the constraints of time, Brandon and Mechatok’s bodies multiply as the minutes go by, stretching into impossible silhouettes. It’s as bold and warped as Diesel’s new watches, made for mavericks with the power to manipulate time and make it work for them.
To prove how much creativity you can cram into a matter of hours, Brandon and Mechatok have shared their day-in-the-life diaries with Dazed. Read them below and spend a second getting to know Diesel’s new watches here to see which makes you tick.
BRANDON MIEL MASELE
11:00 AM: We rehearse with my dance company Mazelfreten (co-directed with my partner Laura Nala). It's important to start early in the morning because ideas are clear and creativity has time to emerge.
4:00 PM: It’s the time of day when I usually teach electro dance. When I see my students, I see myself at the time when I started dancing. They have a lot of hopes and dreams in mind, like when I started.
8:00 PM: I'm just about to go on stage with my company Mazelfreten. We do a little ritual, taking each other by the shoulder in a circle and I make a speech to motivate and reassure the group. Our common energy feels explosive.
10:00 PM : At home, we put music on the speaker and we all dance. Me, my partner, and our two children. We take the time to enjoy every moment, every minute, every second. My partner, Laura Nala, also does electro dance and hip hop. Unconsciously, I also draw energy from her and her creativity.
MECHATOK
10:42 AM: My brother Firas calls and we’re discussing his current project - a film documenting living in the periphery of Paris.
14:14 PM: Finishing off the design for a huge balloon that’s going to decorate the next night I'm throwing in London.
17:20 PM: Recording and writing new music for the next album with my friend Toxe for our band.
23:17 AM: Sending beats to a few of my friends.
00:10 AM: Listening to my album demos. Making new drums for one of them and deleting them again.
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