Written and performed by Canadian singer and songwriter Forest Blakk and animated by Jeff Myers, “The Anchor and The Kite” is a sweeping epic about finding love and acceptance in the most unlikely places. A reimagining of the “opposites attract” narrative, the song explores a sense of deep yearning and the subsequent bond that forms between two individuals from vastly different worlds. Beautiful and elemental, the story weaves in and out of light and shadow, water and air, eventually landing in the liminal space where the anchor and the kite can seamlessly coexist.
"I hope that this helps people see that not all stories are born in beautiful castles—sometimes they’re born in absolute emptiness, but there’s always the chance to grow from that. You can really build a whole kingdom on top of the pain."
Music has been a lifelong refuge for Blakk, who experienced a chaotic childhood (his mother struggled with addiction and his stepfather was a notorious drug dealer), and he often explores the complex duality of life in his work, with lyrics and compositions that lean into both the sorrow and the joy. The collaboration with Myers, a renowned director, artist, animator, musician, and advertising creative, was a unique opportunity for Blakk to extend the expression of this story beyond the music and onto the screen.
Forest Blakk | Songwriter/Artist
The music of Forest Blakk comes from an unshakable sense of purpose, a belief in building beauty from life's most painful moments. Growing up in Montreal, with time spent in Florida and Jamaica, the singer/songwriter first took up guitar as a refuge from his chaotic home life, then spent years learning to channel his most complex emotions into song. With his breakthrough single “If You Love Her” -a fall 2020 release that marks his Billboard debut- Blakk has brought his heart-on-sleeve songwriting to a whole new level of resonance, again proving music's power to transform both audience and artist.
Starkly arranged and deceptively simple, the song unfolds with a raw intensity as Blakk pays tribute to a former partner, infusing every line with his soul-stirring vocals.
With its intricate detail and lucid self-expression, “If You Love Her” reveals the lyrical finesse Blakk first cultivated by writing poems as a kid. At age 15, he began exploring his musical side by learning to play a guitar given to him by his grandmother. By that point, Blakk had endured a lifetime's worth of trouble: born in Montreal, he spent much of his childhood with his mother (who struggled with addiction) and his stepfather (a notorious drug dealer), moving around constantly and finding himself on and off the streets after his stepdad went to prison. Soon after moving to Calgary at age 21, he formed a band that later earned a JUNO nomination. In the years following the band's dissolution, Blakk experienced a period of profound change, ultimately embracing the more soulful and folk-leaning sound that defines his music today. One of the first songs embodying that sound, “Love Me” earned attention from heavyweights like Pete Ganbarg (president of A&R at Atlantic Records) and legendary music exec Seymour Stein, paving the way for Blakk's signing to Atlantic in 2015.
Jeff O’Brien Myers | Director
Jeff Myers is a director, artist, animator, musician, and advertising creative who has elevated brands & films for over 20 years. As a director and animator, his work is vibrant, textural, and atmospheric, and his films feel simultaneously universal and personal.
He is the founder of the global creative & story agency THIS IS RED, which is housed in a century-old Art Nouveau masterpiece cathedral that has been repurposed & customized for film & animation production, immersive content creation, and brand and marketing services.
THIS IS RED's client base covers a vast range of industries from tech to TV—from the stage of Saturday Night Live to presidential inaugurations, to global brand rollouts from icons like Coca-Cola, the Four Seasons, & design overlord Philippe Starck to campaigns for the BBC, Apple Music, Atlantic Records and more.
He is currently in production of "M," a dark animated film he wrote about a grieving orphan attempting to integrate into a new life with his formerly estranged step-family. "M" is part film noir, part coming-of-age narrative about identity, love, and betrayal, with undertones of painfully relevant socio-political commentary on exclusion and belonging.
Myers has also been tapped to direct a mini docu-series for the legendary Paul Reed Smith guitars and has produced and directed animations for one of PBS' most popular jazz documentaries, "We Knew What We Had."
He is a long-time creative force for the cinema & audio-tech company Dolby, which has had Myers direct brand films, create uber-high fidelity Dolby Vision animations, and interview M. Night Shyamalan about immersive audio for his latest film "Old."
Collaborations with Dolby run the gamut and have even influenced Myers' approach to the architectural reimagining of THIS IS RED's unique space, which includes a fully equipped Dolby Atmos & Dolby Vision cinema.
When Cocoa-Cola celebrated 100 years of the iconic contour bottle, Myers was one of 100 creatives from around the world chosen by Coca-Cola to reimagine the contour bottle's heritage and shape the brand's future. His piece–a study in optimism, the kind of stubborn positivity possessed by the most resilient among us–appeared in the centennial retrospective "Kiss the Past Hello" by high-end art publisher Assouline, and has appeared in several other art exhibits and on Coca-Cola's social media channels.
In addition to his work with Coca-Cola, Myers has expanded his cross-disciplinary foray into the world of fine arts through album artwork. He's painted countless album covers for musical legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Nancy Wilson, five of which became Grammy-winning albums.
Other notable projects include driving the creative surrounding "Forward," an artist-driven anthem recorded for the Obama re-election campaign, which has captured millions of views on YouTube. Elevating the BBC's Line of Duty Season 6 Launch (One of the largest TV season debuts in Britain's history) through a social media campaign designed to spark speculation and debate amongst fans. Contributing to the performance, production, and vinyl release of the New Radicals' reunion performance of their iconic hit "You Get What You Give" for the Biden Inauguration.
A true Renaissance creative, Myers' repertoire also includes writing, recording, and producing original music, which allows him to communicate fluidly with musicians and artists across disciplines. His resume in the music world is impressive, including Nuno Bettencourt, Herbie Hancock, Ghost Hounds, Rabea Massaad, Tony Levin, Forest Blakk, Katy Perry, Kesha, Ne-Yo, Paquito D'Rivera, Herbie Mann, and Tom Scott, as well as music brands like Gibson guitars, Paul Reed Smith guitars and Neural DSP.