After recently releasing his Renegade EP last month, South African artist James Deacon has now shared a video for his gripping track "Mr Misery."

The new visuals, born out of the lockdown, are premiering today on Variance, giving a glimpse into Deacon and his bandmates' adjustments during quarantine, wearing masks and distancing from each other rather than scrapping or delaying the video release, as some artists have done over the last few months.

"Shooting 'Mr Misery' was a 3am decision," says Deacon of the video. "I got a message from an old friend from my days playing guitar in a previous band, who turned out to be an amazing videographer! We literally decided to do the video and started filming two days later ... I knew that he was the perfect person to truly bring out the meaning of the song and make a statement at the same time.

For his part, director Eric T Graham says: “Being heavily restricted by lockdown, I knew I wanted to incorporate and use the restrictions as an advantage, rather than having the video postponed. I took an antagonistic approach towards the current circumstances and restrictions put in place by the overarching pandemic and the South African government’s response towards it."

With a brooding, very twenty one pilots feel to the track, "Mr Misery" actually takes aim at the political establishment of South Africa, recent social injustice and controversies such as the tobacco ban and various social and political issues.

Watch the new video for "Mr Misery" below.