Nathan Colberg, a singer, singerwriter out of Charlottesville, VA, releases his highly anticipated video for “See Again.” Although fairly new to the same, Nathan is known for this songwriting, rich melodies, and pristine vocals, captivating audiences on all coasts.
Colberg grew up playing around on the family piano. It wasn’t until college that he discovered his passion and talent for songwriting. Since then, his catalog of music has garnered over two and a half million streams.
The latest video is a documentary that was shot over the course of a year. “The subjects are real people and we shot with this family for almost a year – gaining their trust and developing a relationship that allowed us to get this close and intimate with them,” says Director, Editor and Executive Producer, Jethro Westraad. He goes on to say, “…it has definitely given this project a unique, authentic quality that you don’t often see in music videos.”
The melody is upbeat, but the lyrics are both heartwarming and honest with verses like, “There was darkness in the kingdom light… / Dawn awakens, dawn awakens.” The song itself gives off a very The Script feel. Like Danny O’Donoghue, Nathan Colberg has found a way to capture listeners with a voice that is raspy, but still soft to the ears.
“For me, the song is about struggle and the ups and downs that come with facing your fears,” says Jethro. “This is what led me to realize that the video had to be about a young surfer facing the rough, cold waters along South Africa’s Western Cape.”
The idea of making cross-continent documentary/music video sounds crazy to some, but somehow Nathan and Jethro made it work. “Nathan was down in South Africa for a wedding and I jokingly said to him that we should do a video together – never thinking the Virginian would take the proposition seriously,” says Jethro. “Two weeks later, I received an email from Nathan with a list of songs. The first song I listened to was called ‘See Again.’ After it finished, I knew straight away that this was the song!”
The documentary was filmed in one of the last towns before the Southern tip of Africa, called Kommetjie (pronounced Korm-meh-key). Kommetjie is a small community, comprised mainly of surfers, whose lives largely revolve around the water. “It’s a special place. Everywhere you look, you are confronted with wild, untamed beauty,” says Jethro. “Tall cliffs tower over dark, cold, crashing water – home to Great White sharks…” It’s in this small town that Jethro met the video’s subjects: The Patersons. “They are one of the most amazing families I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I’m so glad they accepted me into their home…” comments Jethro.
Of The Patersons is Malia, who at the time of shooting the video was twelve years old and just beginning her journey as a surfer. “This journey became the narrative we see in the music video; [it] is not just about Malia accomplishing her goals in surfing,” says Jethro. “…it is also about her becoming a young woman, under the watchful eye of her mother. This mother-daughter relationship is made stronger by their shared love for the ocean, and they bond together out at sea.”
Despite freezing cold conditions, Malia finds the strength to power through. The idea of “seeing again” truly comes to life as she begins each new day with a can-do attitude. The chorus of the song, “In the morning / in the morning / in the morning light… I will see again,” really brings out the idea of taking each new day as it comes and making the most of it. “Malia’s story works so well with Nathan’s song. Yes, it is a song about hope, but it also doesn’t suggest that life is easy and that everything will always be fine. We see this mirrored in Malia’s struggle to fight through the waves and conquer her fears.”
Watch the story unfold in the official video for Nathan Colberg’s “See Again” here.
CREDITS:
- Directed and Edited by Jethro Westraad, a Cape Town documentary filmmaker and film lecturer)
- Starring: Malia & Deborah Paterson
- Cinematography: Josh Rowe
- Colourist: Richard Watson
- Sound design: Calvin Davey
- Executive Producer: Dougal Paterson & Nathan Colberg
- Song by: Nathan Colberg
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