Watch James Lee’s Captivating Music Video for ‘The Light’

After successfully crowdfunding his debut EP The Light earlier this year, singer-songwriter James Lee unveiled the title track and it’s music video earlier today. “The Light” is the Korean-American artist’s first solo project since leaving pop/rock group Royal Pirates.

The track outlines Lee’s struggle to come to terms with the accident that cost him the use of his left hand and forced him give up playing the bass guitar. “I wrote it a little bit after my accident, when I was so down in the dumps,” Lee says over a quick Skype call. “I had really dark thoughts very often… I had a time where I was trying to tie up loose ends.”

Co-produced by Lee’s longtime friend and collaborator Enik Lin (of Los Angeles-based rock band Fyke), “The Light” is a throwback to Lee’s roots as an indie artist and features elements of soft rock infused with dubstep-esque synth. “If you listen to the lyrics and you listen to the arrangement of the track, the verses are explaining my circumstances and where I am,” says Lee, adding that while it’s an every day battle to stay positive and keep going, he isn’t about to give in yet. “So hear me out/I don’t want to say this anymore/This is the last thing that I’ll write/I’m swimming in the darkness all alone/Can you be my light?”

In the clip, Lee is flooded with all the fears that come with having to re-imagine the course of your life so suddenly. Alternating between flashes of him immersed in water and X-rays of his mangled wrist, “The Light” is full of powerful imagery that portrays the artist’s demons, self-doubt and relationship with God. The video ends with the text ‘John 1:5,’ a reference to a verse from the Bible that states, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The Light EP is set to release on August 18th.