Artist: Ben Kunder
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Better Human”
Album: Better Human
Label: Comino Music
In Their Words: âWe canât stand still in our sorrow or our joy. We must advocate for positive change and it has to start with the self. Weâve got to love ourselves before we can love anyone else. Youâve got to love yourself before you can love anyone else. The songâs message is strong and clear, and it is meant to unite us. I wrote ‘Better Human’ as a personal mantra for myself to work harder to be a better human for my partner and children, to tackle my own struggles through life and art, and to find the energy to contribute to the world as an activist and support other humans in all forms. I want you to know that the more we share with each other, the more we realize how much we have in common, both in light and darkness.
“When I set out to make this music video, I wanted to find a creative director who would bring a perspective that was different from my own. I didnât want the story to be about me in a singular sense. This song wasnât meant to have a singular vision but to have a universal message of love and connectedness: that we all need to be working harder for each other. I found what I was looking for in Detroit-based photographer/director Megan McIsaac. She had the vision of our hero, Juliana Ledesma, a transnational adoptee from Colombia and single mother of two beautiful children, who has grown up in North America where sheâs found that her life is very different than it would be in Colombia. Sheâs had so much support here to be free, independent, and to live her truth, but that doesnât leave her without struggle or pain. She is our hero in this video, finding ways to be at peace in a world full of personal obstacles and in a societal climate that can make us feel alone and disconnected. She is a human whose story needs to be told.â — Ben Kunder
Photo credit: Scarlet O’ Neill
