photo by Kortney Gloska
Watch: “STRANGE MAZE” ft. Super Duty Tough Work video on YouTube
Today, Polaris-nominated, multi-disciplinary artist Kimmortal is excited to release the official music videofor “STRANGE MAZE” ft. Super Duty Tough Work. The video was filmed, edited and directed by STEVE ROSTE and produced by JUNIA-T. The track is featured their acclaimed new EP, sunniest of days, digitally out now and on limited edition vinyl via Odd Doll Records (stream / order).A melancholic yet sharp-eyed bop, “STRANGE MAZE” brings together Kimmortal and Super Duty Tough Work’s Brendan Grey over production from Toronto-based sonic architect Junia-T. The song ruminates on the intersections of new-age industry standards and creative practice —less artist, more influencer; less telling, more selling. It’s a deliberate and sharp meditation on attention economies, and the toll they take on an artist’s wellness, creative output, and agency.
On the track and its accompanying video, Kimmortal explains:
“In order to talk about the song ‘STRANGE MAZE,’ I had to write the skit before it: Trapped!!. The skit is comedic but it captures that sense of aggravation—realizing you’re an artist trapped in the maze of the music industry. It’s a complex system built on colonialism and capitalism, with paths and tunnels where it’s easy to get lost. I was thinking about how SDTW has always been deeply critical of the systems we operate in as artists, and I approached our collab with Gabriel Teodros’ words in my head: ‘If you follow all of my offerings, you probably gonna see that music’s not a commodity or product to me, behind bars we feel free, and that’s a contradiction in my industry.’ I started asking myself: how am I moving in a system I don’t believe in? I feel like my verse encompasses how I’m moving right now.”
Super Duty Tough work adds:
“I just wrote about where music seems to be right now, as far as I can tell—where the focus is on selling everything about yourself but your music. Not only is that the antithesis of what we’re doing, but it’s also basically forced on artists if they want to ‘be in the game,’ so to speak.”
With support from acclaimed artists Shad, Super Duty Tough Work, Nimkish and Junia-T, the queer Filipinx artist put together a body of songs that are reflections on “how weird it is to be human – to exist, love, and create art during a time of global crisis,” Kimmortal shares about the EP’s creation. “I had a lot of fun producing two of these songs (‘I Just Wanna Know’ and ‘Bones’) alongside my friend and drummer Miles Wong. I was awakened to the talents of my long-time bandmates who really shaped the song ‘I Just Wanna Know,’ which I chose to be the lead single – that’s keys by Matt Yang, horns by Feven Kidane, and arrangement by me and Miles. Melancholy peeks through the beats of jazzy hip-hop. I wanted to sing more and make music that reminded me of my earliest inspirations around the era of Common’s ‘Be’ and Jill Scott. Expect soulful harmonies, piano swells, and reflective lyricism, especially in the closing song ‘Bones’ dedicated to my friend who passed during the early pandemic, and even a skit that I wrote and recorded with Brendan of SDTW via IG DMs. This album is me processing personal and collective grief, and I couldn’t have done it without my friends.”
Hailing from Vancouver, Kimmortal is a multi-hyphenate artist and musician. Combining their passion for hip hop, visual art, theatre, spoken word, ancestral wisdom, and liberation, Kimmortal strives to build worlds that make queer and diasporic weird kids feel like they belong.
Kimmortal’s music has earned prominent sync placements, including “This Dyke” in The L Word: Generation Q and in Animal Pride: Nature’s Coming Out Storywhich recently received a 2025 Leo Award nomination for Best Music Score Short Documentary. Their original song for Sort Of won Best Original Song at the Canadian Screen Awards, and their music video for the single “Blue and Orange” received Best Music Video at the Disorient Asian American Film Festival. Kimmortal has opened for artists likeThundercat, Saul Williams, and Ruby Ibarra, and performed at SXSW, Junofest, Reeperbahn, NXNE, and more. Their third album Shoebox (2023) explores moving through intergenerational trauma, queer/trans pride, and embracing their inner child.
This month, Kimmortal will play shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berlin, Hamburg, New York, and Winnipeg. Tickets are on sale now.
Kimmortal Tour Dates
September 6 – San Francisco, CA @ Sapphic Pride Block Party
September 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pilipino Workers Center
September 17 – Berlin, DE @ Cassette Head Sessions
September 18 – Hamburg, DE @ Reeperbahn Festival
September 25 – Winnipeg, MB @ Breakout West
September 26 – Winnipeg, MB @ Breakout West
September 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ El Puente
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