Earlier this month, Adiel Mitchell and producer, Shinu, released the video for their new collaboration, “Restart”. The video showcases the colorful, fun and carefree side of Adiel that we love. “It has elements of hip hop/rap/trap but it’s inspired deeply by the Korean Hip Hop scene as well,” Adiel said.
“I remember waking up one morning and Shinu sent me a beat he had been cooking up till bout 3am,” he continued. “I listened to it while I was in bed. I instantly popped up and went to record. I felt where the song was going as soon as I heard the beat. Maybe 45 minutes later, I sent him my vocals for the first verse and the hook.” The two finished the song in an unprecedented 3 hours. They shot an impromptu video the very next day.
This is Adiel’s third official music video. In July, he, Mandy Groves and Shinu covered Lil Nas X‘s “C7osure”. The playful animated nod to the “Old Town Road” remix videos became one of the most viewed videos on his channel. Last month, he dropped the video for “Sunset Bay Cafe” which showcased the BFresh Gear clothing line’s 90s collection.
His personal YouTube channel has no shortage of lighthearted musical content. Over the years, he produced over 150 videos like popular song covers, dance freestyles, or classic YouTube culture reaction videos. “I gained the knowledge of editing, recording, and overall music video etiquette from my days with Two Worlds and Youtube,” he said. “So it was extremely refreshing to revisit the process from the post-production perspective.”
Adiel got his start in music as one half of the Indie-Pop YouTube duo, Two Worlds. The band amassed over 85,000 subscribers on YouTube alone. They released an EP that debuted at number 11 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart, toured across the country, and made it to the top 6 round of VH1‘s “Make A Band Famous” livestream event. “Something I enjoyed while in Two Worlds was consistently working with my friends while just having fun,” the singer said.
When the duo split, Adiel dug into recording new music without the added pressure of producing a weekly show. He paused his effort on YouTube and made his official solo debut with About Last Night in 2018. The EP earned him a spot on Big Top Entertainment‘s 90s-themed compilation, Already On II: The Return of R&B next to legendary acts like like Men at Large, Public Announcement, and Full Force. At the top of 2019, he followed it up with Jungle. After almost two years of spinning straw into gold in relative privacy, this new video helps translate Adiel’s vision.
“One of the biggest challenges I faced that I was also grateful for when I restarted my music career, was feeling like I had to start over from the ground up,” he explained. “But I learned it was a huge opportunity. I finally got a chance to do things the way I wanted to do them. People like to think, ‘Oh, well, you were in a group before this. You know what you’re doing. It must be so much easier.’ But it’s actually harder to work with people when I have my own personal ideas. You really have to have team building skills.”
“The hardest part of working in a group is that everything is a compromise,” he continued. “In order to be fair and for the product to be right for everyone, you have to give up a part of your vision sometimes. You have to put a part of you aside to make room for the other person. Now having the freedom to explore, experiment, and really experience creation on my own, that truly allows me to bring 100% of myself to my art. That shows people who I am. You get a complete Adiel Mitchell.”
Check out the video for “Restart” below and lookout for more YouTube content from Adiel Mitchell to come soon!
