Vadim Etman’s “Иллюзия” (“Illusion”): A Serious Song with an Unexpected Video
Updated: Aug 27
By the time we released “Иллюзия” (“Illusion”) in November 2018, Vadim Etman and I had already been working together for about two years.
Vadim wrote and performed the song. I produced the record and handled the complete audio production, developing his original material into the finished track.
We approached the song itself seriously. “Иллюзия” is a melodic pop record about attraction, romantic expectations and the distance between an imagined relationship and reality. The production had to support that mood without overwhelming Vadim’s voice or turning the emotion into melodrama.
The video was where I decided to take the project in a very different direction.
Breaking the Romantic Video Formula
The obvious choice would have been a polished romantic video: beautiful interiors, dramatic lighting, an idealized love story and a suitably serious performance.
That felt too predictable.
Instead, I wanted to break the pattern and place the song in a setting nobody would expect from a conventional pop video. We leaned into rural imagery, everyday details and self-aware humor. The contrast did most of the work: the song remained sincere, while the video refused to take the familiar visual language of romantic pop too seriously.
Vadim understood the idea and committed to it completely. That was important because this kind of concept only works when the artist is willing to play with his own image. He remained charismatic and convincing, but the surroundings changed how the audience perceived the story.
I handled the video production alongside the audio, so the release could work as one complete project. The track and the video were intentionally different in tone, but that contrast became their connection.
Launching LOONY HOUSE MAJOR
The premiere of “Иллюзия” also marked the launch of LOONY HOUSE MAJOR, which at the time was based in Moscow.
I created the label as a new platform for releasing independently produced music and developing projects beyond our existing work under LOONY HOUSE. “Иллюзия” introduced that direction well: an original song, a fully developed production and a video with a recognizable idea of its own.
It was not the beginning of my collaboration with Vadim. It was the next stage of a partnership that had already produced several projects—and an opportunity to show a different side of the work we were doing together.
Watch the official video for “Иллюзия” (“Illusion”).
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