As promised, the music video for "Hunger Game" - the second single from Fifi Rong's new EP The Crown - signals "a move towards light and openness". The London-via-Beijing singer-songwriter and electronic music producer showcases her dancing skills in the midst of lush greenery and a gold-hued field, undulating to an airier re-interpretation of her hybrid electronic sound. Berlin-based producer LO brings a lighter R&B-inflected rhythm to the mix, slowing down the freneticism of some of Rong's previous singles.
The leisurely pace grants Rong more breathing room to showcase her vocals, which return to the familiar theme of self-liberation. "Hunger Game" intrigues by describing the overcoming of obstacles on the quest for self-fulfillment with a masochistic poeticism: "Free/ You ought to be/ And fail/ If you don't win/ You won't starve for long/ In this hunger game, hunger game'. There are lonely tears to be swallowed, 17 years of isolation, bouts of starvation, hurt-inducing perseverance, and bloody soles to be endured before one finally gets to 'rise above'. These ominous abstractions make for a spellbinding contrast to the track's reassuring tempo and ethereal atmosphere.
